PPP/C plans overhaul of housing, utilities, local Government efficiency – Jagdeo

Speaking at his weekly press conference on Thursday, General Secretary (GS) of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and Vice President (VP) Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, said while the PPP/C has delivered more than 50,000 house lots and homes, the Government’s ambitious housing programme was slowed by limited local contractor capacity, adding that contractor capacity, agency responsiveness, and electricity supply are areas requiring urgent improvement in the party’s next term.
He explained that the administration’s target of more core homes and young professional houses could not be met because builders were already “stretched to the max”. With a new target of 40,000 homes over the next five years, he stressed the need to strengthen capacity within the construction sector.
Jagdeo also highlighted the need for greater accountability and efficiency among Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) and Town Councils. He said citizens often complained of being given the run-around at these agencies, with many basic services such as garbage collection, drainage clearance, and cemetery upkeep left undone.
“We said before – we’re going to strengthen the local Government bodies and put more resources there, but they have to do the things that they are supposed to do: pick up the garbage, keep the drains clean, and cut the bush in the cemeteries and stuff like that. They don’t do these things. And sometimes they sit on the money. You know the $30 million for this year; we moved from $5 million to $30 million in subvention. You know, many of the NDCs have not started their spending for the year as yet. We’re already in August, and they haven’t even touched a cent of the $30 million that they got in subvention, which was supposed to be for clearing the drains and helping them to pick up the garbage and all of those things. So greater efficiency at every level of the Government [is necessary],” Jagdeo said.

Utilities
On the economic side, Jagdeo underscored the importance of expanding financial inclusion. He noted that residents in many hinterland and rural areas are unable to access banks, making digital banking solutions a critical step forward. Telecommunications, he said, must also improve, especially in remote regions where internet and mobile coverage remain unreliable, despite sector liberalisation.
“Something that personally I would like to see improve – we’ve had great growth in internet, but again in the hinterland communities – is telecommunication. We liberalised telecommunication and got more fibre optic cables in… But when I go to Lethem, I have a GTT phone; I can’t use it. I can’t use my GTT phone… If you have a national licence, you should be providing services. And that’s why I’ve spoken about this; the Public Utilities Commission should have a hearing. People should, when they’re paid, get a particular quality of service,” the General Secretary explained.
Addressing electricity generation, Jagdeo noted that keeping pace with surging demand has been a persistent struggle. He blamed the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Administration for abandoning critical projects, including hydropower and solar initiatives, which left the PPP/C to inherit an outdated grid when it returned to office in 2020.
Since then, nearly 200 megawatts of new capacity have been added through power ships and new plants, with grid upgrades ongoing. However, Jagdeo stressed that a long-term, definitive solution is necessary to stabilise supply as Guyana’s economy expands.
“We’ve had a tough time keeping pace with the growing demand for electricity and making the transfer. APNU did absolutely nothing; you check. Nothing on the grids, and [they] didn’t buy any power plant, didn’t put in any capacity that you could speak of… We put in nearly 200 megawatts of capacity through the power ships and buying new plants. We are upgrading the grid. We struggle. Hopefully, we’d be able to solve that definitively in the next term. These are some of the things – just some of them – that we would have hoped to improve,” he added.