General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, has again warned of the opposition’s deliberate attempts to sidetrack Guyanese from positive developments, making it clear that their tactics would be unsuccessful.
During a party conference on Thursday, Dr Jagdeo outlined a series of positive developments that are being undertaken to improve livelihoods, in an attempt to counter the heightened allegations of corruption.
These same regurgitated narratives are also being exemplified by certain sections of the media, as highlighted by the general secretary.
“You will see this picture being played out on a weekly basis and the deliberate attempt to divert people from comparing how their lives have changed,” he said.
Jagdeo is certain that these media houses and persons closely aligned with the opposition are intentionally pushing this narrative to prevent Guyanese from reflecting on the five years of struggles they experienced from 2015-2020 and drawing their own conclusions.
Since 2020, the government has placed significant focus on improving healthcare, education, and public infrastructure, providing employment opportunities and tertiary education for every Guyanese.
“These are the things that matter, but every week we do not hear a nuanced conversation taking place. It [always] about scandals and rumours. They have to find a lot of noise to make their case and they’re aided by the Kaieteur,” the GS asserted.
Billions of dollars have been spent to improve these services as part of the government’s staunch commitment to improving citizens’ livelihoods.
“So, what should the conversation be about today? he questioned, adding, ‘Why don’t they want to talk about…how has the PPP done in creating jobs versus APNU? And if you look at it objectively, you would find that 60,000 people are now working.”
It was further pointed out that it was the APNU+AFC coalition that was the most corrupt political organisation while in government, comparing their track record to that of the government.
For this reason, he rapped critics for failure to report on the corrupt practices which occurred under the coalition government, including the illegal sale of state lands and the award of contracts to families of sitting ministers.
Dr Jagdeo further pointed out the ongoing efforts and measures implemented by the government to improve the procurement system, and the establishment of regulations to prevent public officials from owning companies to benefit from contracts.
The government’s development blueprint is guided by their comprehensive 2020-2025 manifesto plan, of which 90 per cent of the commitments outlined have been fulfilled.