Despite questions by the opposition PPP/C in parliament yesterday, the government provided no information on spending for the inauguration of President David Granger on May 26 at the Guyana National Stadium.
In a written response to questions posed by PPP/C parliamentarian Dr Frank Anthony, junior Education Minister, Nicolette Henry said that the Ministry of Education, Depart-ment of Culture, Youth and Sport was not required to provide any financial, technical, nor in-kind support in preparation for the Presidential Inauguration events held at Parliament Buildings, Independence Arch in Brickdam, the Pegasus Hotel, and elsewhere, including the clean-up up campaign that preceded those events.
Henry’s reply was confined to the Ministry of Education although questions of this type in Parliament usually require a response on behalf of the entire government.
Anthony had asked the minister to provide a detailed list of all costs incurred in relation to, and in preparation for, the Presidential inauguration events. He also asked the Minister to indicate the source of funding and for the Minister to provide a detailed list giving the nature and total value of contributions made.
Henry responded that as indicated in the first response, no financial support was provided therefore no source of funding can be indicated and, as a result, the ministry also has no list.
Anthony also asked if the minister could indicate when an audited statement of the expenditure incurred will be available and tabled in the National Assembly.
“The Ministry of Education, Department of Culture, Youth and Sport is not in possession of any statement of expenditure, as no expenses were incurred for the stated activities. Additionally, the Ministry of Education, Department of Culture, Youth and Sport is not in any position to audit and or table same in the National Assembly given its nonexistence,” was the response by Henry.
Questions had been raised about the cost of the large inauguration ceremony on May 26 for the President and whether private individuals had contributed. The APNU+AFC government had not given a detailed response on this.
During the consideration of the budget estimates this year similar questions were asked but the PPP/C was not satisfied with the oral answers that were provided by Henry.
Ironically, the former PPP/C government and Anthony himself had been the target of frequent questions by APNU and AFC MPs about the extent of spending for the 2008 Carifesta here, the 2007 Cricket World Cup and the construction of the Guyana National Stadium at Providence. To date, full details and reports on these ventures have not been provided.
Anthony had also faced numerous questions over the operations of the publishing house Caribbean Press.
