…promises 50,000 jobs, concessions to service industry
As plans are apace to conclude and formally present its manifesto for the upcoming elections in Guyana, the PPP already has major plans for the oil and gas industry, which also include the active participation of all leading political parties.
This is according to Opposition Leader, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, who at his weekly press conference on Thursday, stated that once the PPP is returned to office there is much in store for the country’s oil and gas industry.
He stated that this industry should not be politicised and that the PPP will ensure that that it is going to be managed in a “bi-partisan way”.
According to Jagdeo, regardless of what advice the PPP would receive about the oil and gas industry, once in government again, it will make the final decisions that are “appropriate for our country” and that reflect the best interests of Guyanese not foreign companies.
“We are not slaves to consultants who often work for oil companies…we have done a lot of in-house studies so far and have been comparing with other countries.
We will seek technical advice at some points but the final decisions will be made by the Government of Guyana.”
The Opposition Leader also pointed out that his Party has been working extensively on local content policies in relation to the oil and gas industry that can be implemented once it is returned to power.
“Benefits must be felt by all people wherever they live.
Benefits should not be just for a few folks or for those who are wealthy but should benefit everyone from every sector…every ethnic group, every class,” he added.
During his engagement with the media, Jagdeo also offered snippets of some of the plans his party will be making on the campaign trail for the next elections.
Like the party’s presidential candidate, Jagdeo reiterated that the PPP would create 50,000 new jobs once elected to office.
He related that the party will be relying mainly on the oil sector for such an undertaking.
“For those who think this is an ambitious number, the 50,000 jobs, this is a conservative number because we believe we can do much better because of the incentive programmes that we are working on”, Jagdeo said.
The Opposition Leader said his party is currently working on a package of incentives to support job creation and that will cover all sectors of the economy.
He promised that an Irfaan Ali led government would offer certain concessions to the service industry to get that industry to also assist in job creation.
