VP dismantles Norton’s narrative of gov’t discrimination against Afro-Guyanese

—        Says Opposition Leader petty-minded, continues to peddle lies for political clout

Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has once again exposed the lies being peddled by Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton, about Afro-Guyanese being subject to discrimination by the government.

The vice president was addressing the media on Thursday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal.

“His [Norton] problem is a bigger issue. He doesn’t want Afro-Guyanese to progress in this country so that it can fit into his jaundiced narrative of discrimination. So, they will come out hard against any progressive Afro-Guyanese, or people who are developing,” he highlighted.

VP Jagdeo also called out Norton for his attempts to paint the PPP/C Government in a negative light, claiming that Afro-Guyanese were not being given contracts, only to backtrack when they are awarded contracts, saying that they received contracts as a result of political affiliation.

Addressing Norton’s criticisms of the ICC standard facilities being installed at grounds in Linden, the VP noted, “Norton said that Linden plays football. They want a ground up to the FIFA standards, rather than the ICC standards. And then he goes on to say, if we want an ICC ground, we should use the one that Kashif and Shanghai used to hold a dance on, for playing cricket.

“He is implying that people in Linden, they play football. Afro-Guyanese, football, and Indo-Guyanese, cricket. And [that] cricket is not of any major importance to the people of Region 10, particularly Linden.”

While the statement is typically what one might expect from the opposition leader, Dr Jagdeo pointed out, “He [Norton] is very upset about who holds dances on the ground and all of that. A very petty-minded person. But behind this, all is a narrative. They are very sour, they don’t want Afro-Guyanese to make any progress, for the simple reason that they can go and campaign that the PPP has been discriminating.”

The vice president explained that a FIFA standard football field will be present at the Bayrock facility, where a synthetic track is currently being installed.

The Mackenzie Sports Club ground will be upgraded to a multipurpose sports facility to a similar standard as the one at Providence, East Bank Demerara.

Another one of these grounds, which has not been touched for some 40 years, will be constructed in the community, Retrieve.

The development would allow three Linden schools to have access to a sporting ground for the first time after many years.

“But the fact is that we’re not trying to steer people. It’s not a racist thing, Mr. Norton. We’re for the first time developing two grounds, in fact, three grounds in the town of Linden that would allow us to play international type Cricket there and International Football. Now, contrast that with the APNU 5 years, in office where they did practically nothing in these areas… He should be ashamed to even mention this issue at a Press Conference,” the VP highlighted.

Some $179 million has been allocated towards the completion of the Bayrock facility, and some $250 million was earmarked in the 2023 budget for ground enhancement across the country.