Joey Jagan backs Pres. Granger

…says coalition will win next elections

THE son of Dr. Cheddi Jagan, Guyana’s former President and founder of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr Joey Jagan (Jr) has publicly endorsed President David Granger and the Coalition administration and predicted that the incumbent government will win the next elections.

He believes that the December 21, 2018 vote should have never happened and President Granger should be allowed to complete his term in office. Dr. Jagan made this declaration during the recording of the ‘CONTEXT’ programme to be aired on the National Communications Network (NCN Inc.). He stated quite emphatically that, “I like Mr. Granger, and I think Mr. Granger should finish his term, and he’ll win the next election. I like Mr. Granger that underlines everything to tell you the truth. I have no excuses to make for anyone.”

He expressed the belief that this administration has allowed for more sound foreign investment in the country and speaking from the perspective of a legitimate business owner, that the administration has done a lot to promote investment in the country. He also addressed the December 21 vote and opined that it should never have even happened. “This whole crisis we’re in now is all nonsense as far as I am concerned, is all concocted and manipulated in different ways,” Dr Jagan said, adding that the “no-confidence vote is nonsense in this country, it should have never happened, because it’s part of changing our constitution, we don’t need that in our constitution”.

Dr. Jagan also chimed in on another burning social and political issue in the country, the sugar industry and its downsizing. “The writing was on the wall a long time ago, when Bharat Jagdeo was in government, he knew that sugar was collapsing, he was just throwing money at it, to get the votes in the end.”

Only recently in a letter to the editor of this newspaper Dr Jagan jr warned voters to be aware of Bharrat Jagdeo. “Joey” as he is fondly called said the PPP has strayed from the concepts of its party leader, and, in doing so it [the party] damaged the country’s economy. The damage, he said, occurred under the leadership of Jagdeo.

Giving his observations, Jagan said with Guyana rapidly approaching oil production in 2020, political stakes are high and citizens are anxious about receiving the opportunities they deserve from Guyana’s new-found wealth. However, it is during this period, he deducted, that the Jagdeo-led Opposition seeks to condemn Guyana’s arrangements with oil-giant ExxonMobil through which the country must gain its footing towards a developed economy.
“Some of our ‘experts’ decry the financial and technological arrangements which we have with ExxonMobil, finding fault and opposing this great investment. Those malcontents should understand that over the next two years, ExxonMobil will invest over 35 billion US dollars in worldwide oil exploration without a clear prospect of oil recovery and with the price of oil not yet $60 a barrel, the investments are not always profitable,” Jagan said.
He added: “We in Guyana should be proud and excited that the largest company in the world is investing real money into our economy; this will eventually attract other good foreign investments and trade to our republic in areas such as agro-industry, mineral extraction, our water potential, our fishing potential, our forest potential and other new avenues to make up for lost time and lost opportunity.”

Recently Director of the Department of Energy, Dr. Mark Bynoe, announced that Guyana has raked in over US$75 million in 2018 from local content in the oil and gas sector. Dr Bynoe said the figure was directly derived from the emerging sector and does not include downstream impacts of the industry such as works in mechanics, electrical work, welding and technical warehousing, among others.

The late President’s son stressed that foreign investment and trade, along with the private sector as the engine of growth, is the only way to turn Guyana around from a poor to a rich nation. Added to this, he noted investment in education as the key to ensuring young people are granted the opportunity to study at the best universities to return to take up the mantle of leadership of Guyana. He said: “Any government we have has to facilitate this notion and keep government committed to filling its ranks with younger professionals dedicated to the modern world and new ideas while decentralising power from the central government to our villages, towns and communities.”