Businessmen are being pressured into making donations to the Government to undertake national projects, including the D’urban Park development initiative and the construction of several wells in the Rupununi, according to People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Executive Gail Teixeira.
Following confirmations from the Guyana Water Incorporation (GWI) that indeed monies totalling Gy$12 million were solicited from contractors, Teixeira contended that businessmen are being indirectly forced to make contributions out of fear of being blacklisted or becoming victims of politically-motivated boycotts.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Teixeira pointed out that businesses being approached by the Government for donations will obviously be stuck between a rock and a hard place since the implication of not abiding is rather obvious.
“There is always the impression given to the person who is being called to ask to donate, especially when a Minister or head of agency is doing that… if you don’t comply, abide, or behave a good boy or don’t contribute, you will obviously not be on the list of priorities and you won’t be considered (for projects). And every contractor or businessman in this country is saying that; this is not Gail Teixeira’s fiction or the PPP/C’s fiction,” she argued.
Initially, the PPP/C disclosed that “a certain” Government agency collected monies from contractors amounting to Gy$12 million to carry out “certain works” and had expressed concerns about this development.
Shortly after, GWI Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Richard Van West Charles called a news conference to confirm that the agency to which the PPP/C was referring is the GWI.
However, Dr Charles had accused the Party of being reckless and malicious for making such insinuations and insisted that businesses were not threatened to donate monies.
“Two weeks ago I appealed to contractors and I appealed to them as citizens… I appealed to them to make donations for the drilling of wells in the Rupununi,” he said adding that there was “no threat of them being blacklisted.”
According to reports, GWI pledged its intention to return all funds that were donated.
Nonetheless, Teixeira also expressed concerns that Government had to resort to raising funds for construction of the wells instead of using monies that were allocated in the recently approved Budget 2016.
