Region 10 (Upper Demerara-
Berbice), Akanni Blair
On the heels of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) securing one seat on the Linden Municipality at the recently concluded Local Government Elections (LGE), that party has said it is looking forward to making a significant impact, geared along the lines of its campaign promises.
This was according to the Party’s Vice Chairman for Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Berbice), Akanni Blair, who noted that the party is jubilant, given the improvement in votes seen in the Region.
Blair said that while the Party lost constituency seats, the fact that the Party secured an increase in votes this time around is commendable.
“During our campaign, we would have distributed at length our plans, and we promised to stick to our campaign promises. The policies set out by the Party are going to be adhered to, basically to create a better Municipality for this town of Linden. We talked about greater transparency, we said that we would not increase any new taxes, and I hope that the one seat (would) be a strong opposition to those things that go contrary to those things that we would have talked about”, Blair said.
He added that while it may not be easy for one seat to be as effective, he believes that with reasonable fight, a lot can be achieved.
“So it is my hope that whoever that Councillor is, they are prepared to fight hard to maintain what the Party would have campaigned on”, he noted.
Further, he stated that the town, which has always been under the rule of the People’s National Congress (PNC) and the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), has seen little progress over the years .
He noted that while the PPP has been blamed for this while in Government, an examination of the facts would show that it was never in control of the Municipality nor the Regional Democratic Council (RDC).
“Even though we wanted to do so much while we were in Central Government, those efforts were stymied because we had to go through the Municipality or the RDC. Things of a capital nature that Central Government had direct responsibility for, we would have delivered”, he said.
As such, Blair remains positive that with an opportunity to manage the town from an advantageous position, things will be different.
Noting that Party Leader Bharrat Jagdeo is adamant about success, and has Linden at heart, he said the Party is going to deliver, once given the opportunity to do so.
“So I am expecting that the next time around we are given a bigger bite of the cherry”, he said.
Moving forward, the Party Vice Chairman posited that the PP will seek to improve on its campaign methods as well as logistical support. “I believe that the campaign in Linden should be covered in flamboyance. The Party did use another method, where they used a kind of low- key, house-to-house (strategy), and coming to the tail end of the campaign, we had our public meetings and so on. But I think those efforts at the tail end were a little too late. I believe that our campaign needs more financing”, he indicated.
Blair noted that despite this, the Party is excited about its prospects. He noted that the Party will take a more careful look at its methods, and implement changes for improvement in the next elections.
