The People’s Progressive Party will be formally launching its manifesto for the next year’s March 2 General and Regional Elections sometime in January. This was revealed by General Secretary of the PPP, Bharrat Jagdeo. However, he told reporters at his weekly press conference on Thursday that before the manifesto launch, the Party will be doing a “soft launch” to share some of its policies and measures. “We are gonna put out a summary version earlier… I believe sometime next week you will have this. I haven’t decided on the format yet because it’s not the [full] technical version. It will give you a synopsis of our policies in almost every area of government but it’s not the technical version as yet which will be launched in January,” Jagdeo stated. The General Secretary noted that the “soft launch” is likely to be done at a press conference, which will feature the Party’s Presidential Candidate, Dr Irfaan Ali, along with a few other key members. Then, at the technical launch in January, there will be presentations explaining PPP’s plans for the various sectors in great detail. The PPP has already been giving people an insight into its vision and policies for the future of the country and its people since August. Jagdeo had previously explained that the manifesto is being rolled out in phases. The first version of the manifesto will be in the form of posters circulating, containing some of the policies the Party plans to institute immediately upon taking office. The second phase will be a more popular version of the manifesto, while the final version will be a detailed technical document. Already, the PPP has published on its social media accounts several of these posters, outlining the removal of Value-Added Tax (VAT) on key areas such as electricity, water and healthcare. The VAT on farming, mining and forestry equipment will also be reversed, it promises. Also high on the Party’s agenda is the reversal and/or reduction of the over 200 tax measures imposed by the coalition administration, such as on building materials, data and exports. Another area much emphasis will be placed on is the education sector, which will see 20,000 online scholarships. This will be in addition to plans to offer free university education within its five-year term in office as well as to write outstanding UG loans. Other areas the PPP plans to address when it gets into office include reducing the age limit on the importation of vehicles, which will take more than $1 million off the current cost of vehicles and, thus, be more affordable for Guyanese. Added to this is the restoration of the Joint Services bonus as well as support for small businesses via grants and interest-free loans to promote entrepreneurship. The PPP will also roll out an extensive plan on how Guyanese will benefit from the riches expected from the impending oil and gas sector, as well as outline plans for the security sector with clearly defined strategies to tackle the various forms of crimes. PPP to launch full elections manifesto in January PPP Presidential Candidate, Dr Irfaan Ali Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo
