The government’s new Guyana Development Bank will hand out $20 billion in interest-free, collateral-free loans, but the seven people chosen to run it are drawing sharp criticism from the opposition. APNU’s parliamentary lead, Dr Terrence Campbell, says he sees “no one who is truly independent on the board.”
Who was appointed
According to Kaieteur News, the board is chaired by Abu Zaman, with Kathy Smith as deputy chair. Directors include James Bond, a serving PPP/C Member of Parliament; Finance Secretary Sukrishnalall Pasha; Dion Inniss of Caribbean Airlines; governance strategist Nalinie Singh; and Praem Rambharak, a member of the President’s Youth Advisory Council.
APNU’s objections
Campbell pointed out that the board has no chartered accountant, no representative of the Guyana Association of Bankers and no opposition nominee. He also questioned the appointment of a sitting MP, noting that the Natural Resource Fund Act bars MPs from its boards, and said the development bank should follow the same rule to avoid being “overly politicised.”
Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed raised similar concerns, arguing that only the chairman has banking experience and that no director’s biography shows credit-risk or loan-recovery expertise. He proposed an independent credit committee, Parliament-approved independent nominees, a published register of directors’ interests, Bank of Guyana supervision and quarterly public reports.
Calls for the Auditor General
A letter published in Kaieteur News on October 13 went further, urging that the Auditor General be involved now, before the loans start flowing. The IMF, in its latest assessment, also called on Guyana to enforce procurement rules consistently and strengthen its anti-corruption framework.
Why it matters
A lender that requires no collateral and charges no interest depends entirely on the judgement and independence of the people approving loans. When a ruling-party MP, a member of the President’s Youth Advisory Council and the Finance Ministry’s top civil servant sit on the board, voters are entitled to ask who will say no when politically connected applicants come calling, and who will check the books.
APNU’s case is modest: keep sitting politicians off the board, bring in qualified finance professionals and give the opposition a voice, so the bank is independent from day one. No government response to the criticisms had been reported by Kaieteur News.
Leave a Reply