People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Leader, Aubrey Norton has opined that Guyanese are “worse off” than they were under the presidency of his predecessor, David Granger.
Norton, during his appearance on “Politics 101” with Dr David Hinds on Thursday night, said that his recent meetings abroad have revealed that many in the diaspora are craving change.
“People in the diaspora want change. They would like to see a new government. I think people in the diaspora, many of them want to come home, but they don’t seem intent on coming home while this government is in power. The feedback I got from them is that they are prepared to support us to do the work to ensure that we have a government that is accountable [and] transparent,” Norton said.
The PNCR Leader said that some in the diaspora would prefer if the PPP/C “go its way” and to have the country “return to a government that looks after the interest of the people, rather than a government that is focused on itself and making a few rich while the majority of the Guyanese people suffer”.
He then said, “I think all and sundry agree that Guyana today is worse off under the PPP than it was under the APNU+AFC.”
Norton’s comments come against the backdrop of the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C)’s removal of numerous tax measures that were imposed by the Granger-led administration.
The government also resuscitated the “Because We Care” cash grant to schoolchildren, which had been removed by the APNU+AFC government. It has since been increased to $25,000 in 2022, with the promise of it being further increased to $50,000 at the end of this government’s five-year term.
Increases were also made to the school uniform allowance, pension and public assistance.
The government so far provided 6,000 Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) scholarships, with an investment of $1 billion, and has budgeted an additional $1.3 billion this year to finance 4,500 more scholarships.
It also restored 2,000 community service officers to Indigenous communities, after the Coalition government laid them off. This year, the government intends to increase the number of CSOs to 2,500.
The government also gave out more house lots in the past two years than the coalition did in its entire term, and has budgeted enough money to prepare infrastructure for about 30,000 house lots.
While the cost of living remains an issue, the government has budgeted $5 billion to address cost of living, which has risen significantly following disruptions to the global supply chain brought on by the Ukraine/Russia war and the pandemic.
The government has also announced plans to reopen sugar estates that were shuttered under the Granger government.
