Vice-President and General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has criticized the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) for allegedly undermining Afro-Guyanese entrepreneurs who have been awarded contracts under the current administration.
In a recent press conference, Dr Jagdeo pointed out what he described as a pattern of harassment by opposition figures against young Afro-Guyanese business owners. He asserted that opposition criticism of these entrepreneurs stems from political motives and a disregard for their contributions when they secure legitimate government contracts.
Dr Jagdeo specifically cited the case of Statement Inc., an Afro-Guyanese-owned company contracted to build a modern school in Linden. According to Dr Jagdeo, the opposition has targeted this company solely because of its perceived association with the PPP/C administration.
“These are the same people who say we don’t give young Afro-Guyanese entrepreneurs an opportunity, yet they’re the first to run them down,” he said.
Dr Jagdeo emphasized that despite facing challenging conditions, including rising costs and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Statement Inc. has continued its work on the school project. He contended that the opposition’s criticism of the company stems more from perceived political ties than genuine public interest.
Dr Jagdeo detailed that the opposition’s attacks form part of a broader strategy to criticize PPP-led projects while disregarding their economic impact. “They wouldn’t do this for an Indo-Guyanese or a mixed-race business,” he said, adding that the opposition appears “relentless when it comes to companies like this.”
He argued that this behavior hampers the country’s economic progress and contradicts the opposition’s calls to empower Afro-Guyanese and support Afro-Guyanese-owned businesses. He noted that the school project in Linden is a significant public investment in Region Ten’s education infrastructure—a priority he claimed the opposition is undermining due to political motivations.
Dr Jagdeo reaffirmed the PPP/C government’s commitment to providing equal opportunities for all, regardless of race or political affiliation. “But the opposition would run down these companies all the time,” he added.
The General Secretary also expressed pride in the achievements of Afro-Guyanese entrepreneurs under the current administration, in contrast to the opposition’s approach. The PPP/C, he said, has maintained an inclusive environment for business growth across Guyana.
This incident follows recent calls by PNCR-led APNU for boycotts of Guyanese businesses that engaged with President Dr. Irfaan Ali during his recent visit to New York. These calls, promoted by Rickford Burke of the Caribbean-Guyana Institute for Democracy (C-GID) and political activist Mark Benschop, have drawn backlash for potentially harming the same community the opposition purports to support.
Finally, the biggest obstacles for the Afro-Guyanese entrepreneurs are the Afro-Guyanese leaders themselves. They do not believe that an Afro-Guyanese businessman or woman can create a viable national and global business entity. We have a saying for people like that. This is what we call a” crab in a bucket mentality.” The only thing a crab is good for is holding back other crabs. A crab does not want to see another crab reach the top. Unfortunately, this is the attitude of Afro-Guyanese leaders in Guyana today.
The PNC/AFC refused to give a bank license to Floyd N. Haynes, the Founder and Chairman of New Hayven Merchant Bank, mainly because it was alleged at that time that Afro-Guyanese were not fit to own a bank in Guyana. This comment came from Afro-Guyanese leaders.
As soon as PPP took over as the legitimate government, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo and the cabinet approved Mr. Haynes’s bank license. We understand that Mr. Haynes’s application for a bank license was blocked, locked, and forgotten in a PNC/AFC draw for five years.