President Irfaan Ali has challenged those who accuse his administration of discrimination to provide the evidence. People are responding. Below is the research of a group who did a detailed ethnic report of contracts awarded by the National Procurement and Tender Administration (NPTA) which is graphically represented above.
As per the Summary of the report “There is clear evidence of ethnic discrimination in the award of tenders in Guyana. The National Procurement and Tender Administration (NPTA) lists on its website Guyana’s annual tender awards and an analysis of these awards provided a clear pattern of discrimination. Companies owned or operated by Guyanese of Indian descent are awarded contracts at a rate far exceeding their representation in the broader demographic statistics of the country. Additionally, this pattern is even more evident when the dollar value of the contracts is considered”
Key points in the report are:
- 56.9% of contracts awarded were to businesses owned or operated by Guyanese of Indian descent
- 72.8% of the total dollar value of awards went to businesses owned or operated by Guyanese of Indian descent
- 10.4% of contracts awarded were to businesses owned or operated by Guyanese of African descent
- 7.1% of the total dollar value of awards went to businesses owned or operated by Guyanese of African descent
- Contracts were awarded 5 times as often to contractors of Indian descent as those of African descent
- The dollar value of contracts awarded to Guyanese firms with Indian descent ownership or management was 10 times greater than that awarded to firms owned or managed by Guyanese of African descent
- According to the 2012 census, Guyanese of Indian descent represent 39.8% of the population and Guyanese of African descent 29.3%
- It is interesting to note that the value of tenders awarded to foreign companies exceeds that rewarded to Guyanese of African descent
The methodology employed in complying the report is hereunder identified:-
“288 awards listed on NPTA’s website, where ownership or management of tender awardees could be determined, were examined. Awards examined were from the year 2022. The ethnicity of owners or managers of businesses for these awards was first determined, as well as whether they are local or foreign businesses, and then an analysis [was] conducted. This was done through 3 methods: 1. Business names that were of South Asian origin were identified. 2. Where business names were generic in nature, news articles where owners and managers were mentioned were identified, 3. Photographic evidence from contract signing ceremonies where businesses were identified was utilised. Businesses owned by Guyanese of African descent, or other ethnicities, were similarly identified. Businesses that are internationally owned and operated were also noted.”
