New Regional Chairman of Region Ten Rennis Morian has suggested that the Guyana Teachers Union and the education committees of all ten Regional Democratic Councils should petition the Minister of Finance for $400 million to be made available to teachers to acquire their own homes.
The Regional Chairman’s suggestion was made in response to a question by RDC Councillor Franklin Carew at a special meeting of the new Regional Democratic Council on Thursday. Under matters arising from the minutes, Carew noted that the Chairman in his inaugural address on Tuesday, 30 June, had spoken about a sum of $400 million that was available for teachers’ loans. He then asked the Chairman if the fund is budgeted annually or if it is a gift from the Ministry of Education to the teachers, placed in the Consolidated Fund to be drawn whenever it is requested by the teachers.
Pointing out that the money was intended to aid in the development of teachers’ housing, Morian said that contrary to the Financial Act, the $400 million had been removed by the previous administration from the Consolidated Fund and placed in a special account at the Bank of Guyana.
He added: “Based on the last report I got from the Minister of Finance, this money was never used. So, the minister is moving to place that money back where it belongs – into the Consolidated Fund.”
The Region Ten Chairman then suggested that the Guyana Teachers Union and the Regional Education Committees from all the regions should petition the minister for the money to be made available in a different arrangement.
In his first meeting as Regional Chairman on June 30, Morian had said: “We have to engage the government. There is $400 million lying in an account for three years for teachers’ loans that was never accessed. We will have to negotiate with government to allow our teachers in this region to have access to those resources. We have a lot of young teachers, who need help.”
