Georgetown: A stimulus package for businesses is affected by the current political crisis while government has stopped the distribution of hampers until it can successfully determine who needs it the most, Former Prime Minister Moses Nagamotoo who is chair of the COVID-19 Task Force.
“We need to resolve our political problems and we need to move on as a nation and as Government to deal with this very pressing matter of how to stimulate our economy, how to keep production going, how to keep jobs going. We need to address these very, very important issues but as I said we are hamstrung by the political problematics that face us at this time,” Nagamootoo said during a virtual press conference.
The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) had also rolled out relief packages for the less fortunate but this was discontinued.
Asked when the programme will recommence, Nagamootoo said the aim is to ensure the relief caters for each persons’ needs but did not give an indication of when this can restart.
“We have assigned a sub-committee of the NCTF to work with the CDC to reconfigure how this ought to be done on a long term basis,” he said.
He said the lack of a national budget is significantly affecting the Government’s ability to stimulate the economy during the pandemic and a stimulus package is being considered by the Ministry of Finance in partnership with the Ministry of Business but it is unlikely to come on stream until a new Government is in place.
“Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, has alluded to the long-term view of stimulus packages that will see actual assistance to small businesses and the business sector. That, he said, will happen as we go over the hurdle of the elections problematic with the recounting of votes and the declaration of results and we’ll move into a normal situation where we have a budget and we will be able to stimulate the economy,” the Prime Minister explained.
Nagamootoo said the CDC is working with the National Data Management Authority, using the last census, to be able to determine the location of the country’s most vulnerable citizens… “It may not be very accurate…but it will give you an idea as to people who have fallen below the poverty line.”
“We view the coronavirus [2019] as a long term project that we shouldn’t just be taking knee jerk measures but how we should be planning on a long term basis to deal with the comprehensive look at how the nation has to tackle this issue,” he added.
Meanwhile, Nagamootoo said with the current lockdown measures coming to an end on May 3, the National COVID-19 Task Force will be assessing the situation to determine if the restrictions will be lifted or extended.
“I cannot say at this point in time whether the curfew will be lifted. There has been no representation made to the Task Force in this effect. If something is working and working in the interest of Guyana, then we need to review its effectiveness and make decisions as we go along,” Nagamootoo said.
In the same breath, however, he admitted that many persons are not adhering to the lockdown measures.
Restrictions include the closure of nonessential businesses and a national curfew for persons from 18:00hrs to 06:00hrs.
There are also restrictions on social activities such as private parties.
Just a few days ago, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) cautioned Guyana against lifting the curfew and restriction measures currently in place too early.
PAHO had noted that such an action could result in an exponential spike in the number of cases here.
In fact, what PAHO had advised, is for there to be better enforcement of the lockdown measures.
PAHO noted too that the lockdown measures should only be lifted once transmission is controlled; health system capacities are in place to detect, test, isolate and treat every case; and outbreak risks in health settings are minimalised.
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