Government needs to take purposeful loans

 
…Marriott should not be priority – says Granger

Leader of the Opposition, David Granger, yesterday relied and stressed heavily on the word “purposeful” as he spoke on the numerous loans that the government of the day has been taking.
Granger did not see the amount of money that Guyana has been borrowing as a threat to the country’s financial future. His contention was that all governments take loans.

APNU Leader, David Granger

But that alone wasn’t justification; the politician added that it is not necessarily all about the amount of money being borrowed but more about the purpose.
He told Kaieteur News, “It is all about the purposes to which the loans are being put; how efficiently is it administered and certainly it has to do with the prospects.”
Granger went on to say that commercial banks would make sure that a project is viable. They are obviously not going to put their money into projects which they feel are likely to end up in catastrophe.
He said, too, that banks are not going to lend their monies to countries that they feel are incapable of repaying. “So I am not afraid of the loan. What I am afraid of is the priority that government has selected.”
Granger made known that his party—A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)—believes that at this point in Guyana’s development, funding  need to be put into infrastructure that can promote development. “For example we don’t believe that the Marriott is a top priority; it is not going to promote development.”
“We believe that maybe a highway to Lethem from Linden is going to promote development, encourage commerce and allow farmers to bring their produce to market. We believe that investment in that type of infrastructure is going to be beneficial to the country in the medium and long term; unlike the investment in a hotel that won’t bring about the same, or similar return.”
Granger sees the Demerara Harbour Bridge as a commercial link between the East and West Banks of Demerara. He said that lots of people who live on the west side come to work in Georgetown. “So by not having an efficient bridge and having long delays, mean that people are not working full days. The situation is a hindrance.
Another investment that Granger identified as viable is that that can be put into education. He said that any investment in education will not be wasted. “So I would have taken loans to put UG on a firmer footing; any investment in education is purposeful.”
Way Forward
Granger also hit down a statement made by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) to the effect that it matters not, the significance of a negative observation, once it hasn’t emerged from a source that is not pro government, it won’t be acknowledged; nor will the government seek to make correction.
Granger said that that isn’t an intelligent position to be taken by the PPP government and added that that ‘attitude’ is unhelpful.
He said that APNU believes that as it relates to problems which face us all, criticisms can come from any source.
He said that his party has visited dozens of communities and “when we speak about Mahdia, we have been there and saw what is going on.”
The politician said, “When we spoke about public security, I had made a criticism years ago about the E and F division being combined. We called for a separation and they did it, so we know they listen.”
Granger, however, couldn’t point out one major project that the government adjusted on the call of the opposition.