Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, during his press conference on Thursday, slammed Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton for his New Year message which he described as unrealistic and inconsistent with its track record in office.
“So what did he promise the people of the country? He promised large increases in wages,” Jagdeo said. The Vice President was keen to remind that the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) had promised back in 2015 “massive increase in wages.” Jagdeo outlined that in the five years of the previous administration, the increase in wages and salaries for public servants was far from what was promised in the manifesto.
In contrast, Jagdeo highlighted that the PPP-administration has surpassed what was done under the previous government. He said, “In terms of quantum of money, public servants now in these five years are earning $100 billion more than they were earning in 2020. So again, you hear this wild thing from them,” Jagdeo stated.
The Vice President also addressed promises made by Norton regarding subsidies and grants, particularly for children and housing. “They promised some child allowance. These are the same people who took away the children’s cash grant,” he pointed out. He added that the government intends to meet their promise of increasing the ‘Because We Care’ children’s grant to $50,000 within their five years. Notably, the government also recently introduced a deductible for either parent to claim an extra $10,000 tax deduction each month for every child.
Further, Jagdeo criticized the Opposition Leader’s stance on rent subsidies, contrasting it with the government’s housing policies. “Rent subsidy, I don’t know what’s this guy’s problem with people owning their own home. He just wants to give people a rent subsidy not own a house lot. So how much is he gonna give you $5-$10,000 a month but you can’t get a house lot,” he noted.
Jagdeo also pointed out that the government is spending about $5 million to develop a house lot which is then sold between $200,000 and $1.5 million. This he said is nearly $4 million in subsidy that results in citizens having ownership.
On Norton’s promise of free university education, Jagdeo argued that the government had already delivered on this which started last year with the student-loan write off and now advanced with the abolition of University of Guyana tuition fees starting this year.
Jagdeo also took a swipe at Norton’s remarks on infrastructure spending, labeling them contradictory. “New infrastructure targeting production, so this guy is saying we are spending too much money on infrastructure but he wants to spend on new infrastructure targeting production…” he said.
“But in any case, if you believe anything that the PNC or AFC says, given their track record, you need help,” he concluded.
