GECOM moves at sloth’s pace while lives hang in the balance – GCCI President

President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer, is of the considered view that that the survival of many lives in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic rests on the shoulders of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

The electoral body has, more than six weeks after general and regional elections, failed to produce official, credible results, and has therefore, frustrated the installation of a government with full powers. Meanwhile, Guyana battles a deadly virus that has already claimed six lives.

“The GCCI has undertaken independent modeling of the spread of the pandemic in Guyana. The Chamber’s model ascertains that there will be 19,500 cases by the end of the first week in May. This is in tandem with the projections by the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) which projects approximately 20,000 cases by May 5th, 2020.”
The Chamber’s projections had first been shared by its Executive Director, Richard Rambaran, detailing just how dire the situation could get if Guyana does not mount the correct response.

“As case numbers increase, the Government will have to issue mandatory stay at home orders, which are far more restrictive, and which will shut down the economy which was already in a slowdown due to caution around the election. Subsequently, there will be perhaps one of the largest increases in the number of persons who are laid off from their jobs in recent history; one only has to look at the devastation done to our Tourism and Hospitality industry and extrapolate from there.”

The Chamber President said that if there isn’t a proper comprehensive response in about 30 days, projections show it will be too late. At that point, he said, Guyana would just be putting band-aid on a crisis.
The Chamber stated that fiscal stimulus is necessary to offset the devastating economic and social impacts of such restrictive orders. For there to be sufficient fiscal stimulus, the Chamber stated that Guyana must have a fully functioning Finance Minister and Parliament convened, “not a Caretaker Finance Minister”.

“It is with this pandemic and its magnitude in mind that the Chamber notes the need for Guyana having to spend a massive amount on the healthcare sector including, but not limited to, more on wages, new facilities and equipment as well as more on consumables.”

The Government has already started the execution of relief efforts, with the distribution of hampers families in several regions, and it is in continuous preparation of facilities to house COVID-19 patients. Leader of the National COVID-19 Task Force, Moses Nagamootoo, has indicated that the Government is working on getting cash vouchers issued. All this, government is doing, not at full capacity.

But the government’s powers have been complicated by events of the past year and a half.
The passing of the December 21, 2018 no-confidence motion against the government has reduced its powers, and the President has acknowledged that his government must operate in a limited capacity.
The Parliament of Guyana was also dissolved late last year to make way for elections.

But then, the President in March invoked a decades-old public health ordinance which grants the government sweeping powers, including the right to expend public funds as it deems necessary.
While under normal circumstances, Parliament would have to approve the issuance of large sums, the ordinance has removed the need for parliamentary approval.

This, the Chamber President said, puts the country in a situation where its citizens will not get the most value out of the expenditure of their money.
His view is that, as there is no parliamentary oversight for the government’s actions at this time, it is bound to make a series of unilateral decisions which will evade the constructive criticism and reformation the National Assembly is necessary to provide.

And in the case of a global pandemic, Deygoo-Boyer opines that the country deserves no less than to be able to expend the full gamut of its governing institutions, within the framework of credible democracy.
It is not just that Guyana will not have sufficient oversight over the use of its own funds. There is also the concern of Guyana possibly being prevented from receiving aid from certain development partners.
At this point, Guyana does not know whether the World Bank has refused to grant Guyana the US$5M it requested to mount a response to COVID-19.

But its largest shareholder, the US, has warned of serious consequences if credible elections results are not produced. And the World Bank has produced a map showing the locations of 82 projects for which it has committed US$7B in 71 countries. Guyana has been identified as one of the least prepared in the hemisphere to tackle the virus, by the International Monetary Fund. Yet, it is not among the 71 countries the World Bank has committed aid to.
Deygoo-Boyer said it is clear that Guyana is being pushed to the back of the line.

“We cannot, as a country, insult the International Community on Social Media and then turn around and ask for their funds and think it will be handed to us ahead of other countries in need. The unique feature of this crisis is that the world is experiencing it simultaneously so there is a long line for international aid, we do not need to take actions to cause us to be placed at the back of the line,” the GCCI stated.

“If this Election crisis is prolonged, and a fully functioning government is not put in place, then many Guyanese will die from lack of adequate healthcare to treat the virus, and thousands more will suffer from the economic impact. This can include starvation, especially in the city where people are less likely to grow their own food.”

It is against this backdrop and the health of Guyana’s oil economy that the GCCI calls for a recount plan that needs 30 days or less to be executed, and a government in place with the full confidence of the people for the impact of the pandemic to be lessened and the loss of life reduced.