A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) Prime Ministerial Candidate, Juretha Fernandes, has called on residents of Linden, Region 10 – a traditional stronghold of her party – to vote out the incumbent People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C). She was keen to stress that their development depends on it.
Referring to the PPP/C as “the enemy”, Fernandes said that the party has only worked to keep Lindeners in a state of perpetual dependency, citing the administration’s inability to appoint a Board of Directors for the Linden Enterprise Network (LEN) – the brainchild of former APNU + Alliance For Change (AFC) government.
The PM candidate pointed out that despite repeated calls in the National Assembly, Finance Minister Ashni Singh has failed to reinstate the board.
“[LEN] was there to provide loans and grants to small business owners, for you to be able to build capacity, to raise your standard of living, so that you don’t have to line up for any handout from anyone. The PPP took office in 2020, and under the stewardship of Irfaan Ali and the stewardship of Ashni Singh, they refused to put the board in place,” she told attendees at an APNU rally on the East Coast of Demerara over the weekend.
She added that “hundreds of millions of dollars” are left languishing at LEN, noting that “not one cent was used in Linden because they want to keep you begging”.
Fernandes, speaking directly to Lindeners, said, “We have got to understand what we’re up against if we want to fight it, if we are to succeed at fighting and defeating this enemy. We are fighting against a system that has been structured to keep you down, and I want you to understand that.”
The PM questioned recent headlines suggesting that Lindeners are shifting support toward the PPP, dismissing such claims as misleading. She said Lindeners must be cautious.
“Lindeners, you have got to don’t like yourself to be considering anything related to the PPP. We have got to be smart people,” she said.
