Norton unveils People-Centred Development Strategy
-accuses gov’t of sharing resources in unfair way
Making his presentation on budget 2024, Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton yesterday unveiled a People-Centred Development Strategy (PCDS) which he said that an APNU administration will focus on if elected.
Norton believes that the PPP/C government is distributing Guyana’s resources in an “unfair way”, that is, to only a certain set of people in the country, as he called the 2024 budget one of “deceit” which sets out to fool the people of Guyana and make the average Guyanese believe that there is something in it for them, “there is nothing.”
According to him, while budget 2024 highlights several projects, the reality is that the government cannot complete those projects. Pointing to the Skeldon sugar and fibre optic cable projects, Norton said that if one is to judge the PPP/C on those projects then the gas-toenergy project is destined for failure.
“You are deceiving yourselves… People are worse off under this PPP/C administration, this budget deceives, government has no plan for this nation.”
He then stated that
Guyana’s problem is no longer a shortage of financial resources but rather it is who can best allocate those resources to ensure that all Guyanese benefit to improve their lives.
Making a plea to the Guyanese people, Norton said, “We in the Opposition offer ourselves to the people of Guyana as the ones who can do it with our People-Centered Development Strategy (PCDS) and vision that put the interest of our people first.”
Contending that the budget does not serve the people of Guyana and cannot reduce the cost of living and end poverty since it is designed for those who have more, Norton stressed “It is, for this reason, there is the need for our PeopleCentred Development Strategy.”
Zeroing in on the PCDS, he stated that it would put people first by utilizing the resources of Guyana to achieve the ultimate goal of providing a high quality of life to Guyanese through the direct and indirect transfer of resources, to educate them, support their mobilization
of resources to work, and for investments with the aim of alleviating and ultimately eradicating poverty while simultaneously resulting in the sustainable development of all communities and sectors of the Guyanese society as well as the promotion of good governance and the creation of a just and prosperous society.
“The PCDS will ensure that the needs of the people, such as health care, housing, water, electricity,
education, transportation, and other social services are of a high quality and guaranteed. It is only with such an approach in which we provide for those who have too little that we can be able to say we are progressing.”
According to him, the concern that his presentation expresses is the situation of the public servants who he said endured all sorts of inconveniences and hardships from inadequate wages, high prices, blackouts, water shortages, poor health services, and transport fatigue to keep the government functioning. “These should not be the hallmarks of the fastest-growing economy in the world, unfortunately, they are. Amidst the daily stresses of life, their patriotism and commitment to work continues to be abused by the government.”
Anti-middle class
He said the PPP/C has shown with this budget that they are anti-middle class and the working poor, stressing that 6.5% to public servants is unacceptable and that the income tax threshold should be raised to $150,000.
“That should be easy to do in this oil economy for some reason the government seems to not want to improve the life of the ordinary people”, as according to him “the wealth from oil is not reaching the people.”
He then stated that the country’s wealth must be used to promote unity and not divisiveness.
According to Norton, less than five years ago, it took 20 of the 29 industries to generate 90% of Guyana’s GDP, and now takes eight industries. “This means that 20 of our 29 public, private sector, or private-sector oriented industries now account for 10% of the national pie. It is necessary that we work assiduously to ensure the non-oil sector is expanded to reduce the dependence on oil and ensure we develop a resilient and diversified economy that could protect and serve the interest of future generations.”
Concentration
He opined that this concentration of income among a small number of industries has implications for how the resources of the country are being distributed among its industries and people. “This is a