THE APNU and AFC are on a consorted campaign to derail progress and development in Guyana. This is according to Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh in a recent interview. “The APNU and the AFC have repeatedly demonstrated their ruthless attempt to stymie any developmental project that this Government has attempted to undertake for cheap political mileage,” said the Minister. Minister Singh was at the time referencing to a recent article in the Kaieteur News in which leader of the main opposition, David Granger called all major projects “flawed”.

Among programmes objected to by the opposition are the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project, the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) Programme, the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Expansion Project, and the Marriott Hotel Project.
“The AFC and the APNU are not interested in seeing this country move forward, or in bringing real issues of concern to the table. They are simply using these projects for cheap political gain while taking the lives of hard working Guyanese for granted,” he noted.
“The livelihood of the farmer who wants to start a small-scale pasteurizing plant is now jeopardized because the opposition killed the Amaila Hydropower Project,” Minister Singh said, adding:
“That farmer has now been denied his right to improve his and his family’s economic livelihood by the Opposition.”
Noting that developed and developing countries around the world have undertaken projects that are aimed at bolstering investor confidence in the marketplace and to kickstart projects that will have positive residual effects on the country, Minister Singh said:
“APNU and AFC’s aversion to developmental projects have been wildly inconsistent, yet a look at other developing and developed countries from around the world indicates that the Government of Guyana is not unique in investing in hotels, power stations or agricultural infrastructure.”
Countries in the region that have been cited for taking risk in investing monies in large-scale projects with the intent to have a financial turnover in the long-run include Trinidad, Jamaica and Barbados.
In Trinidad, the Government invested in the Hyatt Hotel, a 428-room hotel that opened its doors in 2008.
The Jamaican Government invested in the Sandals Whitehouse All-Inclusive Resort, of which it owns 67% of the assets. It also invested in a project called Harmony Cove Development. That project was conceptualized in the early 2000s by that Government for 2,300 acres of beach-front property that now includes 4,500 hotel rooms, 500 residential units, nightclubs, golf courses, a marina and other entertainment facilities.
These developmental projects, Minister Singh argues, resulted in encouraging private investment, created sustainable jobs, and created tax revenue to the benefit of the respective countries.
Extra-regionally, other developing countries, such as China, Malaysia and the Philippians have supported public/ private partnerships, having seen the long-term benefits it has on the development of their respective countries.
As the minister was at pains to explain: “Public/private partnerships enable government to share costs, risks and the responsibility of large-scale projects with private investors.
“These partnerships help us to meet the high demand for financing as a developing nation with limited financial resources.”
If the Opposition was so concerned about the configuration of these projects, he said, “they would have engaged us at any of the multiple forums facilitated by Government to correct these so-called “flawed” projects.
“We have made numerous attempts to involve the Joint Opposition as we strive to be transparent and all inclusive. What more can we do that has not been done within the parameters of the law?”
Government has, in the past, released information stating the dates when closed door consultations were held with the Opposition in their effort to involve all parties, but expressed concern that the JointOpposition did not participate in any of them. This is in relation to the Amaila Hydro Power Project and the development of the Marriott Hotel Project.
“In addition to having an open discussion with the Joint Opposition, we presented time and again information – confidential information – to the Joint Opposition and then we read in some sections of the media that there is something sinister and clandestine at play,” Minister Singh said. “We have even seen sensitive, confidential information we provided to the Opposition in the media!”
The Minister chided the Joint Opposition for not being a responsible Parliamentary Opposition. “The APNU and the AFC should not stymie development and modernization for cheap political points and tactics,” he said.
Minister Singh however alluded to the multiple benefits large scale projects such as the Amaila Hydro Power project, the Marriott and the CheddiJagan International Airport Expansion Project have both long and short term benefits, including short term construction jobs and long term professional jobs.
“The best strategy for us as a developing country is to make long-termconsistent investmentsover time, as we have been attempting to do,” noted Minister Singh. “If the opposition has a better strategy why have they not presented these to the public?
The Minister concluded that the Government has extended several invitations to the Joint Opposition to be included at the parliamentary level in developmental projects. Those invitations have not been well received. He further expressed his concern that if the Joint Opposition continues to obstruct and derail developmental projects, the Guyanese people will feel the blunt of such decisions.