The Government has set aside $500M for the President’s ‘Men on a Mission’ initiative in this year’s budget. While the programme is intended to serve the poor and vulnerable and address issues affecting men, the Opposition has expressed grave concern over the management of the resources, and the criteria that would be used to select the beneficiaries.
The $500 million forms part of the billions of dollars that have been budgeted for the Office of the President.
Faced with a barrage of questions from Opposition Member of Parliament Ganesh Mahipaul regarding the use and management of the $500M, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira told the Committee of Supply that the money will go a far will in helping the needy.
“The $500M here is to deal with a number of initiatives under the Men on a Mission, particularly community works, like you have seen, the building of homes for very, very indigent persons as well as working on community projects at the sport fields,” the Governance Minister said.
Issues such as Mental Health, Domestic Violence and Sexual Violence, among others, will also come into focus in 2023 under the programme, Minister Teixeira said, as she defended the budgeted sum.
In search of more answers, the Opposition MP enquired what criteria would be used to select the individuals and communities that would benefit from the programme.
“You may have seen the conditions under which a number of the elderly [people] live, in horrible, horrible conditions…We are addressing persons who are living in very bad conditions, and too poor to be able to help themselves. So, there is no criteria, as you asked, in relation to sporting facilities, etc, but if one goes into a community and there are a number of social problems where interventions could help to address these concerns, the Men on a Mission would do that,” Minister Teixeira said.
But MP Mahipaul, while making it clear from the inception that he is in full support of assisting the less fortunate and rebuilding the image of the country’s men, said he is concerned about the lack of proper management of tax payers’ money, and the lack of a proper system of selecting beneficiaries.
“My concern Sir, is that we are asking the people of Guyana to put into a programme $500M and there seems to be no financial management in keeping with the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act for this money, so I ask the Honorable Minister again, who sits on the Public Accounts Committee with myself, who spends time to scrutinize the expenditure of government, in keeping with the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act, the Procurement Act, the Stores Regulation and all the other Laws that govern the finances of this country, what is the established structure that is in place for the disbursement of this fund and what is being used to assess, who will get the help,” MP Mahipaul asked.
In response, the Governance Minister told the House that the funds will be utilized in accordance with the financial laws governing the country.
Further, she indicated that the programme is being managed by a body of reputable leaders including the Head of the Guyana Defence Force and Police Force, religious leaders and civil society representatives.
“This is the first time we have a very powerful organisation, not to use it as a formal organisation but a coming together of men in our country, over a thousand men in each region who are involved in responsible parenthood, responsible lifestyles, being opposed to Domestic Violence and Sexual Violence and recognizing their role in their communities, to play a more active role in terms of caring and reaching out to people who are less fortunate,” Minister Teixeira said.
The sum was eventually passed under the Office of the President’s budget.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login