Jones cannot hide from the PNCR-led Coalition’s heist of state lands

The PNCR-led Coalition’s Christopher Jones was taken to task by Minister Kwame McKoy, who stressed that the Coalition’s “heist” of state lands is a record that it cannot hide from.

In a statement, the PPP/C government official said, “The PNC cabal continues to operate in an alternate universe where they believe Guyanese have forgotten their corrupt, evil and abhorrent policies and actions that inflicted severe pain and suffering on ordinary Guyanese whom they, in opposition, now pretend to embrace. Christopher Jones and other PNC executives should be ashamed to speak publicly on land matters in light of the party’s horrendous land-ownership policies that catered for their rich friends and families, while the hopes and dreams of countless Guyanese, who wanted simply to own their own homes, were shattered. The PNC sought to profit from the opportunity presented by the self-inflicted turmoil that followed the party’s attempts to rig the

2020 elections. Thousands of acres of state lands were hurriedly transferred into the hands of families, friends and cronies of the PNC, most of it done during the final seven-month period while the party operated a caretaker government. Land as much as three times the size of Barbados was secretly and illegally given to one crony. The acreage of land shared among the PNC boys surpasses the total amount of land transferred by the PPP to ordinary Guyanese in 23 years.”

McKoy added that the “land-grabbing crusade by the PNC” is indicative of their general approach to policy-making in government and which earned them the exclusive distinction of being the most corrupt government in the history of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). He said, “Instead of spewing ridiculous and unfounded claims, Jones should instead, take the lead in addressing the heist of state lands under the PNC. Thousands of Guyanese were cheated out of an opportunity at landownership by an uncaring and unfit PNC-led government. The PNC apologists and sycophants will always seek to shift the focus away from their corrupt heist of state lands by changing the narrative with lies and distortions that seek to make government the bogey man.”

Despite the misinformation, the PPP/C Government official underscored that the PPP/C Government’s record of accomplishments on land distribution and home ownership had been lauded by thousands of Guyanese across the country who are benefitting significantly from the transformational policies in the housing sector. He said, “The PNC plundered land and other national assets while in government and this is replicated at the municipal level. Despite subventions from the government, rates, taxes and other financial inflows, several of our towns, particularly Georgetown, have remained stagnated for close to 60 years.”

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