Dear Editor,
Further to the national revelation that the US EXIM Bank is conducting its own due diligence before approving the loan application for the offshore pipeline, NGL and power plant in the Gas to Energy project, I write to enquire whether it is in fact necessary for Guyana to increase its burgeoning loan portfolio?
In last year’s budget some G$43.3B was allocated for the Gas to Energy project which is in addition to the start-up injection of G$24.6 B earlier allocated. Making this a total of G$147.9B with this year’s budget allocation of G$80B. This does not take into account any funds which made have been used to top up the total from the deductions taken from the Natural Resource Fund (NRF). It is at this point difficult to ascertain if any such top up occurred as the NRF deductions go into the Consolidated Fund thereby becoming untraceable. Requests in response to the Auditor General’s invitation for civil and/or civic society to ask for an investigation remain unanswered by the Office of the Auditor General.
Prima facie it seems Guyana is quite capable of funding the GtE project without the additional expenses of any loan. Why is the government choosing to incur the additional expenses of interest, loan application fees inter alia when it appears not to be a necessity in one of the fastest growing economies in the world?
Merely questions from one of the happy “loonies”!
Yours sincerely,
Elizabeth Deane-Hughes