“Cheese to chalk”

─ Finance Min compares Coalition, previous administration’s achievements

DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, December 4, 2019

The Coalition Government has cemented a stellar socio-economic footing over the last four years – a performance that far outweighs that of the previous administration.

Minister of Finance, the Hon. Winston Jordan today said the APNU+AFC government has outshone in its performance in more ways than one, as it sought to offer an improved quality of life for Guyanese.

He was at the time appearing on the Department of Public Information (DPI)’s One-on-One interview.

Min. Jordan said comparing this administration to the previous one is like comparing “cheese to chalk.” He added Guyanese themselves could make the distinction.

“Our achievements speak for themselves. Ask the person in the Rupununi who is now getting water from wells, where before we didn’t even think we could give them water through wells that we have built. Ask people in the hinterland about the bridges, health centres that are manned by doctors, the schools. That is what people are speaking about,” he told DPI.

According to the finance minister, the “five percent” administration of the past did nothing significant for Guyanese; instead, it thrust the country further into economic misery with overboard taxes and a struggling salary scale.

Minister Jordan said Guyanese are now taking breaths of fresh air. It took the Coalition less than four years to increase the minimum wage by 77%, while the previous government did so in nine.

Minster Jordan also rubbished the opposition’s criticism of the government’s recent 9%  increase, noting that this was on a larger base than that existing under the previous administration.   The pre-2015 annual salary increases were fixed at 5%.

Meanwhile, the private sector, including small businesses, has also seen massive concessions, much more than what existed under the former government.

“When people begin to talk about them openly, we know that we have served in that sector and every sector that we have,” Min. Jordan stated

With 2020 on the horizon, the finance minister said the administration has much in store for the country, particularly where the economy is concerned. He added that the full cooperation of every sector would be required to achieve those plans.

Projecting a coalition victory at the polls, Minister Jordan said some things would be done differently in the new term to maximise the quality of life for all Guyanese.

“Differently depends on whether the constraints continue to exist. At every stage of an economy, you will be faced with constraints, and it depends on how you maximise the general objectives while minimising the constraints.”