Saying that it is fully convinced that more than ever the Alliance For Change (AFC) must fill the leadership vacuum in Guyana, the national executive council of the party met in Whim Village, Corentyne, Berbice on Saturday. It declared that among other things it has the key to the future of Berbicians and the whole of Guyana.
The party said together with all the peoples of this country, “we can move Guyana forward to realise its true potential as the bread basket of the Caribbean, the destination of choice for naturalists and a model for sustainable, ‘green’ development, and a land of opportunities for entrepreneurs and young people”.
The AFC declared that Berbice will be the pace-setter in the fight for multiracial tolerance and national unity where people would continue to reject voting along ethnic lines.
According to the party, one of its priorities if it gets into government is to ensure tertiary education is accessible in the rural areas and that the protection and promotion of the livelihoods of farmers, agro-processors, and all persons in the agriculture sector is guaranteed.
Reducing poverty through the creation of jobs with living wages; and providing adequate social development programmes to address senseless killings, suicide, drug addiction, alcoholism, and other social ills would be priorities, the party promised Berbicians.
The AFC has also proposed rapid economic growth by transforming the rural subsistence economy into one that manufactures value-added goods and services.
It also proposed setting up a sustainable power system through co-generation, alternative energy including agro-energy from the waste from the sugar cane and hydro- electricity facility to power industrialisation.
The party spoke about increasing the value chain in the sugar industry to produce ethanol to fulfil an E-10 policy (10 per cent ethanol in every gallon of petrol); refined packaged sugar; and less raw sugar. It said too that if elected, it would introduce mechanisation of the industry not to displace jobs but to train and upgrade cane cutters to operate machines at a better salary with better working conditions, saying that the back-breaking job of cut and load must incrementally end.
Crime-fighting
In the area of crime fighting, AFC said it will seek to reform the culture in the Guyana Police Force to ensure an attitudinal change that directs members to serve the needs of the people with dignity and with respect for the preservation of life.
The party proposes too to establish an anti-crime unit (ACU) comprising GDF and police in all police divisions to confront violent criminals. Besides, it will start a police/ school partnership programme to work with students to build stronger relationships between the police and the villages; fund programmes at the University of Guyana campus in Berbice to educate police officers on fighting crime, and offer diplomas in prosecution and paralegal services; while providing members of the police force with adequate pay and allowances and simultaneously enforcing a zero-tolerance policy on corruption involving law enforcement officers.
