“Opposition wants power through the back door” – Minister Ali tells Leguan residents

BY MICHAEL YOUNGE

Housing and Water Minister Irfaan Ali

Housing and Water Minister Irfaan Ali has warned residents of Leguan, Region Three of suspicious moves by the opposition political parties to gain power though the back door.
Speaking at a Cabinet outreach meeting on Saturday, Ali said, “People took us for granted at the last elections… they did not listen… they experimented and decided to stay home and now our tasks are made more difficult as the opposition continues to seek to sabotage development in Guyana… they want power through the back door.”
The minister further pointed out that the administration has continuously exposed the lies and schemes of the opposition even in a hostile media environment that appears to be executing the agenda of the opposition.
“They are playing with your psyches; they are playing a game of political warfare with your minds. They want you to believe that we are corrupt. They want you to believe that we don’t care about your needs, but it is the opposition that is thirsty for power and cannot be trusted with your votes… take a look at the assault taking place in Parliament,” the minister argued.
Minister Ali also said that President Donald Ramotar wants to hear the concerns of ordinary citizens and to address them, dispelling rumours that he was not in tune with the problems affecting his people.
“We, in the PPP, have a time-honoured tradition of listening to your concerns, and yes, sometimes, we take a while to address them all, but we will work with you for our collective good,” Ali reiterated. “We are a party and government of principle. We will not uphold any injustices and we will certainly never launch any assaults on the working people of this country,” the minister said sternly when questioned about reports that NIS was in crisis and is on the verge of collapse.
“NIS is in a healthy financial state, but what the opposition media and politicians wouldn’t tell you that, they want us to raise the age of receiving a pension from 60 to 65. They want us to ask you to pay more NIS, but we will never do it, and similarly, NIS will never collapse under this PPP government,” Ali said in a passionate reply.
Questioned about the government’s position on allegations against Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, Ali said “we are standing with Minister Rohee and by Minister Rohee”, contending that the Alliance For Change (AFC) and the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) are peddling lies and misinformation to implicate the minister for what happened in Linden, and for the populace to believe that he is performing poorly as a minister.

A resident raising a concern at the Leguan meeting

“I promise you that our administration will save no effort or energy to safeguard democracy and justice in Guyana. We understand you, our people, and we will never abandon working with the opposition even as they appear indiscipline and politically-corrupt… The business of the people must go on,” he argued.  “Tomorrow after all of the wicked plots and scheming by the opposition, it will be business as usual as Guyanese are now seeing them for who they are,” he said when asked about the prospects of snap elections.

Addressing
residents’ concerns
The outreach was part of a wider government programme to reach out to residents and address problems affecting them.  The outreaches, according to Housing and Water Minister Ali, are also focused on ensuring that the local government system is functioning and responding to the needs of the various constituencies.
“These outreaches aim at bringing more relief and services to communities that may have not received goods and services in the manner that they would have wanted from both the local government system and central government.” He said that the administration was concerned about its people and wanted to ensure that all citizens are kept abreast with new government initiatives, policies, and governance issues across the country.
The human services and social security, agriculture, culture, youth and spoart, tourism, industry and commerce, local government, legal affairs, labour and finance ministers also visited Wakenaam, Region Three, on Sunday.
A host of concerns related to drainage and irrigation, agriculture and local government were raised with Minister Ali during his visit to Leguan. In response, Ali promised residents that he would personally seek to ensure that all of their issues are addressed in record time, noting that most of the concerns are valid.
He did flay some regional officials for not addressing some of the issues off the bat, explaining that some residents felt neglected because of the breakdown of communication that existed, or the lack thereof.
Minister Ali also strongly reiterated the notion that the government will stand by principle, stating that it was elected to serve and bring development to the country and will do exactly that, despite the political and other challenges that may be at its doorsteps.  He warned residents not to become frustrated and abandon the process of working together, and assisting central government to address their concerns because of the politics that are taking place at national level.  The housing minister urged residents to strengthen their resolve and become motivated to create change, thereby leading to further transformation of their island.