‘We’ll make it do’
Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield
Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield

– GECOM clarifies statement on LGE funds

THE Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Wednesday said it had never asked for more money to conduct this year’s Local Government Elections (LGE).
Some $1.2B has been allocated for the hosting of the November 12, 2018 elections which were last held in 2016. Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday, Chief Election Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield stressed that GECOM had not indicated that it needs more funds from central government, but sought in a press statement to make it clear that the amount allocated for the hosting of LGE this year stands at $1.2B and not $2.9B as was mistakenly stated by Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan, recently. “We have never asked for more money,” said Lowenfield, who made it clear that the statement issued by GECOM on July 20, 2018, only sought to clarify what Minister Bulkan was quoted as saying.
“All I was saying in relation to the LGE budget which falls under Programme 2, is that $1.2B was approved and not $2.9B for the elections. It does not equate to I want more money,” declared the chief election officer.

“We are not asking for money…we are correcting the minister,” Lowenfield continued. In the July 20 press statement, GECOM through its Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yolanda Ward had said it has noted media reports which suggest that $2.9B was allocated for the conduct of LGE. “Please be advised that GECOM’s entire budget for 2018 is $2.9B, of which the sum for the holding of Local Government Elections is included. $160M was allocated for capital works and items and $1.6 B for the normal operations of the commission.
As such, the remaining sum of $1.2B was allotted for the conduct of Local Government Elections in November 2018.” Additionally, the commission reminded that in 2016, $1.5B was expended for Local Government Elections.

“This means that the amount currently allocated is believed to be insufficient and GECOM will be engaging the Ministry of Finance to discuss supplemental provisions,” the statement read. GECOM said too that with November 12, 2018 being the date assigned for LGE, GECOM will be moving ahead with full implementation of all the required activities in keeping with the statutory timelines as enshrined in the laws of Guyana.

When asked whether the above statement does not indicate that the allocated funds are insufficient, Lowenfield said, “There is no issue. We never asked for more money, but if it is too little we will ask for more.” He said that GECOM’s statement was not geared at bashing minister Bulkan, but to correct his statements which were incorrect.
It should be noted that GECOM had made a budgetary request for $3.715B for 2018, but that was slashed to a proposed $2.900B, some $800M less than requested. The actual expenditure for GECOM in 2016 amounted to $3.098B, the same year Local Government Elections were held after a long hiatus.

Meanwhile, the CEO noted the statements made by Finance Minister Winston Jordan recently on what has been deemed the insufficiency of funds to host LGE. “I think the minister’s statements were a bit overboard…that was not our intention…We were simply clarifying an incorrect statement,” Lowenfield assured.
Last Saturday, Minister Jordan said “The last thing we want is GECOM coming and saying they want more money…. It is my heartfelt position that we have enough fiscal challenges, for instance, we must find the money to pay the second half of the severance among other things,” said Jordan.

He said the commission cannot be doing the same thing for many years and not see any improvement. The minister believes that there are lots of expenditures which are ‘unnecessary’ and ‘wasteful’, noting that a lot of things have to be considered. “They have done back-to-back elections where billions were given and it was used to acquire infrastructure and consumables, many of which are still in the storage and so on,” Jordan said. GECOM needs to make better use of its money and recognise that the government does not have unlimited finance, the minister stated.

People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Commissioner Sase Gunraj told the Guyana Chronicle Tuesday that he has requested a detailed budget for the conduct of LGE when the full commission met then to discuss its budget. “The matter was raised and I have requested a detailed budget for the conduct of LGE, which I will scrutinise in terms of the cost of running those elections etc.,” said People’s Progressive Party (PPP) nominated Commissioner Sase Gunraj.

Gunraj told the Guyana Chronicle that the hosting of LGE this year requires “peculiar expenditure.” He explained that as with every election, GECOM has to hire additional staff, increase logistic arrangements, as well as procuring special materials that are unique to every election. “I really am unsure as to how the government by virtue of what is being said by the two ministers (Finance and Communities) – how they expect GECOM to conduct these polls in the absence of resources,” the commissioner stated.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

All our printed editions are available online
emblem3
Subscribe to the Guyana Chronicle.
Sign up to receive news and updates.
We respect your privacy.