Latest update December 12th, 2024 1:00 AM
‘Grants by Govt. are assistance not handouts’ – Jagdeo
Kaieteur News – Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday emphasized that there is no contradiction between his stance and President Irfaan Ali’s position regarding the utilization of Guyana’s oil revenue.
President Irfaan Ali
In a recent interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), President Ali underscored Guyana’s commitment to steering clear of using its oil wealth as mere handouts. He alluded to the detrimental consequences such an approach can have on the nation’s long-term economic stability. It’s worth noting that this publication had previously highlighted the apparent contradiction between President Ali’s BBC statement and Vice President Jagdeo’s comments at the National Toshaos Council (NTC) 2023 conference just two weeks earlier.
Responding to an article published by Kaieteur News, Vice President Jagdeo asserted that there is no inherent contradiction between his statement and that of President Ali. Jagdeo stated, “We don’t see this as handouts,” and added, “They are trying to portray this thing as a conflict between myself and President Ali.”
He continued, “To say that I’m contradicting President Ali because he mentioned ‘no handouts’ while I discussed four categories of allocations from the oil money is dishonest.”
Kaieteur News reported that Vice President Jagdeo had advocated for the allocation of oil and gas sector funds towards infrastructure development, emphasizing that these resources should not be distributed as cash handouts. However, during the NTC 2023 conference, Jagdeo informed Indigenous leaders that oil money was benefitting their communities through initiatives such as the ‘Because We Care’ cash grant.
Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo
During a ‘question and answer’ session following Jagdeo’s presentation, a resident of Jawalla Village, Region Seven, inquired about how Indigenous people are benefitting from oil revenues.
Vice President Jagdeo responded by detailing the various allocations, including the $40,000 per child ‘Because We Care’ cash grant, a $13,000 increase for pensioners who now receive $33,000 monthly, funds allocated to part-time government workers, and increased wages for public servants such as teachers, police officers, soldiers, and others.
In light of the above, Kaieteur News reported a discrepancy between Jagdeo’s statements and President Ali’s recent BBC interview.
When pressed on critical issues of accountability, transparency, and the “resource curse” phenomenon, President Ali acknowledged the challenges that have afflicted other oil-producing nations. He stated that Guyana is determined to learn from past mistakes and is committed to charting a different course.
President Ali emphasized, “To do this, though, we have to ensure that there is greater transparency and accountability in the management of the resources.” He underscored that while using resources as handouts may be popular in the short term, it is detrimental to the country’s long-term economic health and is not the path his administration intends to pursue.
In his effort to clarify the situation, Vice President Jagdeo asserted, “Money allocated to our children, pensioners, and public servants is not a handout; it’s compensation for their work. The funds for part-time workers are not handouts; they are earned through their labour.”
- contradiction, National Toshaos’ Council (NTC), President Irfaan Ali, Situation, Vice President Jagdeo
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