-says Ali at party’s 32nd Congress
Guyana’s ongoing transformation and projected growth will continue under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government.
This statement was made on Saturday by President Irfaan Ali in his remarks on the opening of the party’s 32nd Congress, the largest to date with over 3,000 delegates and observers, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre held under the theme “Strengthen the Party, Defend Guyana, Unite Our People for Progress and Prosperity”.
According to the Department of Public Information, the president spoke of the challenges preceding and during the 2020 elections, and the “significant” tests to the country’s democratic credentials during that time. “This was no easy journey. This was a journey that tested our political strength, our political capacity, and our political being.”
He accused the previous government of leading the country on a “downward spiral,” denying thousands of Guyanese the opportunities to improve their lives. “The APNU+AFC unleashed one of the harshest ever campaign against the poor people of this country when they were in office. Amidst a failing economy, loss of jobs and income, what did the PNC do? They resorted to the imposition of 200 new taxes on the backs of the ordinary people. They plucked, out of the pockets of the ordinary people, $110 billion.”
President Ali added, “We came to office, and in four short years, despite COVID, despite two major floods, we were able to deliver and fulfill within four years, more than 95 per cent of the manifesto we went to the electorate with.”
To bolster his point, he pointed to a 150 per cent increase in the number of vehicles registered in 2023, as compared to 2019. This increase, he posited, represents the growth in disposable income for Guyanese, and the bustling state of the growing economy.
Ali then referenced the laid off sugar workers as he reminded that under the previous government, more than 50,000 Guyanese were placed on the breadline, left without jobs and means to support themselves and their families.
“Seven thousand sugar workers were sent on the breadline, children left school…they sent 50 per cent of the bauxite workers home…$21 billion lost in the sugar industry, and in the bauxite industry, $31 billion lost. In the forestry sector, $9 billion lost.”
He reminded that these sugar workers who were also denied their severance pay, received $1.3 billion from the current government. In addition, President Ali said that since assuming office, the PPP/C government has introduced 60,000 new jobs. Additionally, the sugar industry is being revitalised, with over 1,100 workers employed at the recently reopened Rose Hall Sugar Estate.
“We have reopened the sugar estates. We have brought back more than 7,000 sugar workers. We have increased bauxite workers, and by the end of this year, we will double the number of workers in the bauxite industry.”
The president also pointed to several other elements that evidenced government’s commitment to inclusive development, including subsidised electricity in Linden, revolutionising the road network, working towards self-sufficiency, expanding the housing programme, creating access to quality education and healthcare, and direct investments.
According to the Head of State, these initiatives are aligned with the ‘One Guyana’ philosophy, which was created with a vision of uniting all Guyanese under a common umbrella of growth and prosperity.
“The One Guyana concept is not accidental. It was birthed after the last congress. When we designed this philosophy of creating a One Guyana, one future, one people, the mandate of the leadership of the PPP was to walk every single street, every corner… reach out to every Guyanese and bring back hope, aspirations and vision to the people of Guyana,” the president stated.
