General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, wants the citizens of the nation’s capital city to give party a chance to govern their affairs at the local level.
At a rally in Ruimveldt on Thursday night, Mr. Jagdeo said a PPP-led Georgetown city council will enjoy the support of central government.
Historically, the Municipality of Georgetown has been won overwhelmingly by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), which is the major party in the APNU coalition.
Jagdeo is hoping citizens of Georgetown will make a switch to the PPP on Monday.
“It is a big task but it is up to you the city. Give us one chance…give us this chance to show the residents of Georgetown what we are about. Give us one chance, and if that happens, they will have our full support, they will have our full support, so everything depends on you,” the Vice President said.
As he shared the stage with former City Mayor, and former long-time member of the PNCR, Patricia Chase-Greene, the General Secretary of the PPP/C assured the residents that there will be no increase in rates and taxes under the PPP.
“They could not have accomplished this plan is because we file a no-confidence motion, and then we won, in 2020. They were planning to increase, rates and taxes throughout the country. Then we said, we are not in favor of any increases in rates and taxes and today, I stand here again, and say we are not going to do that, regardless of the lies they are telling the people of Georgetown,” Mr Jagdeo said.
His assurances come at a time when many municipalities, even with the support of government subvention, continue to struggle financially due to a shortage of revenue.
He also said there will be no new valuation of properties in the city, and therefore, no increase in rates and taxes, even as more and more high-rise buildings continue to be erected all across in the city.
Jagdeo said development will be taken to many communities across the city.
“South Georgetown is going to be the epicentre of change, development here, because, with all the roads that we are building, and the drainage system, you will start seeing businesses shifting to this area. As you drive down the road, maybe five minutes from here, you will have an international hotel, a new hospital, several shopping malls, just five minutes away, that will start transforming this whole area,” Mr Jagdeo said.
Former City Mayor, now PPP Candidate Patricia Chase-Greene, who was embroiled in the Parking Meter scandal, took no blame last night for that fiasco, but instead blamed the former government.
Although she played a leading role in the negotiations for the parking meter contract and defended it to its death, the former Mayor denied being corrupt.
“If I corrupt, then all of them corrupt,” Chase-Greene said.
Chase-Greene said she has no apology for crossing over to the PPP/C. According to her, it was a conscious decision. Although she is a candidate for the PPP in Monday’s elections, she has been placed on the party’s proportional representation list, and not its constituency list.
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