Former President Donald Ramotar has responded in an ongoing feud between himself and European Union Ambassador to Guyana, Jernej Videtič and continues to argue that Guyana met the conditions required for disbursement of EU budget support grants under his Presidency.
Mr. Videtič, earlier this week, chided Ramotar over statements in which he sought to blame the EU for setbacks in Guyana’s sugar industry.
Ramotar claimed that the EU did not deliver the €25 million that Guyana had earned and had an agreement on.
In clarifying the statement, Mr. Videtič explained that it was the PPP government that did not deliver on the terms of the agreement, including by making little progress in public finance management reforms and by effectively suspending parliamentary oversight of the budget through the prorogation of the parliament.
It was Ramotar who had prorogued the Parliament and subsequently dissolved it when faced with a No – Confidence Motion and imminent general and regional elections.
But Mr. Ramotar has refused to accept the Ambassador’s clarification and now contends that “it is most regrettable that the Ambassador did not acquaint himself fully with the facts of this matter before pronouncing on it.”
According to the former President, in January 2015 the then PPP Government had made public the stated position that the conditions were fulfilled recommendations were made for the disbursement of the €25.9 million on the basis of the EU’s satisfaction.
“In fact, after Guyana had qualified for the grants and encountered the first delays in their disbursement, in a meeting in my office with the then EU Ambassador, I was advised that the reason for the delay was the impasse over the anti-money laundering legislation. No mention was made about the prorogation of Parliament,” he said.
Ramotar maintains that it is an indisputable fact that Guyana did meet the conditions required for disbursement and that the technical officers at the EU Delegation and the EU’s contracted technical experts were satisfied that these conditions were met.
“I maintain my earlier position that Guyana had qualified for the budget support grants and that these were unjustifiably and arbitrarily withheld by the EU.”
Responding directly to the Ambassador’s talk of European taxpayers’ money, Ramotar said “perhaps he needs to be reminded that much of the wealth accumulated by Europe was built on the backs of enslaved and bounded labour, and as a result of the worst crime ever committed against humanity, leading to the very justifiable recent calls for reparations.”
Mr. Videtič in his statement reminded that the funds were European citizen’s taxes; reiterating the EU’s duty to carefully ensure all of criteria were met before any funds were released.
The EU envoy acknowledged that Guyana’s National Assembly is now sitting and parliamentary oversight is again in place.
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