Governance and the country’s business and investment climate were high on the agenda during a meeting between a delegation of European Union (EU) Ambassadors and a three-member opposition team on Tuesday.
The non-resident ambassadors, who hail from Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Romania and Sweden, are on a factfinding mission and over the last few days, have met with a number of key stakeholders including ministers.
PPP presidential candidate Irfaan Ali, who was accompanied by Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira and parliamentarian Juan Edghill, told Stabroek News yesterday that the delegation was briefed on governance, the issues surrounding the holding of general elections, as well as the existing business and investment climate including the challenges facing the business sector.
Ali stated that governance challenges including the breaking down of systems in government, transparency and accountability issues, and the use of public funds for political purposes by the APNU+AFC government, were highlighted.
He expressed the view that the opposition felt it had a duty to update the delegation about the present situation in the country.
Teixeira said that during the meeting, while there was a lot of back and forth questioning, no commitments were made by the members of the delegations, who have to first report back to their respective countries.
She said that the group was given a briefing on what has been happening in Guyana post December 21st when the opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion against the government was passed, particularly as it related to the ongoing legal process and the Guyana Elections Commission.
Like Ali, she informed that matters pertaining to the economy were also discussed. She specifically singled out corruption and instances of conflict of interest which, according to her, are “very high.”
Teixeira said too that like everyone else, the members of the delegation are eagerly awaiting the ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
The delegation, which was headed by Head of the EU Delegation to Guyana, Jernej Videtič, was accompanied by the UK High Commissioner to Guyana, Gregory Quinn. On Monday, the delegation met with Attorney General Basil Williams SC and Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan.
“From the legal context, we wanted to hear more and the Attorney General has given us a good overview of the situation and how he predicts things will be happening in the future,” Videtič had said shortly after a one-hour meeting with Williams had ended.
Videtič, when asked if it was concern among the EU countries that sparked the meeting, said that it was “pure coincidence.” He informed that the planning of the trip began “a few months ago, not knowing what will be happening here.”
He disclosed, too, that “many” more meetings will be held in the coming days, including with Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo. “We will go around and hear from many people and get informed of what is happening here,” he said.
Asked what conclusions the delegation drew from the meeting, he stressed the importance of good governance and that the principles of democracy are working and are respected. “This is what we heard and we are satisfied with what we heard,” he added.
Williams subsequently told reporters that the delegation wanted some insight into the state of things in relation to governance, with specific reference to the no-confidence motion case that is currently engaging the attention of the CCJ.
He said he updated the delegation and provided an overview of the prevailing situation in terms of the holding of elections, as well as the issues raised in the courts thus far and the issues that will be before the CCJ.
The Ministry of Public Security had said in a press release that a meeting with Ramjattan was aimed at furthering cooperation between Guyana and the EU. It noted that Ramjattan and the delegation discussed matters of governance and security issues in Guyana.
