The A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) on Friday expressed disappointment in the government’s move to reject the 2012 United States Agency for International Development (USAID) project.
The US$ 13.1 million Leadership and Democracy (LEAD) project was designed to advance development in health, economic growth, and democracy and governance. The government rejected both the design and the project, citing its non-involvement in the process and flaws in the programme.
However, APNU Chairman, retired Brigadier David Granger said the government’s decision to pull out comes as no surprise to the opposition. “I don’t understand the mind of the government, but this is not the first time that they would have rejected assistance; the most notorious case is when the country signed a 3.5 million pound sterling agreement with the United Kingdom government and then they rejected it,” Granger told reporters.
In October 2009, the Security Sector Reform Project with the UK collapsed following differences between the two countries.
The leader of the opposition also alluded to the National Drug Strategy Master Plan which expired approximately two years ago.
Turning his attention back to the USAID project, Granger said the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/ C)) administration should put the citizens of Guyana first, positing that the USAID project was simply designed to foster growth in the country, with major emphasis being placed on the young.
APNU’s executive member Basil Williams, in supporting the sentiments of the coalition’s chairman, said he could not comprehend why the government would reject a project that sought to educate the Guyanese public on the local government electoral process.
