$1.8B plugged into developing small businesses for 2023 – VP Jagdeo

…says no MPs can benefit from refashioned SLED initiative

The Guyana Government has injected a whopping $1.8 billion to develop small businesses in all 10 administrative regions for 2023.
This was according to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo during a recent interview during which he added that a large portion of this money is yet to be distributed.
This sum accounts for two separate avenues to support small business financing. The first is the Small Business Bureau (SBB) grant, which falls under the auspices of the Tourism Industry and Commerce Ministry. It was previously reported that over 700 applications are currently outstanding, given the meticulous requirements to confirm eligibility.
“We’ve decided that they will all get some grant through that Ministry. They have a pool of money and those persons will receive…I want those who applied through the Small Business Bureau to know that we’ve addressed that concern.”
Based on Guyana’s grant regulations, recipients can receive anywhere between $500,000 and $150,000 under this initiative. However, the business must be compliant with all the requirements, including being registered with the Deeds and Commercial Registry, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), and the National Insurance Scheme (NIS). A business plan must also be submitted.
The former Sustainable Livelihoods and Entrepreneurial Development (SLED) programme was redesigned by Government to allow for smaller business grants to be issued to a larger pool of people. This is after several members of the former Government were flagged during an audit that found that millions in State funds were in fact wasted.
With just a fraction of this grant issued, the rollout is yet to be done in Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), parts of Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), and 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
This programme is capped at about $200,000. According to Jagdeo, about 4000 persons would be targeted.
“We reformed that programme and we reduced the sum so that more people can benefit. We prohibited Members of Parliament from getting any money from this grant. That is a separate grant that we have to rollout out across the country…We haven’t done it as yet. It will be done over the course of the next few months,” Jagdeo outlined.
A total of $760 million was disbursed under the SLED programme between 2015 and 2020, in increments of $115 million, $40 million, $100 million, $150 million, $250 million, and $105 million, respectively. In April 2023, prominent Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) were fingered in a damning forensic audit report into the former APNU/AFC Government’s SLED Programme.
In one instance, a project analysis zeroed in on MP Christopher Jones and the Precision Barber Shop and Beauty Salon. The report stated that no interview was conducted with Jones nor was the team able to confirm the grant received from the SLED initiative.
However, it noted that based on the review of the Compliance Audit, “Christopher Jones entity is not a registered society under the Co-operative Societies Act 88:01 or Friendly Society Act 36:04.”
Back in 2020, the CID Headquarters had reported that the barbershop equipment was allegedly fraudulently obtained based on an audit which showed that the Ministry of Social Protection approved the disbursement of $4.9 million under the Region Four Administration for the procurement of equipment for a barbershop. (G-12)