We have kept, and continue to keep our promises

Dec 02, 2018 APNU Column, Features / Columnists

From the fall of the Peoples Progressive Party-PPP- in May 2015, Guyanese have been fed a daily dose of cynicism, criticism, doom and gloom, via its ‘one-man-band’ Bharrat Jagdeo. Daily, the disinformation service disseminates fake news and stirs-up hate, hostility and hopelessness among the gullible.
The PPP’s strategy, in or out of government is to deliberately manipulate certain sections of our society to ensure that they remain, distrustful, disrespectful and scared. Thankfully, most Guyanese are committed to working towards and unified Guyana.
Thankfully, the APNU+AFC coalition has been making every effort and are committed to working towards a unified Guyana. The government, over the past three years, has worked assiduously to ensure that Guyanese have a better understanding and appreciation of each other, so as to forge consensus and ultimately, a united and developed Guyana. In 2015, we made several promises to the nation and we have kept and continue to keep those promises.
One of the first issues we promised to address was the reduction of the Berbice Bridge toll. On January 1, 2016, the toll was reduced from $2200 to $1900 for passenger cars and buses, along with a 10 percent reduction for all other classes of vehicles.
We promised that we would significantly increase the salaries of government workers and civil servants on the traditional payroll. We have kept our promise; over the past three years the minimum wage has rapidly increased by nearly 52 percent from $39,570, in 2015, to $64,200 in 2018. It took the PPP/C administration nine years to move the minimum wage by a similar percentage, or from $26,070, in 2006 to $39,570, in 2015. In the 2019 budget salaries have once again been increased, and the Minister of Finance has assured that all workers can expect salary increases going forward.
We promised a phased reduction in the Value Added Tax, and removal of VAT from food and other essential items –that promise has been kept.
We promised a significant increase in old age pension. Old age pension has been increased by over 30 percent, from $13,125 to $20,500; just like we promised.

We promised a reduction in the President’s pension and other benefits. The seriousness of our commitment to keeping this promised was evident, as the Former Presidents’ (Benefits and other Facilities) Amendment Act was among the first to be brought to the 11th Parliament, and passed by Members of the National Assembly and assented by President David Granger.
There was also the establishment of Passport offices in Berbice, Linden and Essequibo. Gone are the long lines and crowds that gathered daily at the passport office in Georgetown. Under the leadership of the Minister of Citizenship, there are now passport offices in Linden and New Amsterdam.
The government will soon establish passport offices in the Pomeroon-Supenaam (Region Two), Cuyuni-Mazaruni (Region Seven) and Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo (Region Nine) Regions by the end of 2019 fiscal year. This is in keeping with the Administration’s vision of decentralising vital public services in capital towns. Here again we have kept our promise.
We promised to set the date for the early holding of local government elections. In March 2016, less than one year after entering office, local government elections were conducted, after an absence of two decades. This year local elections were held as constitutionally due. We also operationalised as promised, the Local Government Commission Act of 2013.
We promised to establish as mandated by the Constitution, the Public Procurement Commission. In October 2016 we kept this promise and Guyana finally, made a major breakthrough with the handling of its state contracts.
Implementation of an amended Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act was another promise made and kept. This Act was passed on August 4, 2017 and assented by President Granger on August 22, 2017.
We promised the adaption of a long-term sustainable economic development plan to realise the vast potential of this country. The establishment of Guyana’s Green State Development Strategy is meant to be a national development plan, providing long-term vision and guidance for Guyana’s economic, social and environmental development. The Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) will guide Guyana’s economic and sociocultural development over the next 20 years.
We promised that we would address the crime situation in Guyana and we have kept that promise. Serious crime continues to be on the decrease, but we will continue to work to provide a safer environment for all, as there is more work to be done.
We promised to increase surveillance of our territorial waters to decrease the growing incidents of piracy and armed robbery during the PPP years. We have kept that promise.
The PPP failed to encourage the greater use of solar and other renewable forms of energy. We promised we would pursue renewables and we have. Mabaruma now has a $264M- 400-kilowatt solar farm. Other solar farms are slated for Lethem in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo); Mahdia in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Bartica in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni). These farms are anticipated to generate 800; 400, and 1.5 kilowatts of electricity respectively. A wind farm is also in the pipeline.
We promised Guyanese a good life and we continue to deliver on that promise. The establishment of the four new capital towns have served to decentralise public service to residents in the Regions where those towns are located.
We promised to increase access to reliable potable water. Now, for the first time, thousands of residents in all the administrative regions, are able to access potable water in their homes.
Many areas have benefited from improved street lighting. Over 10,000 units of LED street lamps valued at US$1,329,984 have replaced current streetlights in several areas, this is an ongoing programme that will deliver improved street lighting to all regions of Guyana.
Thousands of residents of the East Bank Berbice will soon be able to travel to their destinations with ease. The APNU+AFC coalition promised the residents that we would build a modern asphalt road and we kept that promise. The $1.2 Billion road rehabilitation project is near completion, after years of neglect by the PPP.
The list of accomplishments of this administration will take several columns to document. We continue, despite the disinformation, fake news and the doom and gloom messages from the sidelines, to serve the people of Guyana.
We are proud that unlike previous administrations, the APNU+AFC coalition has kept the promises we made to the people of Guyana, and we will continue to work for a better life for all Guyanese.