GS Jagdeo slams Norton’s lies on Linden electricity subsidy

General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has strongly dismissed and slammed claims that the PPP/C Government will remove the electricity subsidies for Linden in Region 10.

Speaking with reporters at a press conference on Thursday, Dr Jagdeo said the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) took its campaign to Linden, where they had nothing substantial to offer to residents.

Instead, Aubrey Norton, the APNU’s presidential candidate, resorted to spewing racist rhetoric, deception and lies, which, he said, can be easily debunked.

“This is a lie that worked well in the past,” Dr Jagdeo said as he addressed the rumour.

“We spent a long period in government, 20-odd years, and that subsidy was never removed,” he noted.

Over the past five years, the PPP/C Government invested billions of dollars to subsidise electricity for the mining town, benefitting thousands of households with cheaper electricity.

“We were there in Linden and we promised the people of that community [and] Region 10, to continue development in their communities,” Dr Jagdeo, who also serves as vice president, added.

In the PPP/C’s next term, electricity costs would be slashed by 50 per cent when the landmark Gas-to-energy (GTE) project comes onstream, and this will also benefit Lindeners.

Another lie told by Norton was the intended closure of the Charles Rosa Nursing School, which Dr Jagdeo again dismissed.

“The fact of the matter is that in 2018, you had 71 students in that school.  In 2019, there were 19 students there. Today, we have 379 students doing the nursing programme, and about 200 of them are from Linden – that is the fact,” he said.

With all the racist rhetoric being spewed by the APNU opposition, Dr Jagdeo questioned their credibility to lead the nation.

“It’s unbelievable that someone would do something like that…where you can easily fact-check an issue of that nature,” he stated, slamming the APNU for using racist tactics to sway support from the PPP/C.

The general secretary also dismissed allegations of discrimination in the education sector, noting that the government has increased the education budget from a mere $50 billion in 2020 to $175 billion in 2025.

This means the government is spending approximately GYD 700,000 per child, “which is twice as much as the tuition fee that you have to pay on average in private institutions.”

Dr Jagdeo assured that the PPP/C Government will continue to pay fees for up to eight subjects for children writing the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), with more support for children.

Over the past five years, the development undertaken by the current PPP/C Government is unprecedented with Linden and Region 10 benefitting from billions of dollars in every area from roads, drainage and irrigation, education and health to sports, housing and cultural services.