Poverty increasing faster than Guyana’s growth – Opposition Leader

Jul 18, 2023 ExxonMobil, News, Oil & Gas

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…cites Govt.’s failure to improve salaries

Kaieteur News – Although Guyana has been dubbed the fastest growing economy on Earth with projections this year of 25.1 percent, the country’s people are still living under extreme poverty, Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton has said.

Norton made the comments during an A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Local Government Elections (LGE) “Victory” Rally at the Stabroek Market Square, Georgetown on Sunday. At the end of 2022, the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 62 percent, with its oil sector accounting for 50.8 percent.

Even with the significant levels of increase the country is experiencing, citizens have been struggling to make ends meet as the cost-of-living spirals. During his address to a sizable gathering of party supporters decked in green t-shirts, Norton shared that he recently conducted a visit to Farm, East Bank Demerara where millions are being expended to develop the infrastructure there. Additionally, he pointed out that new roads recently completed by the administration are already deteriorating while the bridges are ‘shaky’ after billions of dollars have been spent to date.

Norton explained: “they are saying they spent billions but they are wasting tax payers’ money. They can take a part of the corruption money, and I want to say this, we will be able to pay our workers very good if we reduce PPP corruption. They are so corrupt that about 25 percent of this economy goes to corruption and it doesn’t need 25 percent of the economy to give our people better wages, to give our people better water.”

With the quality and availability of water on a notable decline, the Leader of the Opposition reasoned, “if part of that corruption money goes to the people of Guyana, we would be able to reduce poverty.”

He was keen to note, “Is it not interesting that we are boasting that we are the fastest growing economy in the World and poverty increasing faster? You just have to walk Regent Street in the night and there are more people living on the paves on Regent Street than people living in houses on Regent Street and we are the fastest growing economy.”

Norton told the gathering that measures can be taken to reduce the cost of living and poverty levels in the country, however the Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo for instance believes that increasing public servant wages will result in inflation. To this end, he explained, “That is only true if you don’t increase production, but if you increase wages and producing more goods and services, the money will be able to absorb it and not result in inflation so we mustn’t be fooled…”

The Opposition believes that Guyana presently has the resources needed to ensure its people enjoy a better life. Norton urged that there are a number of areas that can be improved. “I said before, on returning to government, the APNU will establish a national school transportation system so that our children can get to school free of cost. We will do two nutritious meals so our children can get breakfast and lunch and don’t tell me we don’t have money to do it, we have money, Guyana can afford it but the People’s Progressive Party wants to keep people oppressed.”

He added that while the government is preparing to spend billions on a Gas to Energy (GTE) project to reduce the cost of electricity, he believes the initiative is likely to fail, like similar ventures undertaken by the government. “We must note that he (Jagdeo) is incompetent, he has not one single successful project to his name. He virtually destroyed the NIS (National Insurance Scheme), he singlehandedly destroyed the sugar sector…he got billions of dollars from the EU (European Union) to diversify sugar, help sugar workers and what he did? He wasted it on the Skeldon Factory that has produced nothing until now.” In addition, Norton said Jagdeo told the Guyanese that a fiber optic cable to link the country via internet also failed after billions were spent by the PPP; similarly, a modern packaging factory at Enmore failed.

With revenue from oil production available to the administration, the Opposition Leader is confident that the country and its people can be developed with robust policies and programmes. Norton was keen to point out that over US$1 billion in oil revenue was already spent by government; however, none of the resources reached Guyanese. To this end, he committed that his party would implement a policy for each household to benefit from $1 million. He did not indicate how often the money would be transferred but urged Guyanese not to be persuaded by “a $5000 here, a $10,000 there and then they steal billions over there.”

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• Growth, Infrastructure, oil, poverty, revenue

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