A cash grant of US$1.5 million to strengthen democracy. Sounds good? Not if you're Guyanese, and in government.A US-funded Leadership and Democracy (LEAD) project was launched in Georgetown last July with a reception for its newly-arrived Canadian head, Glenn Bradbury. That followed nine months of preparatory meetings with government and other stakeholders.
Fast forward four months. Roger Luncheon, ultra-powerful head of the presidential secretariat, said in November he wanted the project cancelled. The cabinet "had no option but to pull the plug."The US Ambassador Brent Hardt said LEAD would go ahead: "We will engage with those stakeholders who wish to engage...We hope government will find a way to work with us."Luncheon complained: "We were presented with an agreement to sign, over which we had zero contribution."
Oddly, he had at an earlier stage thanked the project developers for their "diligent" efforts to keep the government informed. He now says that consultation was "just cosmetic."But why waste the chance for a nice spat? Luncheon in December called LEAD an "affront" to Guyanese sovereignty, a "flouting of state authority."Just before Christmas, Guyana sent a "note verbale" to the State Department. No Santa and reindeer on that one. "Note verbale" is diplo-speak for seething fury.
Luncheon blames Hardt personally. He characterised the ambassador's position as: "Cabinet, Luncheon, Ramotar 'screw you'." The ambassador "has effectively challenged state power."Hardt knows his Caribbean. He has worked in the region, on and off, for perhaps 25 years. He has held high-level posts in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, and in the Bahamas.
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