Weeks after he led a government outreach to Linden, Region 10, Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo on Friday reassured residents that the government will deliver on all promises made, particularly as it relates to job creation and wider housing and infrastructural development.
But in offering those reassurances Jagdeo said residents must be wary of the manipulation of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) – the largest party in the APNU+AFC opposition coalition.
He accused Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton of seeking to discredit the government’s plans for development by countering them with lies, manipulation and promises that cannot be fulfilled.
The government in recent weeks has been visiting several regions in what Jagdeo said was would inform consultative and inclusionary policy decisions flowing directly from the concerns of people in the villages.
“We have seen that our outreach to Region 10 particularly caused a lot of grief in APNU,” Jagdeo said during a press conference from the Office of the President on Friday.
“They believe they own Region 10 and the fact is they controlled the council and region from independence, that’s a fact,” Jagdeo added.
He said regardless of the opposition’s influence in Linden, the government will ensure residents there benefit from wider national development.
He recalled promises by the government to offer scholarships to residents and said Norton’s claim that the APNU+AFC will open a university campus there if they get into government, is an empty promise.
“Berbice had a bigger population and we had a hard time sustaining a campus there… you have to look at the number of students generated continuously to justify entrance into a campus,” Jagdeo reasoned.
He said it was a manipulation that the APNU+AFC took no moves to open campus while in government.
Additionally, Jagdeo rubbished claims advanced by PNC Executive Jermaine Figueira that the PPP/C government was allocating lands through NICIL.
Jagdeo reminded that it was the APNU+AFC who allocated 216 acres of prime lands to former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield who is before the courts on charges of electoral fraud.
Additionally, Jagdeo said Figueira and a relative of his were allocated prime lands in Linden which was made public in a 180-page gazette after the March 2020 elections.
“Somebody with Figueira’s standing, with a lack of credibility shouldn’t even be talking about land allocations in Region 10. Land grabbing was done by Figueira.
“Their campaigns are based on lies to fool the people of Region 10.
Meanwhile, the Vice President said since the outreach to Linden, the PPP has been accused of falsely promising 800 part-time jobs. While admitting that three weeks have elapsed and the jobs have not been taken up, Jagdeo contended applications were received and the jobs will be allocated soon.
“They [APNU+AFC] took five years and they didn’t create 500 jobs in Linden… now they have a problem with our timeline, not the 800 jobs that will be created.”
He said the “entitled PNC” was not happy that people turned out to the meeting and now seeks to create confusion by spreading lies regarding the emotive issue of electricity subsidy.
“It’s a kind of prostitution, that’s what it is.
“That’s what it is, knowing it’s not true, preying on people’s concern and creating untold worry,” Jagdeo added.
He weighed in on the recent moves to dismiss over a dozen employees at the Linden Hospital and said it was the Minister of Health who intervened to overturn the decision by “the wild card guy” as he reference the Hospital’s Chief Executive Officer.
