The Government of Guyana is spending more than $$224 million each year on overseas lobby firms, including one previously linked in public debate to actions against the Mohamed family.
Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd confirmed, during questioning in the Committee of Supply on the Expenditure and Estimates, that the government is retaining two consulting companies under the budget line for external advocacy. The combined annual cost of the contracts is $224,640,000.
In a social media post the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) note that the Opposition parliamentarian Amanza Walton-Desir of Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) and Chief Whip Tabitha Sarabo-Halley of WIN pressed Todd to justify the expense and detail what benefits accrue to ordinary Guyanese.
WIN identified the firms as Continental Strategy and DR Consultancy. Continental Strategy is a Washington, D.C.–based government relations and strategic consulting firm that works with clients to navigate public policy issues and engage with officials at federal, state and international levels.
Less public information is available about DR Consultancy, but it was named by the foreign ministry as one of the retained lobbyists and is understood to provide advocacy support on behalf of the government.
DR Consultancy is contracted at US$40,000 per month, while Continental Strategy is paid US$50,000 per month.
WIN also raised questions about prior work undertaken by at least one of the firms in relation to the high-profile extradition matter involving Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed.
“With more than a million US dollars leaving the Treasury each year, taxpayers deserve to know whose interests are truly being served. Until the Government provides comprehensive answers, paying lobby firms remains another example of PPP mismanagement and unchecked spending,” the WIN stated.
