THE Private Sector Commission (PSC) has acknowledged there is “merit” in the overall objectives of the controversial $300M USAID-funded Leadership and Democracy (LEAD) project.

However, in a statement released on Thursday night by PSC Chair Ronald Webster, the body made it clear that the implementation must not go forward without the full agreement and sanction of the Government.
To that end, the PSC called for consensus to be reached between the Government and the United States (U.S.) Embassy to allow for a mutually agreeable resolution in the interest of this country.
The statement said: “The Commission, having reviewed the summary and proposed activities of the project document, is of the view that there is merit in the outline in the document to promote effective and responsive democratic institutions in Guyana and for motivating youth and women to be more engaged in the political and civic processes.
“…it is the conclusion of the Private Sector, therefore, that both the Government of Guyana and the Government of the USA have left the door open for further discussion and refinement of the Project Proposal.”
The PSC’s statement on the issue follows meetings, over the last two weeks, with the Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of the United States of America and with President Donald Ramotar.
Full briefed
According to the Commission’s statement, the PSC was fully briefed by the Head of State on the position of the Government of Guyana with regard to the project.
It continued: “The PSC was advised that the Government of Guyana is yet to be convinced that the USAID Project, as proposed and adumbrated, would be in the best interest of Guyana and that the Gove*rnment of the USA has been so advised.
“It is our understanding, from our meeting with H.E Donald Ramotar, that it is the position of the Government of Guyana that the USAID Project, in its present form, is unacceptable to the Government and that the Government has exercised its judgment as a sovereign state that the Project is not to be implemented.”
President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Mr. Clinton Urling, as well as other leading voices in the Private Sector have come out in support of the project, despite the Government’s rejection of it.