Home Letters PPP/C Govt has done more for Afro-Guyanese in 4 years than Lincoln...
Dear Editor,
Allow me the space to add my few cents in response to Mr. Lincoln Lewis’s recent letter on the state of freedom and development of Afro-Guyanese.
Contrary to Mr Lewis’s assertions, I have seen serious efforts by this government to ensure that Afro-Guyanese benefit equally from the nation’s resources. Some of these efforts manifest themselves in government scholarships, skills training, the distribution of house lots, increases in salaries and benefits for public sector employees, and various cash grants such as the “Because We Care” grant for every school-aged child.
Additionally, the government has empowered Afro-Guyanese through numerous business opportunities and job creation, including positions within the Cabinet, as Permanent Secretaries and as heads of various government agencies. More Afro-Guyanese businesses — small, medium, and large — have been established, and continue to thrive under the PPP/C administration than during the tenure of Lewis’s party.
The government’s commitment to economic empowerment is evident in the creation of initiatives aimed at fostering business development and supporting entrepreneurs within Afro-Guyanese communities.
The distribution of Emancipation funds to all Afro-Guyanese groups and the active participation of President Ali and his Cabinet members in Emancipation celebrations across the country show, in my view, the government’s dedication to honouring and uplifting Afro-Guyanese culture and heritage. Unlike previous administrations, the current government has demonstrated a consistent presence and engagement in these significant cultural events.
Further, numerous communities across the country have benefitted from unprecedented investment in roads, recreational spaces, and other infrastructure. But more so, communities inhabited by Afro-Guyanese, in which the opposition gains significant support, have benefitted. Sophia, Albouystown, East and West Ruimveldt in Georgetown, along with communities in New Amsterdam and Linden are but a few that come to mind.
A point to note is that while Lewis paints a façade of concern for the interests of Afro-Guyanese, he sought to bully an entire Afro-Guyanese community from land they own and occupied for decades. In fact, he was even charged for assaulting a few of them.
Lewis’s party, while in government, increased land rental fees by as much as 400% in some instances, placing severe hardships on many Afro-Guyanese farmers without even a squeak of objection from Lewis. It is this very government that reversed that increase, in addition to the increases in over 200 taxes and fees imposed by his party while in government, which brought untold suffering on Guyanese of all ethnicities.
This PPP/C government, led by Dr Irfaan Ali, has done way more for all Guyanese, inclusive of Afro-Guyanese, in the short period that it is in office. Way more than Lewis’s party has done for the 33 years it has held the reins of government.
Sincerely,
Brian Azore
