Foreign aid for COVID-19 fight stymied by elections results delay – caretaker PM

Guyana’s appeal to international agencies for assistance against the COVID-19 pandemic might be put on hold until a duly-elected government is sworn in.

This is the position shared by Chairman of the National COVID-19 Task Force, former Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo on Thursday, who stated that international relief would be inhibited by the current political situation.

This means that the country will have to rely on smaller funds or

resources from its coffers to lead the coronavirus fight.
It has been almost two months since citizens all over the country cast their vote, but results from this process are nowhere in sight. In fact, they were hampered by several unlawful moves and court cases, most of which were sponsored by the coalition administration. Despite warnings from the ABCE countries and reputable international agencies for an immediate resolution to these issues, there has been no outcome.
Nagamootoo indicated during a press conference that while these requests were sent out, approval would not be given amid the political tension in which the country was embroiled.
“We are aware that there are a few requests… being processed, but I believe that because of the political situation in Guyana…that we cannot say for sure whether some of these international, multilateral … agencies are going to deal with Guyana’s applications anytime soon. They are probably going to sit it out until a president is sworn in,” he said.
Despite being in the second quarter of 2020, the country is yet to process a budget. In fact, monies are disbursed through the Finance Ministry at the present time for any initiative relating to the coronavirus. As such, he is now of the opinion that the impasse must end to restore normalcy.
“Remember there is no budget…so there is no Contingency Fund that we could draw from. We need to resolve our political problems and we need to move on as a nation and as a government to deal with these pressing matters of how to stimulate our economy, how to keep our production going, how to keep jobs going.”
Earlier this month, the country was excluded from the first batch of Covid-19 care packages. The World Bank had launched its first aid operation to bolster the capacity of 25 nations to fight the COVID-19 outbreak.
Guyana had approached the World Bank last month for a US$5 million loan to tackle the coronavirus, which had then claimed four lives and infected 31 locally. Guyana is in a tricky situation; however, having conducted elections over a month ago with a winner yet to be announced.
The majority of observers who scrutinised the tabulation process has pronounced it to have not been credible. The international community has warned Guyana that it could be isolated and even sanctioned if a President is sworn in on the basis of the flawed results, resulting in an uneasy standoff between the international community and the Government.
In a recent interview with this publication, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Executive, Dr Vindhya Persaud expressed concern over the lack of a stable Government and the harm this was doing to the country’s ability to access help.
It has been some time since the country requested help in the form of funds from the World Bank. That help has so far not been forthcoming and the coronavirus cases continue to rise.
“Definitely we are in a state where we need so much more to address the needs of the citizens. Because what we’re seeing is poor handling of the COVID crisis in Guyana. There is a lack of testing. There is controlled testing being dictated by the Minister. And also, poor dissemination of information, not only to the healthcare system but also to the public which is resulting in a risk situation for the country,” she told this publication.
According to her, in addition to the mismanagement of this entire situation by the Government, “we are being excluded from [international help]. The political situation isn’t helping, because we have been in limbo for the longest while and because of the illegalities that have been causing serious questions to be raised around the world.”