While the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) believes that there should be direct cash grants to citizens, cash grants alone will not reduce poverty. This was the view expressed by Leader of the PNCR Aubrey Norton during his weekly meeting with members of the press yesterday. Norton is calling for the establishment of industrial sites in certain depressed communities to address the problem of unemployment.
In May 2001, then Opposition Leader, Hugh Desmond Hoyte and then President Bharrat Jagdeo signed an agreement to, among other things, address the needs of depressed communities, which were identified.
The residents of ‘Plastic City’, which is a depressed community, were to be relocated and given housing and land. The needs of Buxton, on the other hand, which was one of the identified communities as well as Non-Pareil/ Enterprise, De Kinderen and Meten-Meer-Zorg, would have received support for farming. Unfortunately, the then President Jagdeo never honoured the May 2001 agreement in its entirety. Since that May 2001 agreement several other communities have fallen into the depressed category, including Linden and Sophia.
Norton said the lack of economic freedom remains a concern as many private businesses are being frustrated in their efforts to participate in the economy. The lack of competition keeps prices high and contributes to the hardships which many Guyanese are experiencing from inflation. As such, the Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) is calling for an increase in the income tax threshold, a removal of taxes on minimum wage workers, and an adjustment of the income tax rate for workers.
Norton expressed the hope that Budget 2022 is people centered and takes into account the current economic crisis facing the country. He warned that if the Government continues to ignore nearly half of the population, the development of Guyana will be seriously threatened. The PNCR leader is hopeful that the party’s recommendations will be implemented for the betterment of all Guyanese.
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