‘Opposition did little or nothing in 5 years for Guyanese’ – Min. Persaud

Underscoring the magnitude of work executed by her ministry in the last three years, Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud chastised the Opposition for the little work done during their five-year tenure.

This was her position during Day Four of the National Budget Debate on Thursday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).

“Everybody wants to take credit for everything but you had five years to do it,” she emphasized.

Noting that much of budget 2024 caters to the enhancement of senior citizens, women, girls and children.

As a result, the PPP/C government aims to inject $172 million into the construction of a spanking new senior citizen home at Enmore.

“…because we [PPP/C Government] care,” Minister Persaud said as she pointed to the Old-Age Pension, which has increased by 75 per cent.

According to the minister, this represents a greater raise compared to that made by the opposition during their five-year tenure.

The minister also said a series of newly implemented measures to benefit the elderly class.

These include new old-age pension payment methods through the bank and MMG.

“Pensioners will continue to benefit from this government…”, Dr Persaud passionately emphasized.

Similarly, the government continues to implement programmes, legislation, measures and improve services to benefit Persons Living with Disabilities (PWD), women, girls and children.

Minister Persaud said that, in this respect, the government was able to train over 300 PWD to train some 400 this year.

More training services will be extended to persons through the Women Innovative and Investment Network (WIIN) in various programmes which align with job opportunities created within the government and the private sector. 

The minister announced that a culinary kitchen will be launched this year to create more opportunities for women’s empowerment. The training programme also allows women to create their businesses. Additionally, funding, business training and additional aid are provided to participants to start up these businesses.

Meanwhile, persons are being trained to spot and address cases of Gender Based Violence across Guyana.

“If that is favouritism, fine because I love people who are vulnerable and I am privileged to be able to serve them and serve them with humility and serve them in such a way that their quality of life continues to be improved.”

Noteworthy enough, the minister underscored that the Spotlight Initiative is a hallmark signature programme of the PPP/C government.

Despite the initiative being denied by the opposition resulting in an eight-month delay, the minister noted that under the administration it has soared making it a renowned model used by CARICOM member states.

Subsequently, the minister revealed that under the previous administration “There was no difficulty and circumstances unit what it was, was funding that was used at the minister’s discretion.”

The unit was conceptualised upon recognising the gap that exists among the vulnerable communities that need assistive aids.

Since its creation, thousands of vulnerable Guyanese have benefited from walkers, wheelchairs, and canes among others.

Minister Persaud reiterated the government’s commitment to serving every Guyanese in keeping with its manifesto commitments.