$728M spent from Guyana Lottery Fund in 2019 by APNU/AFC – PAC hears

…$50M Buju Banton concert fee paid from Fund

In 2019, a total of $728 million was spent from the Guyana Lottery Fund, out of the $745 million allocated to the Guyana Lottery Control Commission through budgetary provisions.
This was revealed on Monday, during the 69th meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in the 12th Parliament of 2025, while the Finance Ministry was under examination.
According to Finance Secretary Sukrishnalall Pasha, of the $745 million, $32 million was transferred to the consolidated fund that year, as mandated. The remaining balance from the Lottery Fund is expected to be transferred to the consolidated fund by the end of each fiscal year.
The 2019 expenditure, he said catered for $150 million was allocated for the rehabilitation of grounds; $88 million for the 2019 Independence Flag Rising Ceremony; $27.8 million for Emancipation activities; $50 million paid to Buju Banton for his performance and other planning related to the Walk to Freedom campaign; and $49 million for associated infrastructure works for the Linden Broadcasting Network, among others.
After being drilled by Public Works Minister Juan Edghill about the amount expended for the “Walk to Freedom campaign”, which was held during the tenure of the A Partnership for National Unity – Alliance For Change (APNU-AFC), Pasha explained that examining expenses is done solely by Cabinet.
“As the AG (Auditor General) indicated, we only spend from the Lotto fund when we receive a Cabinet decision and that as far as I’m aware would be a policy directive that we may not be in a position to ignore. So, we have to assume that when these decisions are made, they are made with the national interest at heart. We have no authority to ignore Cabinet decisions,” Pasha explained.
Meanwhile, questions were raised by Opposition Member of Parliament, Ganesh Mahipaul regarding the appointment of a board for the Guyana Lottery Control Commission (GLCC).
Following several lines of questioning, Finance Secretary Pasha reported that the last Guyana Lotteries Committee was appointed in 2017 to serve until 2019. However, there has been no active board in place since then.

Audit Reports
Monday’s examination also touched upon the issue of the audit of the financial statements for the years 2020 to 2024. The Finance Secretary and Deputy Finance Secretary signed off on the financial statements, which were then forwarded to the AG for audit. The reports from 2014 to 2023 received an unqualified opinion from the AG, which means there were no issues identified in the review. However, questions were raised about whether the absence of the commission affected the submission of the financial statements for those years.
“The statements are now being signed by myself and DAG (Deputy Accountant General) and I am happy to report that we’re being able to clear all the backlog that we had. Our Financial statements are audited up to 2023 and I am also happy to report that the reports are unqualified and we are currently preparing the 2024 report to the AG for scrutiny,” the Finance Secretary informed PAC.
The Finance Secretary confirmed that the reports had been signed and submitted for audit, but it was noted that the law requires committee members to sign off on the financial statements. Despite this, the AG and the Ministry of Finance agreed that the Finance Secretary and the Deputy Finance Secretary could sign the documents due to the absence of a commission. It was clarified that this arrangement would prevent further audit queries in the future, but the absence of a commission remained an ongoing issue.