Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo wants Indo-Guyanese contractors to sue those who highlighted the ethnic disparity in the award of state contracts. According to the VP, speaking at a press conference Friday, “they’re claiming that the contractors got work on those projects because they’re Indo-Guyanese, not because they had bids in and those bids were assessed on their merit. I would urge them to file lawsuits against them and let them (opposition members) go to court now and prove what they’re saying.”
President, Caribbean Guyana Institute For Democracy (CGID), Mr. Rickford Burke, in a recent statement said the United States- based organisation commissioned a study in the award of state contracts. Based on that study it was found:
“Out of $32 billion in state contracts in 2022, the [People’s Progressive Party] PPP regime awarded:
- $23 billion in contracts awarded to Indo-Guyanese representing. 72.6 per cent
- $6.4 billion awarded to foreign contractors, representing 20 per cent. This includes several East Indian Trinidadian contractors.
- $2.2 billion awarded to African Guyanese representing six per-cent
- $93 billion awarded other races with joint ventures representing two per cent”
Village Voice reached out to Burke for a comment. According to him “Mr. Jagdeo and the PPP are running scared the truth is catching up with them and they are being exposed for their corruption, racism and discrimination.” That they must defend, said Burke, by providing evidence they are not, and that they won’t be able to.
Attorney-at-law, Mr. Nigel Hughes, in a report titled ‘Economy and Justice in Guyana’ presented in showed the disproportionate award of contract to Indo-Guyanese comparative to Afro-Guyanese. In his presentation to the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly – Guyana (IDPADA-G) event last week
None of the reports personally disparaged those awarded the contracts. The VP’s calling on these persons to sue those who merely presented and spoke based on findings is unusual. The VP did not refute the data save to say contracts are awarded based on merit. Neither did he address public expressions that opportunity to quality for contracts are being denied Afro-Guyanese and those perceived not to be supporters of the PPP.
