GEORGETOWN – The Working People’s Alliance (WPA) has launched a blistering public attack on the governing PPP, yesterday, accusing the administration of engaging in “politically dishonest” behavior over its shifting position on direct cash transfers, a policy the party claims is essential for poverty alleviation.
At an October 1 press conference, WPA co-leader Dr. David Hinds asserted that the party was “outraged, but not surprised” by Minister Vickram Bharrat’s recent public dismissal of the cash transfer policy as unworkable. Hinds then delivered a scathing indictment, claiming this most recent reversal is “the most politically dishonest act in modern Guyanese political history.”
He highlighted the PPP’s contradictory stance: they first rejected cash transfers in 2018, allegedly embraced them before the elections to win votes, and have now backtracked just weeks after taking office. Hinds argued that this inconsistency shows a callous disregard for the poor and pledged that the WPA would push for legislation to enshrine transfers as a constitutional right, claiming it is “one of the most potent mechanisms of poverty alleviation.”
Co-leader Tacuma Ogunseye added that the government’s majority does not grant it a sweeping mandate, warning that the PPP appears to be exploiting current political conditions to renege on commitments, giving rise to what he called “executive supremacy.” Meanwhile, the WPA also raised a chilling alarm over the state of Guyana’s democracy, claiming that delayed parliamentary sittings are threatening the nation’s political institutions.
Dr. Hinds and Ogunseye charged that four weeks after the September 1 elections, the National Assembly has still not been convened, which they fear is “a sure recipe for autocracy and one-party rule.” Hinds criticized the President for swearing in his Cabinet quickly but allegedly stalling on Parliament, stating that while the President has the legal power, using it this way suggests he is acting “as if he were a king.
Guyana is not a monarchy.” The WPA used the press conference to call for constitutional changes to ensure a stricter separation of powers, mandate statutory meeting dates, and curb the influence of ministers within the National Assembly. The party pledged to continue pressing on both fronts, for immediate poverty relief and for fundamental constitutional reform.
