VP Jagdeo slams APNU, AFC for pretentiousness, tax hypocrisy

…says Opposition attempting to rewrite history, highlights PPP’s tax cuts, economic gains

Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo has launched a blistering rebuttal of recent comments made by the political opposition on taxation and fiscal policy, accusing the former A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) of “fake sophistication” and gross hypocrisy.
Speaking during his most recent press conference, Jagdeo dismissed their critiques of the Government’s handling of public funds, calling out what he described as attempts to rewrite history and deceive the public on their own tax legacy.

“They have two problems. One is the nonsense that they talk about like taxation and two about their credibility or the believably of what they say because they can say anything like they did in 2015 and then come into Government and arrogantly institute a whole new range of policies. Contrast that with the PPP what we said, we said that we will lower the taxes and remove all these taxes and you’ll see that we have done so,” Jagdeo declared.
The VP made these remarks during his weekly press conference on Thursday last, where he reminded that it was the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) that “consistently kept its promises”—removing or lowering taxes that were previously imposed on essential goods and services. On this point, he emphasised that under the PPP/C administration, Guyanese now enjoy a broader tax relief regime while experiencing economic growth reflected in increased disposable income, higher levels of savings, and consumer spending.
“If you look at the banking system today, aggregate deposits—both corporate and individual—have grown massively,” he said. “That’s a real indicator of growing prosperity. It doesn’t mean everything is perfect, but the overall trend is clear.”
Taking aim at the AFC’s recent criticism on governance and tax policy, Jagdeo said their posture is as hollow as it is dishonest. “Them talking about governance is like Lucifer going to heaven to lecture angels on how not to sin,” he quipped. He reminded the public that it was the former APNU+AFC Coalition Government that imposed Value Added Tax (VAT) on critical services and goods, including electricity, water, education, and even travel to the hinterland, taxes the PPP/C has since reversed.
“These are the people who passed almost 200 tax and fee increases during their time in office,” Jagdeo stated, adding that they generated an additional $94 billion annually through new taxes, yet still claimed to be broke. “They did not prioritise spending on people. They were doctrinaire, following old foreign tax policy recommendations without adapting them to our national context.”
Further, he went on to contrast the APNU+AFC’s capital expenditure record with that of the PPP/C, pointing out that the coalition’s capital budgets were consistently lower than the PPP’s final budget in 2014. This, he argued, indicated a neglect of infrastructure and a misallocation of public resources, with the coalition favouring increased recurrent expenditure—particularly on Government consumption—rather than investing in long-term national development.
“They spent less on schools, hospitals, roads, and sea defences, and more on rent, vehicles, and food for Government offices. That’s where their priorities were,” Jagdeo asserted.