Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton is accusing Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo of attempting to distract the attention of citizens from the high cost of living that they are facing and other issues plaguing the society.

On Thursday, the Vice President declared that his party is on firm footing as it prepares for the upcoming local government elections in June. He also spoke about the party fulfilling many of its manifesto promises over the past two years.

But in a statement this morning in response to the Vice President, Opposition Leader Norton said Mr. Jagdeo needs to face and address the real issues affecting citizens and the issues that people are more concerned about.

“He wants to distract from the high cost of living. We gave him a number of proposals in the budget, to deal with the high cost of living, we gave him a number of proposals in the budget to deal with poverty, but they cannot. Because they are so greedy, they are focusing everything on infrastructure, so that they can enjoy the corruption that comes with that”, Norton said.

The Opposition Leader said the Vice President is also trying to turn away attention from the multi-million US dollar contract that the Government has signed with a German company for the new E-Identification card. He hinted at corruption being evident in that transaction since from all appearances the project could have been secured for half of the price.

Mr. Norton also attacked the Vice President on the issue of race and discrimination. He said those are issues that must be addressed.

“He is trying to shift away and distract people from the fact that the government under consistent criticism for its racism. Buseing cannot remove the fact that this government is racist and is discriminating against people”, Norton declared.

The Government has repeatedly rubbished claims of racism and discrimination, and has pointed to its infrastructure work and other activities being spread out across the country.

Still, the Opposition Leader said the Vice President and the Government need to begin leveling with the people of Guyana and put systems in place to assist them to get out of poverty and suffering.

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