AS part of its ongoing flood response efforts, the Government of Guyana has initiated discussions with several financial institutions to address the flood woes currently being faced by many of their local clients. This was confirmed on Wednesday by Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh.

“It’s an ongoing discussion that we are having with the financial institutions on what needs to be done, and what might be possible to be done,” Dr. Singh told reporters on the side lines of an event hosted at Demerara Bank’s Corporate Office on Camp Street, Georgetown.

He noted that the important engagements between government and the financial entities have commenced, even as the process continues to assess and determine the full impact of the floods.

“As you know, there are many regions and many areas that are still under water, so just the task of understanding exactly the scale of the damages; who is affected, which sectors [are affected] and how seriously they are affected; that process is still underway, and we are hoping we can get the water off the ground as soon as possible, but as we have seen, the rains continue to be heavy,” the Finance Minister said.

He indicated too that the discussions with the financial agencies have garnered encouraging responses. “Obviously, the banks have every interest in ensuring that their clients are able to emerge from this crisis, and [are] able to get back on their feet, so it is a conversation that is ongoing between government and the financial sector,” Dr. Singh posited.

Questioned on whether the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has gotten any “concrete” commitments from the banking and credit institutions, the minister responded, “not at this stage.” “I think it is still very early to say at this stage,” Dr. Singh added.

It was only earlier in the month that President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali announced the government’s decision to approach financial institutions and creditors as part of the administration’s long-term support for farmers affected by the countrywide flooding.

President Ali had also instructed Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, to meet with the big millers and creditors, to discuss possible aid mechanisms.

“… how the government and these people can work together and so on, but that will come after the assessment…. We have to understand what is the total picture; the macro picture. We cannot speak in isolation,” the President told residents of Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
Continuous assessments have shown that over 36,000 households in approximately 300 communities have been affected by these unprecedented floods.
Further, a preliminary report on the country’s infrastructural damages have revealed billions of dollars in destruction. Based on the initial data, the government approached the National Assembly for a $10 billion Supplemental Budget, which has since been approved to combat issues relating to the floods, and coordinate increased support for affected residents.

During the debates for the aforementioned budget, Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips, highlighted the possibility of government returning to the House for additional monies to respond effectively to the ongoing flood, which has so far progressed to being a national ‘level 2’ disaster.
The overall impact of the flood is to be assessed by a team of regional officials who arrived in Guyana on Wednesday. Multiple government officials have said that once the impact results are in, authorities would be better able to mobilise recovery support to those whose livelihoods have been affected, and in some cases, completely destroyed by the ongoing floods.