PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali has related that no State funds were expended to repaint and restore State House to its ‘stately white’ colour, accompanied by green trimmings.

The Head of State said pointedly on Wednesday that the repainting works are being funded by the Private Sector Commission (PSC), and not by the Government of Guyana.

Speaking to the media after delivering the feature address at an event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Guyana, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Dr. Ali said that the PSC had officially written to the relevant authorities, and was granted permission to undertake the task.

“The private sector has launched an initiative, and that initiative is based on getting back State House to heritage colour,” President Ali said.
He was keen on emphasising that no State funds are being used for the project, and that it was fully endorsed and approved in accordance with the requisite heritage legislation.

“Colour does not matter to me, but national institutions matter, so if a national institution, by law, is expected to be a certain way, then you have to respect the rule of law,” Dr. Ali said.
State House is one of nine gazetted national monuments in Guyana that falls under the vested responsibility of the National Trust of Guyana.

In 2017, under the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) administration, the building was repainted from its original white colour to green.

This alteration of a national monument was done without the requisite approvals from the National Trust, which has legal oversight of heritage sites all across the country. At the time, the then President, David Granger, also a historian, said that he was not aware that repainting a national heritage site was in violation of the country’s laws.