UWe are on the right path

Jun 30, 2019 APNU Column, Features / Columnists

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The current political situation in Guyana presents a unique opportunity for us to judge those who want to lead us. In an address to the nation, minutes following the ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice – CCJ – President David Granger showed sober and mature leadership and exemplary statesmanship. President Granger said; “We respect the legal process and the decision of Caribbean Court of Justice, as well as, the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.
We did not believe that the no-confidence vote was valid, and neither did we believe it reflected the will of Parliament or the Guyanese people. We will however, accept and abide by, the Court’s decision.
It is now clear that the Guyanese people need certainty about the future and a way forward. I want to outline a clear path.
It is essential that we hold fair, free and credible elections. We cannot proceed on the current list of voters. It is outdated and corrupted. It may hold as many as 200,000 incorrect entries. What’s more, those who have reached the age of 18 years since the last election are not on it.
The Constitution entitles all citizens over the age of 18 the right to vote. It is a democratic imperative that house-to-house registration be completed swiftly so we can have an election at the earliest opportunity.
The Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, Justice Patterson, has previously informed me that the Commission will be ready to hold elections in November 2019. This will be after the completion of house-to-house registration. I now await a recommendation for a specific date from GECOM and I will then issue a proclamation.
We will be heading to the polls and there’s going to be a crucial choice for our citizens.
A choice to decide the future of our country and, most importantly, the future with regard to jobs, living standards, and education for our children.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently indicated that Guyana is on the right path in respect to our management of Guyana’s oil resources.
Guyanese will be given the choice to elect a government they trust to continue on this path, to keep Guyana moving forward, to secure a better life for every family with the united APNU+AFC coalition, or risk our future by returning to the past.
Guyana, since my election in 2015, has been moving in the right direction after 23 years of stagnation under successive PPP administrations.
Significant progress has been made. But real change is neither quick nor easy to come by.
There is still a lot more to do.
I will devote all my energies until the forthcoming election to serve our people and our country and deliver good governance.
Guyanese can confidently expect to live in a country that is moving forward; with communities that are safer; in a society that is more cohesive; with better infrastructure, greater access to quality education and an economy that is more resilient – providing better jobs.
We are on the right path.
When the election comes, I urge all our people, of whatever background, to support me and the APNU+AFC coalition to give us the opportunity to secure the best future for Guyana.
I call on all Guyanese to remain calm and I assure you that the Government will abide by the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana
The other person who is running for President is Mohamed Irfaan Ali, the People’s Progressive Party’s standard bearer. One would have thought that the PPP’s Presidential candidate would address the nation or the media on this most important national issue.
Make no mistake, we are heading to the polls, and the people of Guyana must make a decision on who is the best person to lead this nation.
Over the past four years Guyanese have had an opportunity to judge the current Commander in Chief. Guyanese have seen the steady leadership of David Granger and the decisions that he has made can all be examined by the electorate.
However, the PPP’s candidate Mohamed Irfan Ali has been ‘Missing in Action’ from day one. His role has been usurped. He has been literally silenced by the General Secretary of the PPP. Given the prominence that Jagdeo has assumed in the current political sphere, it might be easy for one to assume that he is the PPP’s Presidential candidate. However, the CCJ has spoken, Mr. Jagdeo cannot run for a third term as President of Guyana. Therefore, even though his opinions and his daily utterances take up copious column inches in the dailies, we must remember that Jagdeo will not and cannot be on the ballot.
This election will be a referendum on leadership and our future as a petroleum producing nation. If Mr. Ali is to be considered a credible candidate and not as some suggest the “puppet” of Bharrat Jagdeo, then he must face the media and answer the pertinent questions
If Mr. Ali is to be taken seriously as someone contending for the highest office in the land then he has to wrest the spotlight from Jagdeo and distance himself from his General Secretary’s failed presidency. We are sure that Ali has not forgotten the pattern of discrimination and poor governance that was rampant during the Jagdeo era.
Under Jagdeo’s leadership, the PPP ignored the issues of crime, poor infrastructure, sanitation, water-supply, electricity, and lack of recreational facilities in certain neighbourhoods, municipalities and regions. Individuals were victimised for speaking out against the PPP’s improprieties. Persons had their jobs taken away for blowing the whistle on government corruption. Jagdeo and the PPP dictatorship ruled in a manner which benefited only its closest friends, while those who opposed its discriminatory policies were deliberately punished. Thankfully, under the leadership of David Granger those days are gone.
In the words of our President, under his leadership and the APNU+AFC coalition;
“We are on the right path”.

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