Georgetown : After much negotiations, the Governments of Guyana and the United States (US) have finally reached a mutually acceptable agreement on the way forward with the USAID Leadership and Democracy (LEAD) project.
This announcement was jointly made by Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon and Charge d’ Affaires of the US Embassy, BryanHunt at the Office of the President yesterday.
The US $1.5M LEAD Project, which attracted a lot of attention in the local media, had to be put on hold after former US Ambassador Brent Hardt proceeded with its implementation despite concerns raised by the Guyana Government.
The US Government on April 30 conveyed its willingness to temporarily suspend the project’s implementation to facilitate further discussions between the two-sides before it could have been signed off on.
Dr. Luncheon spoke of the bilateral and collective efforts that were needed on both sides to bring to fruition this favourable outcome. He said that there was a commitment to ensure that Guyana and its people were not denied the benefits of the project.
“A mutually acceptable regime was all that the Government of Guyana insisted on as an outcome of this process…this point that we are at represents the achievement of the outcome that we both sought,” he said.
Nevertheless, he said that focus must now be placed on the actual implementation particularly on those areas that have been identified in the various components. He said that the efforts that were made by both sides can only be reciprocated by equal or additional efforts by stakeholders who will be involved in the implementation phase of the project.
The US has retained the services of the International Republican Institute (IRI) to roll out the implementation of the project. The IRI is headed by Glenn Bradbury whose work permit the Government had earlier revoked to register its disapproval with the initial design of the project.
Following the reaching of the mutually accepted agreement, Bradbury’s work permit has been renewed and he is currently in Guyana organising the various consultations that will be held.
The Cabinet Secretary posited that, “in the months ahead, when we see what the outcomes are, collectively we can all admire the work we’ve put into the design and implementation as we enjoy the benefits of this project.”
The restructured LEAD will provide the tools, international expertise and opportunities to help facilitate conversations and activities on important national issues. In this process, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the Women and Gender Equality Commission, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and the National Assembly (as a whole and not as individual political Parties) will be playing key roles.
US Charge d’ Affaires Hunt in his remarks said that the project’s new design recognises that Guyana’s democratic future is one that must, at its core, be shaped by Guyanese and as such, it does not seek to define that democratic future, but rather to support Guyanese stakeholders in defining it themselves.
He noted too that the success of the project in meeting its objectives will depend on the continued goodwill and participation of a broad cross-section of Guyanese stakeholders from the political arena, civil society, and the public and private sectors.
Hunt also clarified that no aspect of the LEAD project is expected to provide any support whatsoever to any individual political Party.
When asked about the modifications that were made to the design of the project, Hunt said that the primary focus on the US was to ensure that the Government of Guyana had the opportunity to participate fully in the discussions around the LEAD project activities and making certain that the implementation mechanisms were most appropriate to ensuring that the Government had the ability to comment on the activities as the project progressed.
“A lot of our discussions were around making certain that the Government felt that it had, quite rightly, a voice in those discussions and that Government institutions would be consulted and be part of that process as we determine what topics and what workshops the LEAD project would work on,” Hunt said.
The broad areas of the programme however, remained unchanged. These include: strengthening the work of the National Assembly, building consensus around national issues, civic education for local government elections, and encouraging greater participation in civic life by women and youths.
The Government essentially sought to add certain aspects to the project, which it thought needed to be focused on such as economic empowerment for women and youths and gender-based violence, both of which were not included in the initial design.
