May, 26th 2012 – Atlanta, GA: Leader of Guyana’s Parliamentary Majority, Brig. David Granger, celebrated Guyana’s 46th Independence Anniversary with a visit to Georgia, where he attended a fundraising brunch hosted at the home of the Mitchell family in Conyers, GA. Brig. Granger thanked the Diaspora for its support in the 2011 elections, and discussed the vital role of the Diaspora in helping APNU and the AFC to win a parliamentary majority, thus giving Guyanese the ability to welcome accountability and transparency in the management of the people’s affairs in Guyana.

Granger said that, “… because of the collective efforts of Guyanese at home and abroad, we have a greater chance to change Guyana for the better.” Granger declared that it is unacceptable that Guyanese citizens are still dealing with rampant crime, massive unemployment, underfunded education, pervasive poverty, unreliable electricity, increasing rapes and prostitution of young girls, and other societal ills while the PPPC government and its cronies continue the lack of transparency and accountability of the people’s funds held by NICIL.

Granger remarked that currently lottery revenue, mining revenue, and revenue from the sales of national properties are funneled into the NICIL account, beyond the view of the people’s representatives in Parliament. The Parliamentary Majority leader declared that NICIL funds must be moved into the Consolidated Fund where they can be spent transparently on infrastructure, services and investments that directly and positively improve the lives of Guyanese citizens.

Brig. Granger went on to state that his vision for Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary includes a nation where public servants will be better paid, where the quality of education will be greatly improved, where crime will be significantly controlled, where well-paying jobs will be available for Guyanese citizens, where the Diaspora will be comfortable returning to invest in a fair and equitable Guyana, and where bribery and corruption will be ills of the past.

Granger ended by stating that the fact that the PPPC is now picketing the Parliamentary Majority, that the PPPC prefers to move to the courts rather than work with the Majority to ensure a fair budget which benefits all right-minded Guyanese, regardless of age, gender or political allegiance for the first time in 20 years, show that the PPPC are being brought to account for their spending of the people’s money. The ongoing struggle, he noted, reflects the Parliamentary Majority’s commitment to all Guyanese, and to constant accountability and transparency. Brig. Granger said, “We stand by our democratic values, and we will continue to fight for a good life for all Guyanese.”