General Secretary of the PPP, Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday flayed President David Granger for dictatorial tendencies and going against the constitution as he launched scathing attacks against the governing APNU+AFC coalition in front of thousands of supporters at an Albion, Berbice rally.
He said that persons of every race have a right to prosperity and the PPP/C “is the only party that can deliver this for all of our people and because of that we will not only win power on March 2, we will stay in power for another 20, 30, 40 years in the future.”
General and regional elections are slated for March 2, 2020, a critical time in Guyana’s history as the country becomes an oil producer and is poised to earn billions of dollars which will be managed by the next government.
Stressing that their message is a unified one, Jagdeo pointed to the party’s lists of candidates saying they are bringing persons from different races into the PPP/C. He said that his party has one message for all of Guyana which can be delivered in any part of the country, even as he accused the APNU+AFC of racism.
Jagdeo himself has been accused similarly and in 2015 faced a private criminal charge after he was accused of racial incitement. The High Court later threw out the charge.
Jagdeo, a former presi-dent and now opposition leader, levelled many attacks at Granger, labeling him the weakest leader ever in Guyana’s history. “He doesn’t make decisions, he doesn’t even read the documents he has… After so much depends on oil and gas and he says he never read the contract. He wants to go to sleep at 8 o clock in the night; presidents can’t sleep at 8 o clock in the night, they have work to do, you can’t just be cutting ribbons and open arches and landing with helicopter, you have to roll up your sleeve and work. That’s the only way this country will make progress,” Jagdeo said.
He then asked the crowd, “Do we want another low energy presi-dent in this country” and they responded, “No” following which Jagdeo hailed the PPP/C presi-dential candidate Irfaan Ali saying that despite his size, he has a tonne of energy. “That’s what we need, we don’t need a president who is aloof. Even his own supporters he will not stop to take a picture with them, he is coming around now because of elections,” Jagdeo said in reference to Granger.
Out of touch
Jagdeo also declared that Guyana cannot have a president who says that “crime has not increased in this country” and accused Granger of being out of touch. “And there is nothing decent about a man who openly defies the rule of law no matter how often you kneel in church,” he added.
He also charged that Granger harbours dictatorial tendencies. “We saw it in his appointment of the Chair of GECOM, in his refusal to accept the no-confidence motion and trust me, if he wins again, he has already signalled what he will do with the Constitution to set himself up,” Jagdeo said.
The opposition leader pleaded with supporters to be vigilant and vote. “You have to come out in large numbers not only today but on elections day,” he said emphasising that they have to ensure that the PPP/C gains an over-whelming victory so there would be no challenge to the results.
At yesterday’s rally, supporters of the PPP/C came out in their thousands at Albion Road. Persons were packed from the stage to the head of the Albion road and on every corner, bridge and dam. According to reports, a number of persons were bussed there from different parts of the country.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and the APNU+AFC’s prime ministerial candidate Khemraj Ramjattan – both former longstanding members of the PPP – also came under attack from Jagdeo.
The former president also contended that the APNU+AFC administration was repressive, undemocratic and had espoused anti-development policies. “We knew we would have seen a decline in living standards in this country because they believe in consumption, spending not building up,” he stated.
Jagdeo also highlighted the presence of former AFC Executive Member Veerasammy Ramayya. According to him, Ramayya has “seen the light too” and is with the PPP because he saw the suffering inflicted on sugar workers in Berbice by the government. He also said that miners as well as persons within the forestry and agriculture sectors lost their jobs due to the assault by the government. “They just destroyed the lives of so many people without a care, without a conscience. They did it because they simply do not know how to administer a country,” he contended.
According to Jagdeo, his party can speak on discrimination because they have never practiced it. “Our platform, the campaign message and the message of our party from its formation has been about one party for all the people of Guyana,” he said.
Notwithstanding Jagdeo’s claim, in government, the PPP/C had also faced charges of discrimination.
Jagdeo further claimed that he has seen hunger return to Guyanese and he told the gathering that they have the power to correct that.
He also took a jab at the “deteriorating healthcare and education” sectors, while stating that crime is on the rise and that all the sectors are in trouble. “What is it that they have to offer,” Jagdeo asked the crowd of supporters as they listened eagerly to him.
He said that when a party is campaigning for a second term they would highlight their record but the APNU+AFC campaign is only about “Jagdeo, Irfaan Ali and the PPP.”
“They have nothing to talk about the progress that they made because there was none and they cannot talk about future plans because they have none too,” he said.
Speaking directly to the sugar workers, the opposition leader said the governing coalition, before being elected to government, promised a 20% increase but instead closed estates. Calling the APNU+AFC an untrustworthy government, he questioned the audacity of the government’s message after destroying “so many families”.
Meanwhile, Ali spoke about the creation of employment within the region and the country. He emphasised the need to invest and improve every sector so that Guyanese can benefit. He was the last speaker and by this time, the crowd had thinned.
“One of the most important things that we must address is the creation of jobs… to ensure that our people here and all across Guyana has access to jobs. Jobs that pays well, jobs that can sustain your families, jobs that can increase the welfare of communities,” he said.
He pledged that his focus on employment creation would not only be in the restoration of jobs in the agriculture sector but new jobs and opportunities in every single sector.
He also told those gathered that they would focus heavily on ICT and also create services as a spinoff from the oil and gas sector so that Berbicians can benefit directly from employment created. “Those jobs will be supported by investment in infrastructure, by the reversal of taxes, the creation and expansion of new markets for agriculture products, the diversification of agriculture, easier access to financing, low cost financing, ensuring that we reduce the input that farmers are paying so that farming will become more profitable for you,” he said.
According to Ali, the deep water harbour in the region would be connected to a “free zone that will bring new types of opportunities in the service sector.”
He said these are the types of jobs that will increase wealth and disposable income in homes and communities so that persons can be able to spend more in the economy to the benefit of businesses, the region and the country.
Stabilization fund
In terms of rice, Ali said they are not only talking about the reversal of rates and taxes, but will also initiate plans for a rice price stabilization fund. “We are talking about plans to open up new markets, we are talking about extension services, we are talking about improvement in yield, so that yield can improve, productivity can improve, price can reduce and profitability for the rice farmers will increase,” he said.
Saying that the APNU+AFC government had said that rice is private business and not government business when confronted about issues within the industry, Ali said, “We say rice is important for the economy and rice is the government business, rice is the people’s business and your government is going to ensure we support this sector.”
“Agriculture has an important part to play and we are going to ensure that we invest to ensure we grow agriculture and increase production and not only foods sustainability for Guyana but for the rest of the CARICOM region,” he said.
Ali also spoke about lending support to agribusinesses as a spinoff from the oil and gas sector and said this has to be linked to the University of Guyana, Tain Campus “so that you will produce skilled graduates that will function in this economy.”
He also stressed that his government would support the livestock, cattle rearing and fisheries industries. “We are going to invest until we meet international standards and certification so we can access new markets and wider markets across the globe.”
Ali also spoke about investing in an institute for hospitality management, biodiversity centre, school for environmental services and to expand the university which, by the end of five years, would be free. He also told those gathered that a government led by him will work on a pathway to have student loans written off at the university.
“These are the real things that will bring real development, great, real opportunities and advance real progress in this beautiful country of Guyana,” he said.
