Cement and steel drive likely to be marred by fraud, discrimination

Jul 24, 2022 News

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– Economists condemn sporadic decisions by President

By Davina Bagot

Kaieteur News – President Irfaan Ali has announced an ambitious campaign to assist home owners in the construction process, by providing building materials to offset the associated expenses, however, one economist is questioning the particulars associated with this campaign, warning that it could be marred by fraud and discrimination.

Elson Low, the Economic and Youth Policy Advisor to the Opposition Leader, on Saturday during an interview told Kaieteur News that the government has been and continues to put band-aids on issues as they arise, rather than implement strategic solutions to resolve them.

He reasoned that most of the population currently does not own their own homes and that the situation is likely to escalate over the next few years as foreigners rush to Guyana to cash in on the oil boom, securing prime lands for their own development. Not only that, but he explained that another factor to be considered is the extensive migration pattern of Venezuelans into the country, citing that this number may be as high as 30,000 already.

However, Low argued, “In the face of this, the government continues to put band-aids over the problem rather than developing a comprehensive housing strategy based off of an assessment of the needs of the country. This is why we see hundreds at a time, not thousands of low-income homes built and these random solutions, such as providing concrete or steel.”

In fact, the economist, who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in political Science and Economics from a United States College, Amherst, said there are several questions that must be addressed regarding this new initiative. According to him, “how will this be monitored to ensure there is not fraud and discrimination as we’ve seen with various other grant initiatives? This is what happens with these one-off initiatives, because they lack any mechanisms to monitor them and evaluate their success.”

He made reference to the hand out of COVID-19 cash grants to families across Guyana, insisting that low-income households that needed the assistance the most were left for last. Arguing that he feels select persons would benefit from this drive, Low suggested that a better method to incentivise home building was to introduce a home builders’ rebate programme. According to him, “If the government wants to incentivise home building it should offer a home builder’s rebate, which is a fixed amount each person who builds a home can claim, varying based on the value of the house, during construction to offset the cost of building their house.”

Low added that this initiative can be rolled out based on criteria such as prioritising areas where there is the greatest demand for new housing. To this end, he shared, “The PNC/R has assessed the housing needs of the country and has an ambitious plan to ensure every Guyanese is housed in the shortest possible time. Rather than band-aid solutions it will be far more comprehensive and far larger in scale than any housing initiatives in the country’s history. We envisage modern, livable communities that go far beyond just providing house lots.”

Similarly, economist Ramon Gaskin in an interview with this newspaper condemned the way in which announcements for development are being made.

Gaskin said, “You need to help people but you need to have a plan. Where is the plan? When you come tomorrow you give this man a million, you give the fisherman them another billion, you come this day another man get a half a million. You can’t work like that; you have to have a plan when it comes to spending money in this country.”

The transparency activist also noted that the government should be approaching Parliament to seek its permission to spend the money on these specific areas. “Not when you wake up in the morning the President says well I gon give this body couple million and give this one some. No, no, no! The country does not work like that. The economic apparatus of the country is based on the law. You have to bring the thing to Parliament, get it approved and when it’s approved it becomes law, and that’s how you spend money,” he argued.

Furthermore, he reasoned that these handouts being announced and distributed by the President only benefits one section of society, while it is unclear as to when the other persons in society would benefit in like manner. To this end he posited, “All the people of this country needs help. The Indigenous communities need help, the sugar workers need some help and the other marginalised, unemployed people also need help.”

It was on Friday during the launch of Building Expo at the National Stadium that the Head of State said, “I wish to announce first that for affordable homes, homes $6M and below, the Government of Guyana with effect from the last day of building expo will support home ownership by giving to every builder in this category, the steel and one sling of cement that is required to build your foundation.”

As the president made this announcement, screams of excitement erupted from in the crowd.

But President Ali did not end there. He further noted that every other category of home ownership which includes young professionals and middle income will also receive cement to build their foundation. Ali said, “To persons building homes from $6M to $25M, we will give two slings of cement.”

Earlier this month, Kaieteur News reported that President Mohamed Irfaan Ali has signalled his government’s intention to head back to Parliament for more funds to support ‘cash giveaways’ and immediate infrastructural works for communities across Guyana.

Ali told reporters, “I want people to understand, I want to work with people. I will come to every community. I will come to every door. I want to work with people. I was in ‘South’ (South Ruimveldt) and immediately, there are things that have to be done, right away.”

To support this initiative, Ali made it clear that his government will need more cash and is already making preparations to get that money from the National Assembly. He said, ‘I have already asked the Minister of Finance to immediately work on a supplementary provision”.

Last Thursday, Senior Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh tabled in the House, a Paper for Supplementary Provision totalling $44,794,011,175. A whopping $21 billion alone will go towards housing development.

Once that extra cash is approved, Ali promised that his government will continue to dole out handouts and other forms of assistance to citizens across Guyana. “I will go in Buxton, I will go in Canje, I will go in the Rupununi, wherever it takes, because I want to work with every single Guyanese, every single group,” Ali told reporters.

The government had already set aside a total of $5B in this year’s budget to mitigate the effects of the rising cost of living. Recently, government handed out cash to sugar workers, children living with disabilities, hinterland residents, farmers, among others. Millions were also used to compensate vendors, whose stalls were looted during a violent protest at the Mon Repos Market on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD). It is unclear if the entire $5B has been expended; however, in a recent press conference held by Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, he assured that there is still cash available from the allocation.

 

 

 

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