PPP/C plans are clear-cut vision for prosperity – Jagdeo

…party confident with definitive vision no faltering of ‘later’, ‘very soon’ – Dr Irfaan Ali

…no guesswork, leaders know exactly where they are heading, how to get there

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) is going to all lengths to provide information on its future plans and according to the party’s General Secretary, who is also Guyana’s Vice Dr Bharrat Jagdeo it is seeking to registered an overwhelming victory at the September 1, General and Regional elections.

Addressing a rally organized by the party at Albion, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) on Sunday, Jagdeo outlined several initiatives that will see more jobs being created and the cost of living being reduced. He said the party is currently out there providing information on the Party’s plans it has for the future.
“Berbice, you would have been a forgotten county because there’s an institutional discrimination in the PNC and APNU against people who live in Berbice. So whether you’re from New Amsterdam, or Liverpool or Manchester or Port Mourant or Albion or Topoo or Chesney or Black Bush Polder, or anywhere else in this region, you have to understand what is at stake here. Only with a PPP government can this region make progress. And in the last elections, we got 40,000 votes from this region. I am looking for at least 55,000 votes in these elections,” told supporters.

Meanwhile, President Dr Irfaan Ali in speaking of some of the initiatives to be implemented over the next five years said the PPP/C is not doing like one political leader who ween asked by reporters to outline some of his plans for the future should he win the elections said those plans will be made known ‘later’ and ‘soon’.
“When they asked him about his plan, he went into a jam,” Ali said.
However, the President went on the outline a series of initiatives to be implemented should his party be returned to office at the upcoming poll.
“We are going to pursue more family-friendly-oriented policies and programs that are going to reduce the tax burden on families, put more money in the pockets of families, and give you more disposable income to live a high-quality life in every region. We are going to ensure that vehicle ownership becomes easier for you by reducing the taxes, especially on four-door, double-cab, open-back vehicles, that is so critical for our productive sector.”
Ali said the future is about connecting people, markets, and connecting dreams, as he promised to modernise the agriculture sector, which includes sugar.
“Open up new land, modernising our drainage and irrigation system, building a new hope-like canal, completing that canal so that you will not have the burden of flooding and we’ll reduce that substantially so you can have more support in fertilizer because with you and the government working together, we are going to build our own fertilizer plant in Guyana so that you can have accessible, cheap fertilizer. We are going to expand and invest in an agro-processing and storage facility, including coal storage.”
The future, Ali said, will be prosperous for Region Six as the economy becomes diversified.

Bring down cost of living
The ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has assured that when elected to office at the September 1 General and Regional elections it will further bring down the cost of living.
Jagdeo, who was outlining some of the party’s plans for the next five years, said the party has a track record of providing jobs, pointing to when it took office in 2020. Jagdeo recalled that tens of thousands of jobs were created for Guyanese.
“The last few years, we had to take care of our people from COVID, and then we had to breathe life back into the economy. We had to ensure that more people had jobs. Sixty thousand more of them have jobs now. Thousands of sugar workers have been rehired. Now, we have labour shortages. In the next term, for people in Berbice and across the country, we have to ensure they get more jobs, better-paying jobs,” Jagdeo said.
He zeroed in on the agriculture sector, saying that the part will give support to farmers and sugar workers.
Apart from implementing initiatives to reduce the cost of living, Jagdeo said much attention will be placed on security during the PPP/C’s next term in office.
“We have to make sure that we get more loans to people who want to start small businesses. In every one of your villages, we want to make sure that we have street lights and security cameras to fight against crime.”
Speaking about infrastructure, the Vice President pointed out that the plan is to have the drainage system improved. the
“We want to do concrete drains. We want to make sure that all your communities are secure. We have to pick up the garbage better. We get a lot of complaints about the NDCs, etc. We need to fix a lot of things in the future. But only one party can do that, and that’s the People’s Progressive Party. I want you again to commit to safeguarding that future,” the Vice President said.

Array of initiatives
The PPP Government has implemented a wide array of initiatives aimed at directly improving the livelihoods of Guyanese families and reducing everyday expenses. These total projected cost of over $100 billion to the treasury between 2024 and 2025 alone.
Among some of the initiatives already implement are $100,000 one-time cash grant to every Guyanese over the age of 18; free tuition at the University of Guyana (UG); electricity and water subsidy for pensioners; minimum monthly salary of $100,000 for all government workers; increased tax threshold and also $10,000 per child per month for one parent per family; $100,000 payout for every newborn to support early childhood needs.
In addition, pensions raised from $36,000 to $41,000 per month in the 2025 budget, boosting disposable income for over 76,000 pensioners. Public assistance increased from $19,000 to $22,000 per month starting January 1, 2025, offering enhanced support for vulnerable groups; $10,000 universal healthcare voucher for every citizen, financing basic health tests and targeting around 500,000 persons, costing an estimated $5 billion; Removal of all Customs Duty and VAT on electric vehicles in the 2025 National Budget, encouraging greener transportation and environmental responsibility; a 50% write-down allowance on electric vehicles, further incentivizing their purchase; reduced import duty on new motor vehicles under 1500cc from 45% to 35% in 2023, saving approximately $200,000 per vehicle; introduction of a flat $800,000 tax on used vehicles under 1500cc, replacing the variable tax and reducing overall import costs by around $300,000 per vehicle; reduction of excise tax on gasoline and diesel, reducing fuel costs for all motorists.
This is in addition to $1B in fertilizer for farmers; removal of VAT on sheetrock and concrete boards, basic construction materials; removal of value added tax (VAT) on fertilisers, agrochemicals, pesticides and several inputs in the poultry industry.