Dr Jagdeo slams opposition budget speeches as ‘delusional, dishonest’

General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has slammed opposition members, for yet another mediocre performance in the now concluded budget debates, as ‘delusional and dishonest’.

Speaking with journalists on Thursday, Jagdeo expressed that the presentations were such of poor quality, he felt unmotivated to engage in the parliamentary debates.

One of the key criticisms highlighted, includes the random policy announcements, made by both junior and senior opposition members of parliament (MPs), without no form of coordination, logical structure or feasibility.

According to Jagdeo, when thoroughly examined, these announcements are merely contradictory and lack in-depth analysis.

This concurring theme, reflects the APNU+AFC’s incompetence in policy making, affecting their approach to governance, he stressed.

“How could you make all of these promises without even coordinating? He questioned.

“Because they have no intention of implementing any of them… if you look through the presentations and look at the contradictions and the wild promises – you can only conclude that this is a dysfunctional group,” he stressed.

The general secretary described the opposition as not just dysfunctional, but also delusional as they many members have distorted their view of reality in their presentations.

For instance, the APNU+ AFC claimed that the Guyanese people were living better lives in 2020, than they are today. This narrative was vehemently rubbished by Dr Jagdeo, describing it as absurd, since significant economic growth has been recorded under the PPP/C Administration.

“That is being delusional and that is the second broad theme of their presentation. You’ll find multiple expressions of it coming from multiple speakers,” he underscored.

GS Jagdeo also highlighted several instances where the opposition attempted to rewrite history, particularly the termination of nearly 2,000 young Community Service Officers in 2015.

Jagdeo made it clear that it was the coalition government which mercilessly terminated the young workers, claiming they were wearing red and campaigning for the PPP/C. This he underscored, was the one of the largest acts of discrimination against indigenous peoples.

“Because when you consider 1,972 persons losing their jobs immediately, versus the size of the Amerindian population, it is really one of the biggest acts of discrimination,” he pointed out.

He pointed to the opposition’s inability to demonstrate profound understanding of economic principles, which have led them to make incorrect statements.

Opposition members have repeatedly claimed the national debt is too high, but Jagdeo refuted this claim, informing reporters that the external debt has remained relatively stable since 1992.

As a matter of fact, Guyana’s overall debt-to-GDP ratio is described as one of the lowest in the world, having declined significantly over the years.

Importantly, Jagdeo, who also serves as vice president, stressed that the government’s borrowing strategy is not for consumption, like what the opposition did in government, but for investments in Guyana’s future and development.

“Our capacity to repay that debt has been vastly enhanced… but they keep repeating it and say ‘oh, we’re making a great point here. It’s not a great point; it’s stupid,” GS Jagdeo proclaimed.

The government’s historic $1.382 trillion budget makes significant provisions to enhance healthcare, education, and housing, with $175 billion, $143 billion and $112 billion earmarked respectively. These investments are designed to directly benefit citizens, through modern services and affordable housing.

And according to Dr Jagdeo, nearly all of the $500 billion in oil revenues, are funding investments in these three sectors alone.

While the opposition members continue to criticize the fiscal framework, they have failed to provide logical policy proposals, reflecting their ability to understand economic policy, he stressed.

Against this backdrop, he noted that the opposition is simply not fit to govern, which is reflected by their mediocre performance during the important debates.