Dear Editor,

The recent announcement that the Ministry under embattled Minister Edghill’s responsibility is considering working with the Guyana-Colombian Chamber of Commerce to potentially carry out a number of key infrastructural projects raises significant concerns. Colombia has a long and entangled history with the illegal narcotic trade and given the current money laundering concerns facing Guyana, and the need for strengthening our safeguards against associated financial risks, it would be wise to give preference to other highly capable and reputable countries for the project portfolio under consideration. It is estimated that approximately $11 Billion USD annually is laundered through Colombia and this risk was referred to as “a significant threat to economic stability and the integrity of the financial system”. (Reference: Sentinel). The Chamber may have already put in place the necessary safeguards to avoid Guyana’s entanglement in money laundering, but as we say in our country, “better safe than sorry”. 

Our government should make the U.S., UK, China, Japan and the EU our preferred group of Tier 1 partners for any major projects being undertaken in the country and only consider high risk countries such as Colombia once the opportunities available to the Tier 1 group have been fully exhausted. CRG recommends using this approach to safeguard against money laundering and for leveraging the Tier 1 group’s strong systems for added financial protections. In addition, their experience and expertise in project execution makes them an easy choice for major projects, which avoids future controversy and unnecessary risk to our nation’s financial system. 

Given the apparent mismanagement involving the Minister in the MV Barima tragedy that has led to the largest tragedy ever faced by our nation, CRG is not surprised that the Minister would seriously consider bypassing better partnerships and entertain entangling our nation’s development with a high risk country like Colombia, which has been on the radar of the U.S. for illegal drug trafficking. The Ministry’s project portfolio should have already been assigned to companies within the Tier 1 group of preferred countries, and Colombia’s Chamber of Commerce should have been politely told thank you for your interest and enthusiasm to participate in our development, but at this moment we are focused on strengthening our partnerships with our top tier partners for our current development needs. 

Best regards,

Mr. Jamil Changlee

Chairman

The Cooperative Republicans of Guyana