Budget cuts to LDCS, GRIF will damage economy
– negatively impact our children, families and communities in every part of Guyana
THE  Office  of Climate Change (OCC) has declared that the proposed budget cuts to most of the LCDS, and to GRIF-funded projects by the joint opposition in the National Assembly “risks creating a complete reversal of significant gains made in modernizing Guyana as our country prepares for the future”. The OCC, in a statement yesterday, said the proposal by the Opposition APNU and AFC, should be stated for what it is: “a plan to cut beneficial programmes which will affect every section of our society: rich and poor, young and old, on the coast and in the hinterland.”

The OCC said the cuts, if implemented, will see:
– A halting of the installation of 11,000 solar home systems in 150 hinterland communities. These cuts will not hit the middle class of Georgetown – but instead, they will affect hinterland children and families the hardest;

– A halting in the distribution of 90,000 laptops with training and internet access to low income earners across the country. This means that participation in the new knowledge economy will be restricted to the middle class who can afford laptops, and will create a digital divide in Guyana, which the Government has strived for years to avoid;

– A halting of grants and loans to micro and small businesses and vulnerable groups

– Withdrawal of support to the Cunha Canal rehabilitation which is critical to address flooding;

– Withdrawal of financial support to the Amerindian Development Fund which would allow Amerindian communities to implement their Community Development Plans and engage in economic activities to diversify their local economies;

– The cancellation of e-Governance and the fibre optic cable which will block the lowering of access to information and essential government services, especially for those outside Georgetown;

– The immediate reduction of efforts to Amerindian demarcation and extensions.

The OCC also pointed out that the cancellation of the Cunha Canal project will mean more flooding and more misery from heavy rains long into the future, when the Cunha Canal project instead means that we have the potential to protect property, livelihoods and livestock from the ravages of climate change.
It said these cuts will also affect those who strive to become more successful. The reduction in support for micro and small businesses and vulnerable groups across the country will prevent their inclusion as entrepreneurs in Guyana’s strong economic growth.
But if hitting people across the country was not extensive enough, the final impact of the cuts will adversely affect every single customer of GPL.

The OCC said businesses, families and entire communities will see the price of electricity soar in the short term – but this proposal will also extinguish the plan to reduce the price of electricity in the medium term. The cancellation of the Amaila Falls project would condemn future generations to expensive electricity, eliminate hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign direct investment into Guyana, and have an impact on the competitiveness of Guyana’s economy far in excess of any temporary savings achieved through these cuts.

“The Opposition would see Guyana cede its global leadership on climate change, sustainable development and green growth,” the OCC stated.
It noted that regardless of domestic political considerations, the Opposition should have the grace to recognize that the former President of Guyana Bharrat Jagdeo enabled Guyana to punch above its weight in this arena.
It is particularly tragic that the Opposition seeks to create divisions within what was a truly national initiative. The LCDS was developed through extensive rounds of multi-stakeholder consultations across the length and breadth of Guyana, and has emerged through international consensus, as a workable model for global adoption and implementation.
It has been lauded by global leaders, who see Guyana as a source of positive, progressive thinking.
The Opposition’s cuts would bring to a halt Guyana’s partnership with the Kingdom of Norway, which is the second largest REDD+ initiative in the world and which would see Guyana benefitting from up to US$250 million over a five year period as payment for performance-based forest climate services. Performance to date has already earned Guyana US$70 million in payments to the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund – GRIF. These funds are being channeled into new and ground-breaking developmental projects and programmes which were developed through the national LCDS consultations.
The International Monetary Fund has said that Guyana’s LCDS will improve long term growth prospects and alleviate poverty. The Chairman of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change has said Guyana’s LCDS is one of the most progressive strategies of its kind in the world. Global NGOs, Presidents and Prime Ministers have commended it. More importantly the people of Guyana support the LCDS.
“If the Opposition is successful, cuts to the LCDS and GRIF will damage our economy, and will negatively impact our children, families and communities in every part of Guyana,” the OCC charged.
These proposed cuts by the Opposition will have far reaching consequences for the future of Guyana.