PRIME Minister Brigadier (Re’td) Mark Phillips has called on residents of Region 10 to support the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), framing the upcoming elections as a chance for personal upliftment, economic empowerment and self-development.
“This is the time for you to vote for personal upliftment; time for you to vote for economic empowerment, time for you to vote for self-development,” PM Phillips said while addressing a grand public rally at Lieu-Ken-Pen Square, Wismar, in Region Ten on Sunday.
Underscoring the PPP/C’s development track record, the Prime Minister highlighted major investments made in education, infrastructure, and clean energy.
These include billions channeled into the education sector to expand the school feeding programme, the construction of a new $2.66 billion secondary school and a $27 million contract signed for a large-scale solar farm.
The PPP/C administration, he said, has also mobilised over $160 million for road upgrades in the region, and has provided a $100,000 cash grant to citizens, a move he described as part of the government’s commitment to shared prosperity.
“The PPP/C is about growth; your growth, Guyana’s growth,” PM Phillips added, urging voters to back the party’s vision for inclusive national development.
He noted that the PPP/C is looking to secure a landslide victory in the region by acquiring seats in the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), which would allow the government to fast-track its economic agenda for the region and its residents.
Linden and the wider extension of Region 10 have always been a stronghold for the Peoples National Congress-Reform/ A Partnership for National Unity (PNC-R/APNU), and while the party currently holds the leadership of the region, the Prime Minister believes that a political shift is on the horizon, with the PPP/C gaining momentum through its policies and programmes.
To this end, the Prime Minister, in contrasting the track records of the two parties, reminded that though the APNU had once claimed love for the residents of Linden and region 10, this is not reflected in their lack of delivery to the region during their time in government from 2015 to 2020.
According to the Prime Minister, the then APNU+AFC coalition invested $4.2 billion in the region over five years, while the PPP/C has allocated $122.6 billion from 2020 to 2025.
“How can they claim to like you and yet spend so little money in Region Ten?” he said sarcastically, as echoes of chants and blow horns rang through the crowd.
The prime minister urged supporters to mobilise themselves as the date of the September 1 polls narrows: “Go quietly into the polling place; wake up early, wake up everybody, and go to the polling place and put the X next to the cup.”