‘No political spite in Government’s actions’ – Minister Felix

DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix during budget 2018 debates denounced the opposition’s claims of political spite in the government’s actions, as being without merit.

The Citizenship Minister was addressing statements, he attributed to Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Dr. Frank Anthony, who accused the government of political spite, in the manner in which the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCO) has been handled.

However, Minister Felix observed, “When the APNU+AFC government took office in 2015, we entered the threshold of government with a dangerous situation confronting us – a sick and ailing GuySuCo and from then this government has pumped $32B to keep this terminally ill patient alive and allow many employees and their dependents to enjoy that good life which we promised.”

Further, Minister Felix said the government was never of the mindset that nothing could be done for the ailing sugar company, but rather that there must be an identification of what can be done to save the company in one form or other.

“This government has crafted a policy in which we identified the viable sectors of the corporation and we are working with those entities to convert them into profitable entities while those areas which remain unprofitable would either be diversified or divested. So much so for political spite,” Minister Felix said.

Reflecting on the state of GuySuCo since the government took charge in 2015, Minister Felix said the sums of $32B in 2017 and the budgeted $6B in 2018 can by no means be considered miserly sums as argued by the opposition.

“These inaccuracies must be set right, and the opposition ought to be contrite for the sorry state in which they left GuySuCo after 23 years in government during which mismanagement, incompetence and waste was the order of the day,” the citizenship minister said, as he set the record straight.

Minister Felix highlighted the poor investment of the National Insurance Scheme’s (NIS) funds into the Berbice River Bridge for which the scheme has not received a cent on its investment and the nonpayment of billions of dollars of employees NIS contributions by GuySuCo as being actions of the previous government which are “nauseous with political spite.”

Proceeding to make a list of similar situations which the APNU+AFC government has had to contend with, Minister Felix said, “GuySuCo was not the only surprised package since there was the threatened foreclosure of the Marriott by one of the commercial banks and the financial difficulties faced by the NIS which necessitated, “financial rescuing interventions,” which the government has had to undertake at the expense of higher increase in pensions for 2018.

 

By: Kidackie Amsterdam

 

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