Ramotar on use of state resources: You want us to walk?

On Friday, Leader of the Opposition, David Granger raised concerns about the use of state resources by members of the government to conduct political campaign work for their party, the Peoples Progressive Party.

Granger said the PPP had started its campaigning for elections but has been using many of the state’s property to get around and to do their political work. On Saturday, the President sought to defend the use of state resources for political work by him and other members of his government.

Asked to comment on the concerns, Ramotar fired back with questions of his own. “So what do you want us to do, walk? You want the ministers to go and walk?”

APNU Leader David Granger said the President’s response should explain to the Guyanese people, “the man’s mindset”.

Mr. Granger said the President and his minister’s ought to be using the resources of the PPP when they are on the campaign trail for the party. “They should be using the resources of their party the same way the Leader of the APNU has to use the resources of the APNU for campaigning”, Granger countered.

He added that members of the PPP “have become accustomed to using state resources for party purposes”. He wants to see the practice come to an end.

Mr. Granger also believes that government initiatives such as the Clean Up My Country drive and the Ministry of Education’s cash grant are being used for what the APNU considers “vote-buying”.

Over the past two weeks, President Ramotar has been travelling to many of the interior locations for PPP campaign events using the Guyana Defence Force’s skyvan. He is expected to be his party’s Presidential Candidate for the next General Elections. On Saturday afternoon, he announced a decision to call elections early in the new year, but a date is still to be named.

Filed: 7th December, 2014