Presidential candidate for A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Aubrey Norton has underscored that Guyana’s oil resources will not last forever and stressed the need to utilise the revenues garnered from oil to develop other sectors.
At the party’s recent rally at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Bank Demerara (WBD), Norton criticised the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) government for what he described as neglecting the agriculture industry across various sub-sectors and outlined APNU’s plan for a post-oil economy, which will focus heavily on increasing food production.
“Do not be carried away by all the talk about oil wealth. Oil will come to an end. That’s a reality, and therefore we are useful if we can take those oil resources and develop the non-oil sector,” Norton said.
He added that an APNU government will put resources into agriculture, into agro-processing, “so we can develop a strong non-oil sector that can make us resilient for years to come.”
APNU’s presidential candidate contended that his party’s plan for the agriculture sector rivals that of the governing PPP. “The PPP cannot, and they will not have a robust agricultural programme,” he said.
Furthermore, Norton accused the PPP administration of allowing rampant chicken smuggling. He stated that when the PPP came into office in August 2020, they inherited a thriving chicken industry, but five years later, that momentum has been destroyed.
Turning to the rice sector, Norton stated that although the government often preaches support for rice farmers, in reality, the industry has been neglected. He argued that the PPP lacks a plan to ensure lands receive proper support or to guarantee adequate storage for paddy.
Norton also commented that the government has failed to deliver on its promise for the sugar industry, recalling that the party had pledged to employ thousands of sugar workers and revitalise the sector to make it economically viable. “They have failed. Everything they touch would have failed…How could they claim to have the interest of the people of Guyana at heart, they do not,” Norton said.
