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Gov’t. will not brush aside investment despite looming General Elections
– Pres. Donald Ramotar
The Government will not allow soon to be held General Election to damper any investment arrangement that the country is currently engaged in. This is according to Head of State, President Donald Ramotar as he clarified that any beneficial investment for Guyana will not be set aside because of the upcoming general polls.
President Donald Ramotar
The President made his assertions last Saturday at State House when he announced that he will not be re-opening Parliament, but will in fact be going to the polls Next Year. The National Assembly remained closed after the conclusion of recess. A month after its scheduled reopening on November 10, it was prorogued by President Ramotar, whose Administration faced a seemingly definite vote-out resulting from a No-Confidence Motion.
The government is currently in discussions with several foreign investors who are seeking to delve into various sections of the economy, including the tourism, energy and infrastructure sectors. However, several of these initiatives are in the initial stages, President Ramotar said.
And despite his confirmation that elections could possibly be held before Mashramani in February 2015, the President said, “my attitude is once it is in the interest of Guyana and the Guyanese people, negotiations will continue.”
He said however that projects such as the Sun and Sand Hotel, the deep water habour and the construction of the new Demerara Habour Bridge are still in the infant stage of processing and opined therefore that it will not be a short while before any of these come to a conclusion.
President Ramotar is not convinced however that he should cease whatever progress these matters are making in an inevitable election season because he expressed surety that his party will win the majority at the next General Elections. “I have every confidence of winning the next election, so I have no fear that we should continue with the dialogue and discussion with the agreements we have,” the President posited.
It was also put to President Ramotar that pending elections can have several implications for the 2015 budget, which is supposed to be out by April 30. The President has either not confirmed a date for General Elections or has chosen to withhold the information since he told reporters that general polls could be called before budget date, before Mashramani or even in the first month of 2015.
He stated however that the nation’s business will go on, and spending will be done within the period prior to elections. When asked about the opposition parties’ concerns and accusations about corruption and the use of public funds, President Ramotar said, “Clearly that is not a reality.”
He charged that, “How we spend money goes with our laws. Prorogation did not give me the power to spend money as I would like in our society or to pass laws that I would have liked.” He said if that were the case, Bills such as the Anti-Money Laundering Bill and the other pieces of legislation he really wants to pass would have been done already.
“The constitution provides for how spending of public funds is done within this period at this time,” the President stated before giving his assurance that “whatever we do or spend within this time, will be within the law.”
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