The APNU/AFC coalition on Thursday submitted a motion to the National Assembly calling for the Government to give every Guyanese, 18 years and older a cash grant of $200,000 to cushion the effects of the rising prices.
However, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has labelled the motion as “a gimmick.”
“It's designed to excite people to think that they have money there but it is not realistic, practical, it’s not wise to do that. You can’t fund it because it will put us in more debt, it will waste all the money, and we can’t build the future by taking that approach,” he said.
Dr Jagdeo explained that this is not a wise move as it would entail spending all the funds gathered from the oil exportation.
“If we do what they are suggesting there we will have to spend every cent of the oil money that we get and eat it up and give it to everybody we can’t spend it on training people and educate them, we can’t build the hospital and the new roads that we need and the power plant that you need for the country.”
Dr Jagdeo also referenced a related call from the Alliance For Change during a virtual press conference on Thursday for Government support to the rice farmers in light of the same increased cost of living. He has stated the Government's intention to do so.
“And not in a convenient way just for political minds, not just to get people to vote for you, it goes back to the heart of what the PPP has always done. We’ve supported our industries when they are in difficult times.”
While he highlighted that the Government is open to criticism from the opposition parties, he posited that the party should make realistic suggestions.
The Vice President affirmed the commitment of the PPP/C administration to continuously implement measures to address the effects of the cost of living.
Only recently the excise tax on diesel and gasoline was removed in light of the increase in fuel prices.
