Govt. will be haunted by record of poorly managed projects – APNU+AFC

Mar 09, 2015 News

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“…another term of the PPP/C would cripple the nation”

The A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition is convinced that the significant failures and glitches of major developmental projects in Guyana will come to “haunt” the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) as the election campaign period increases in tempo.

APNU’s Shadow Minister of Finance, Carl Greenidge claimed that the electorate, at this point now, understands that if the government takes ten dollars from them, “it is guaranteed to be mismanaged”.
“Normally, if the government takes that ten dollars and manages it properly, it is expected that you will be better off because goods and services that we all need will be provided and quality of life will be improved but not this government. This administration seems to have a doctorate in being malicious and oppressive.
“They will take taxpayers’ monies and waste it, just like they did with the $200M Skeldon sugar factory that can’t even perform like the old factories are. Isn’t that a crying shame? This was supposed to be a state-of-the-art factory but the sugar industry is in shambles because of government’s abuse of taxpayers’ monies and the people understand that now more than ever before,” Greenidge articulated.
The Opposition member also bemoaned other developmental projects such as the US$58M Marriott Hotel, $3B Hope/Dochfour Canal project, the Fibre Optic Cable Project, the One Laptop per Family Programme, and the Specialty Hospital.
There have been many questions surrounding the true source of funding for the Marriott Hotel, which is being constructed in Kingston, Georgetown. But it was recently revealed that the hotel has been funded with taxpayers’ dollars.

The $3B Hope Canal Project seems to be plagued by technical glitches as its completion is more than two years behind its original deadline. The opposition, among other critics, believes that the channel, which is being constructed to ease the pressure of water on the East Demerara Water Conservancy, is not necessary. However, Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy told Kaieteur News in a previous interview that the defaulting contractors will not come in for any punishment for being late with the completion of the project. Instead they have been granted another deadline.
As for the Fibre Optic Cable Project from Brazil to Guyana, it appears that it has fallen by the wayside due to technical difficulties. This was also after millions of dollars were expended on it.
Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon had said that this programme was not “dead” but simply in a “remedial stage”. He had also disclosed that while Guyana is not receiving the internet service, the country is still paying a “pretty penny” to its Portuguese-speaking neighbouring country due to contractual arrangements.
The One Laptop per Family Programme, which was part of Government’s grand scheme to transform the telecommunications sector, was also a victim of more problems. Former Auditor General, (AG) Anand Goolsarran had pointed out that the programme is yet to be completed. Goolsarran had also highlighted in one of his weekly newspaper columns that while government claimed it paid millions of taxpayers’ dollars for those computers, when compared to the laptops today, government could have gotten a better deal, clearly underscoring the fact that the monies were mismanaged. The One Laptop per Family Project had even received criticisms from the country’s current AG, Deodat Sharma, who found that it was in several cases not in keeping with the nation’s financial laws.

Although an Indian company, Surendra Engineering Company Limited (SECL), had no experience in building hospitals, government still gave it its blessings for the construction of a Specialty hospital. This had attracted strong condemnation from the political opposition but the government only closed its eyes and covered its ears. Low and behold, SECL walked away with millions of taxpayers’ dollars without providing its services. Government had paid the company US$4.2M with US$3.6M being mobilization fees. Government then accused SECL of fraud, and filed legal action for a full refund, which was granted. But the company could not be located at its local office and never made an appearance in court, thereby clouding the enforcement of the judgment.
Greenidge told Kaieteur News that the aforementioned represents a complete wastage of taxpayers’ monies and means that “another term of the PPP/C would cripple the nation”. He confidently expressed that the electorate will demonstrate its frustration come May 11 by exercising its power to vote.
“Every single one of the capital projects that this government listed in its manifesto has been plagued by problems and most of those problems have to do not necessarily with the idea of the project but with the manner of implementation…In the end, the public does not get value for its monies because there are PPP cronies always trying to cook up ways to bleed the nation. National interest is never paramount for this government. The nation is saddled with debt until 2032 because of this government’s selfish, arrogant and wicked ways,” said the APNU Shadow Minister of Finance.
APNU’s, General Secretary, Joseph Harmon, also spoke on Government’s disregard for infrastructural projects that would make a difference in the lives of poor Guyanese. He said that Government’s spending on public infrastructure was wrongly prioritized and his party has always held the view that public infrastructure must serve human development.
Regarding the work carried out by the Public Works Ministry under the guidance of Minister Robeson Benn, Harmon had said that it earned a “glorious F” grade. The Minister and his Ministry failed to address major infrastructural concerns of poor people, he said.
APNU+AFC Prime Ministerial Candidate, Moses Nagamootoo, who had spoken briefly with this newspaper, also agreed with his colleagues in the APNU, that government blighted any chance it had in being successful at the upcoming polls with not only a series of undemocratic actions but also “with a horrible track record of poorly managed developmental projects”.

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