A dramatic change took place on October 5, 1992 -- says PPP/Civic in anniversary message
IN A statement to mark its seventh anniversary in government, the People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/Civic) said that all Guyanese will recall the dramatic and historical change that took place in this country following free and fair elections. The PPP/Civic said that in the process of those elections, the Guyanese people put a decisive end to 28 years of dictatorship. The statement continued: "The PPP-Civic won a majority of the votes cast and formed the Government. The then General Secretary of the PPP, Dr Cheddi Jagan became President after having languished for nearly three decades in the opposition. That historic occasion heralded the Dawn of a New Era. "The PPP/Civic has been in office now for seven years, having in 1997, convincingly won the general elections in that year, and receiving 55.3 per cent of the votes cast. "Those elections saw Janet Jagan, widow of Dr Cheddi Jagan becoming President. "However, after 20 months in office and for health reasons, Mrs Jagan demitted office in favour of Mr Bharrat Jagdeo. "The PPP/Civic administration performed exceedingly well, in spite of natural setbacks and willfully instigated political turmoil, orchestrated by those in the opposition, who have vowed to "make the country ungovernable." "To all intents and purposes, Guyana not only remains governable, but continues in 1999, to be governed by the PPP/Civic. "Over the seven short years passed, there have been spectacular achievements in developmental works in the following areas: * drainage and irrigation facilities * expansion of education facilities * expansion of medical facilities * massive roads programme * fisheries, forestry, mining, marketing * rice, sugar, other crops, poultry, cattle. "Where the working class is concerned, there has been a massive increase in the minimum wage between 1993-1998. "Government through its acceptance of a recent arbitral award, is committed to paying to the public service in October, a 31.6 per cent increase in wages for 1999. Government is also committed to paying a further 26.6 per cent increase in 2000. "There has been accumulative growth in the Gross Domestic Product by some 43 per cent in spite of a negative 1.3 per cent growth experienced in 1998, due to natural disasters and to political unrest in 1997 and 1998. "Our foreign reserves, through thrift and prudent management of the economy, are over US$300M in 1999. Our currency is also stable, despite the financial turmoil in the money markets of the world and poor prices for our exports. "In addition, over 16,000 house lots have been distributed to date and thousands of acres of agricultural land distributed to tillers. "Rapid strides have been made in our roads programmes, including farm-to-market roads and access roads. The massive five-year US$25M Urban Development Programme, which caters for the six municipalities and includes road rehabilitation, gets into gear in 1999. "True to its principles, the PPP/Civic held local government elections in 1994, and would have held them again in 1999, were it not for opposition demands that they be postponed, as they were in 1997 and 1998 because of turmoil on the streets of Georgetown. The Elections Commission advised a postponement until the year 2000. "The PPP/Civic continues to welcome foreign investors into any part of the national economy; and stands prepared to negotiate mutually satisfactory agreements with these investors. "The PPP/Civic seeks the deepening of its policy of good neighbourliness with Brazil, Venezuela and Suriname; improved relations with all countries, particularly the western states. "It remains steadfastly committed to upholding international agreements with multilateral agencies, and to securing more debt relief from aid donors. "It remains committed to the rule of law, due process, and to crackdown on crime, corruption and illegal drugs. "It is determined to strengthen the law enforcement agencies, including the Police, the magistracy and the judiciary. It is also committed to carrying out the death penalty, which is provided for in the Constitution of Guyana. "In observance of this historic seventh anniversary, the PPP/Civic recommits itself to democracy, human rights, civil liberties, media freedoms, an open door economy, divestment and privatisation, constitutional reform, good governance, devolution of powers to Neighbourhood Democratic Councils, poverty alleviation, Amerindian lands demarcation, and to the accelerated development of the Amerindian people," the statement concluded.
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