General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, told residents in Linden on Sunday that they can rely on the PPP/C to honour its commitments and deliver on its promises. Addressing a large crowd at the party’s elections rally held at the Lieu-Ken-Pen Square in Wismar, Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara–Upper Berbice), Dr Jagdeo stated that the people of Linden — traditionally a stronghold of the People’s National Congress (PNC)-led A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) — have seen for themselves which party fulfils its pledges and which one does not.
PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo addressing the massive gathering at the Party’s election rally in Linden on Sunday
“Many of you across Region 10 have experienced life under various Governments… What is APNU really promising you? …and you, in any case, you can’t believe a word they say because in 2020, they went to the young people and promised jobs, they promised housing, they promised better health care. They promised everything and delivered absolutely nothing,” the PPP GS and PPP/C Administration’s Vice President (VP) noted.
In contrast, the VP, who is seeking re-election at the September 1 General and Regional Elections, pointed to the slew of promises that his party made back in 2020 and has delivered on. These include restoring and increasing the “Because We Care” cash grant for school children that the APNU+AFC (Alliance For Change) Coalition regime had taken away during their tenure in office; more than doubling old age pension; returning the joint services bonus; removing over 200 taxes; building infrastructure and create more jobs, among a host of other promises.
In fact, the General Secretary noted that the PPP/C has spent more monies in communities across Guyana including in Linden, which has seen many locals gaining employment through the awards of contracts with more to come in the future. He said, “In the last two years alone, you had $18 billion spent on building roads with 700 odd contractors from this region alone… [In the next five years] there will be new opportunities because when we start building the concrete drains here in Linden and across the country, many more will get contracts.”
Moreover, Jagdeo told the massive gathering that in the next term, youths can look forward to better-paying jobs, education and training opportunities and improvement in the basic services like healthcare. To this end, he detailed plans to spend a whopping US$30 million on upgrading the Linden Regional Hospital into a state-of-the-art facility.
This will be further bolstered by opportunities for young people to establish their own businesses through a special development bank with zero-interest financing and other support from the next PPP/C Administration.
“We are going to tackle cost of living to make sure that we bring down costs. We will put more money in people’s pockets. You will get more grants from the Government, the pensioners will see an increase, and everyone will see an increase,” he assured. But according to the VP, all this can only be achieved if the PPP/C not only returns to office after the upcoming polls but also win overwhelming in Region 10 to continue rolling out initiatives that would benefit citizens there. “We have never won this region at the regional level, and we have had all sorts of disruption from the people who manage this region… They don’t want Region 10 to progress because they can’t then say the PPP discriminates against you. So, they will sabotage all of our activities… So, if we want to win this region, we need to have conversations in our family,” he posited.
Calling Sunday’s massive gathering “the biggest crowd ever in our history of campaigning here” in Linden, Jagdeo encouraged Lindeners to examine the party’s flyer outlining all the promises that it has fulfilled in the last five years before making a decision on how to vote next month.
“They want you to believe that you can only make progress if you vote for them. Well, they can’t even help themselves so how are they going to help you? …Tonight is a night for you…to go back home and have that conversation with your family and with your neighbours… It’s your future at stake here. Don’t risk it… The only choice is one political party – the People’s Progressive Party/Civic.”
“This is what makes us a national party. It’s a vision of a Guyana that is united and strong, a vision where all of our people, regardless of their race or their religion or their gender, they find a home in a political party where they’re treated with respect, and they can look forward to the future. A party that will keep its word,” Jagdeo asserted.
