BARTICA, Guyana — For David Daniels, the road to this year’s election is personal. The President of the Small Miners Association and former Alliance For Change (AFC) Region Seven Chairman says he is backing the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) because he has seen what their policies mean for people like him, and for the thousands who depend on small-scale mining to make a living.
At a rally in Bartica on Saturday, Daniels told supporters that the government’s removal of taxes on machinery and fuel has made a real difference.
“Those burdens are gone, and miners have more in their pockets,” he said, adding that it has made day-to-day operations in the hinterland easier and more affordable.
Daniels urged miners to remember those changes when they head to the polls on September 1. “It is under the PPP/C that taxes have been removed from machinery and fuel, and miners are able to work more freely,” he said.
He recalled first meeting President Irfaan Ali to raise concerns from small miners. The President, he said, invited him to gather affected miners so he could hear their issues directly. “That is the only president and political party that has ensured Guyana’s interests are placed on the front burner,” Daniels told the crowd.
Daniels, who joined the AFC in 2018, said his decision to switch support comes from seeing his priorities align more closely with the PPP/C’s vision for the mining sector.
As he prepares to become a father for the first time, his endorsement has a generational weight. “You are voting for your children’s future,” he told the rally. “The People’s Progressive Party has secured a future for my child, and you should support them for your child, your future, your Guyana.”
