When the National Assembly on Wednesday evening approved the budgetary allocation of $1,535,717 for the Ministry of Local Government it had been preceded by sharp exchanges over the controversial SLED programme.
The Committee of Supply for the period January to September of this year had approved an allocation of $3.56 billion—$2.01 billion for current expenditure and $1.55 billion for capital expenditure for programmes executed by the now dissolved Ministry of Communities.
During the consideration of estimates for his ministry, Minister of Local Government Nigel Dharamlall claimed that $250 million budgeted for the Sustainable Livelihood and Entrepreneurial Deve-lopment (SLED) programme in 2019 could not be accounted for and threatened prosecution of Opposition members.
The SLED programne was an initiative of the former APNU+AFC government under its Ministry of Communities. The now main Opposition coalition was voted out of office in March of this year.
Questions on the SLED programme were raised by APNU+AFC MP Ganesh Mahipaul who enquired as to $105M allocated to that line item.
Pointing out that from the legend, the planned duration was from October to December 2020, and the fact that it is classified as critical and ranked No.1 with a score of 180, Mahipaul enquired from Dharamlall the criteria being used to disburse the $105 million within the three months, and whether there were already projects going into his ministry for consideration.
Mahipaul also enquired on what basis the project was being considered to be a critical one for the three-month period.
Important aspects
In response, Dharamlall said that the SLED programme under the capital estimates under his ministry focuses on some very important aspects of community life, noting that one of the things the PPP/C government intends to do is to diversify the regions.
He said that there are plans to pursue economic development in regions that will decentralize investment thus allowing for region-specific investments which he said will factor in the dynamics of every region as a means to rebuilding what he said has been destroyed by the former Administration.
According to Dharamlall, there is tremendous support for the programme and so government will be spending resources to ensure its sustenance, even as he stressed that SLED is a project under the Ministry of Local Government “because we want to reach out into communities to rebuild lives.”
It was at this point, however, that the Minister said that after an audit is conducted of SLED’s operation under the previous Administration that many on the main Opposition side are going to face prosecution.
“I would like to make that known, because under the previous SLED, over $250 million is unaccounted for,” Dharamlall said.
Dharamlall said that there is no record of what has been done with the money while adding that as a matter of fact their investigations have so far revealed that the paperwork for the sum last year has been destroyed.
According to him $250 million dollars spent by the last government on SLED revealed one project in an area “where a shop was built by a certain councillor on a government reserve stocked up to $8.5 million.”
He then made reference to “a certain member of this House” who has a current issue that has engaged the attention of the police because millions of dollars worth of items were found in that person’s possession.
Point of order
Mahipaul on a point of order attempted to have the Minister refrain from his reference citing Standing Order 41 (2) which said that reference shall not be made to any matter which is sub judice in such a way as it might in the opinion of the Chair prejudice the interest of parties thereto.
House Speaker/Chair Manzoor Nadir, however, pointed out to Mahipaul that the determination was subjective to him (the Chair) who noted that what Dharamlall said was a description “of what actually was” and that it did not prejudice anything after which he told Dharamlall that he could continue.
Former Sports Director and Opposition MP Christopher Jones has filed a lawsuit against the Guyana Police Force whom he said has breached his constitutional rights to protection from arbitrary search and deprivation of property in wake of a controversial search of his home and the removal of 18 barber chairs and two air conditioners altogether valued at $4.8 million.
The police have launched a probe into what they say is the alleged larceny of state assets by Jones.
The items which were seized were purchased as part of a $4 million government-funded project under the SLED programme under the former APNU+AFC Administration.
Jones had been arrested hours after his lawyer secured an order barring the law enforcers from entering his Georgetown home without a warrant.
In his suit against the State, Jones is asking among other things for the court to immediately order the police to return the seized items, which he says belongs to him. He is also seeking damages.
As he continued, Dharamlall said that proposals will be vetted by a bi-partisan committee “and it would not be as the last government did, to gain political capital as part of their election campaign.”
Dharamlall said that his ministry intends to have at least 100 community groups or projects by the end of this year so that investments can be made in creating jobs for young enterprising persons and entrepreneurs.
Dharamlall accused the APNU+AFC of rural job loss in the thousands which he said his ministry has to rebuild and create.
He added that the PPP/C on the campaign trial had promised 50,000 jobs and he said that government has already begun to do so by paving the way for thousands of sugar workers to return to work in their communities as well as small business which were closed in the last five years.
Subsidy
Questions were also posed to Dharamlall by Mahipaul regarding the line item Local Government Commission subsidy.
The Opposition MP enquired from the minister when the Local Government Commission would be placed under the schedule of Constitutional Agencies in keeping with the Local Government Commission Act.
In response Dharamlall said that the provision of $49.786 million is for the Local Government Commission which he said is duly established and in effect and performing, even as he noted that the life of the Commission will come to an end on October 23rd.
This line item also prompted a question from APNU+AFC MP and shadow Attorney General Roysdale Forde.
Forde noted that while the Local Government Commission is established by the constitution, it is recorded in the estimates as receiving a subsidy and contribution as a local organization. He enquired why this was so, when it was established by the constitution and is therefore supposed to receive monies directly as a constitutional agency.
In response the Minister said that the Commission became functional during the previous administration and reminded that the Commission comes to an end on October 23rd and that the Commission was budgeted for by the previous APNU+AFC government.
Dharamlall said that it is unfortunate that the Commission under the coalition did not receive the type of constitutional status now being requested by the Opposition.
The line item attracting an allocation of $49,786,000 was also interrogated by Mahipaul who asked Dharamlall why from that amount, no sum was allocated for the Guyana Association of Municipalities (GAM) which he said got $10m in 2018 and 2019.
Mahipaul said that GAM also saw the hosting of the historic mayoral conference and again enquired why no amount from the allocation was made available for GAM.
In response Dharamlall said that his ministry will be conducting an audit of GAM, since it is their belief that GAM was not used for its real purpose which was to enhance the work of the municipalities.
