Granger urges PNC/R to keep positive attitude ahead of announcement of elections date

Aug 27, 2019 News

Vowing that his Government will return to office, President David Granger on Saturday urged supporters of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) to keep a positive outlook ahead of the announcement of the date of the next polls.

President David Granger during an address to PNCR supporters at the General Council on Saturday

A section of the gathering at General Council

During the PNC/R‘s General Council meeting on Saturday at the Party Headquarters, Congress Place, Sophia, Granger told supporters “when we (the Coalition) return to office after the next General and Regional elections, we will continue the work we started in 2015.”
Looking ahead to General and Regional elections, the President called on Guyanese to be vigilant.
He said, “we have to build a more equal society. We cannot allow the agents of division to separate us.” The President warned, “These elections can be used as an instrument to separate our people; to divide our people and we must not allow that to happen.”
Giving an overview of the current political situation in Guyana and addressing interim status of the government, the President said, “We are observing the rules and convention which govern Interim Administrations. So as far as the executive branch is concerned, we are still functional, we are still the government.”
On the matter of General and Regional elections, the Party Leader iterated that it was GECOM that have the responsibility to indicate to the President when it was ready to hold elections.
He further reminded that the Constitution mandated that; “the Commission shall exercise general direction and supervision over the registration of electors and administrative conduct of all elections of members of the National Assembly.”
He urged PNCR members to remain in campaign mode.
Granger said that Guyanese were looking to the PNCR for leadership. He said that over the past 62 years the Party (PNCR) had learned a lot of lessons.
According to the Party Leader, “many of historical detractors have become partners, because the PNC believes in inclusionary government… we (the PNC) are prepared to sit down with our former adversaries and work for the good of this country. We welcome all parties into our government, as long as they are committed to the development of our people.”
President Granger told the General Council that the next decade would be a decade of development.

“We are entering a decade of development; it is not a dream. Our decade of development must deliver a plan to transform Guyana, to deliver a good life for all, to give our children an opportunity to get off the streets and go to school; it must be a decade that gives young people jobs; it must be a decade in which rural and hinterland residents could enjoy similar access to public services.”
Outlining his vision for development, the President said, “Our vision is for a prosperous Guyana, with enough for everyone… to create a society in which all our children and all our old-folks could find that, they have a place and will not be shunned to the periphery of society.”
He said that there must be opportunity for all. “We must encourage our young people; people in the rural and hinterland communities to stick with our Party; our programme and our plan, to ensure that development is not for a few but for all,” the President said.
President Ganger reminded his Party’s General Council that the Constitution of Guyana ensures free education for all. The President said that free education was an entitlement and his party and government would not waiver from that responsibility.
The President said that part of the plan for the decade of development was to provide housing for all Guyanese. He said, “during the decade of development there must be a roof over every head…. when we speak of housing for all, we are not speaking of an impossible dream.”
As it regards the emerging petroleum sector, President Granger said that the proceeds would be used to re-energize the economy.
The President said, “The new resource will bring profit to the Guyanese people. We will set-up a sovereign wealth fund; we will ensure that the proceeds from that resource will benefit all the people; we will ensure that it becomes the trigger, the platform for economic development.” He said that the proceeds from the petroleum sector would go towards ensuring education and employment for all.