Government ministers using state resources to campaign

Jun 18, 2025 Letters

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Dear Editor,

Kaieteur News – As our nation prepares for General and Regional Elections on September 1, 2025, it is evident that several ministers are now actively engaged in public outreach under the guise of governance. They are using state resources to campaign, making grand promises in a bid to win votes.

Take the Ministry of Housing, for example. Its Ministers are distributing house lots across the country. Yet many allottees are left frustrated, unable to access their land or secure mortgage financing. Despite these unresolved issues, the PPP/C continues to push propaganda, ignoring public concerns and relying heavily on misdirection. Fortunately, with the rise of digital media, their narrative is being exposed.

The government often boasts about ongoing infrastructure projects, proudly declaring “promises fulfilled,” even as many remain incomplete. They appear either unaware or unconcerned that accountability is fast approaching. What is particularly disappointing is that at his regular press conferences, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo speaks on every issue under the sun, except the $8.6B, 12-storey office complex.
This glaring omission is striking. The 12-storey office complex, a massive public investment under the Ministry of Public Works, has been awarded to Caribbean Green Builders Inc., with $8.6 billion in funding approved by the National Assembly to date. Yet, while Ministers Juan Edghill and Deodat Indar continue to inspect other infrastructure works; roads, bridges, and the like, they appear completely disinterested in the status of this flagship building.

It has now been approximately three years since the public was shown artistic renderings of this so-called “state-of-the-art” complex. A recent site visit left me disturbed and disappointed; there is no foundation, no superstructure, no visible progress at all. Aside from a newly erected billboard (likely to cost millions), there are only scattered mounds of sand and a few idle pieces of equipment. No active workforce. No heavy construction. Nothing to show for $8.6 billion.

Since 2022, I have closely monitored this project. Its initial allocation was $2.6 billion, and subsequent increases have brought the total to $8.6 billion as of February 3, 2025. During multiple budget debates (2022–2025), my colleague David Patterson and I repeatedly pressed for clarity. Minister Edghill consistently evaded our questions, vaguely claiming that steel frames are being fabricated in Turkey and Colombia, without providing verifiable evidence.

Now that the National Assembly will not reconvene before the elections, I am bringing this matter to the public. The Ministry must explain how $8.6 billion has been spent, when there is virtually no work on site as of June 15, 2025.

Two years ago, I publicly suggested that this funding may have been redirected to the Sheraton Four Points Hotel, which is being constructed by a Chinese contractor along Cane View Road, South Ruimveldt. I was ridiculed and called “irresponsible” for making that claim. Yet today, construction on the Sheraton is visibly progressing, while the 12-storey complex remains dormant. What is really going on?

It is time for transparency. The PPP/C must publicly declare:

• Who are the owners and investors behind the Sheraton Four Points Hotel?

• If this is a private development, why did President Irfaan Ali visit the site in May 2025?

• Why has the President not visited the stalled 12-storey complex or the regional hospital sites?

• Does the President or any Minister have a personal interest in the Sheraton project?

I have highlighted, and will do so again, that several projects initiated after the office complex are already completed or nearing completion:

• Aiden by Best Western – Completed

• Kings Hotel (Waterloo & Quamina Streets) – Nearing completion

• Bank of Baroda (Carmichael & Quamina Streets) – Steel structure up; active work ongoing

• Brickdam Police Headquarters – Steel frame up; construction progressing

• Campbellville Health Centre – Foundation work ongoing following recent demolition

• Numerous police stations and magistrates’ courts – Completed

* Headquarters for GWI and CHPA are currently under construction.

So why is there no progress at Haags Bosch Road, where the 12-storey complex is supposed to be built?

I now publicly call on Minister Edghill to answer the following questions:

1. Where is the official office of Caribbean Green Builders Inc. physically located in Guyana?

2. Is this company still contracted to build the Sheraton Four Points Hotel, or has it subcontracted the project to a Chinese firm?

3. Who are the principal officers of Caribbean Green Builders Inc.?

4. Would Minister Edghill be willing to take a polygraph test to confirm that none of the $8.6B allocated for the office complex has been used for the Sheraton project?

5. Have any steel frames from Colombia or Turkey arrived? If not, what is causing the delay?

6. How much of the $8.6B has been disbursed to Caribbean Green Builders Inc.?

Finally, I remind Minister Bishop Juan Edghill, as a clergyman, that he has a moral obligation to speak the truth and avoid public mistrust. My appeal is simple: Come clean. Account for the people’s money.

I am sharing two images with this letter: one showing progress at the Brickdam Police Station Headquarters, and the other showing the barren state of the project site at Haags Bosch, where the 12-storey office complex should be rising.

I now await a professional and transparent response from the Office of Minister Bishop Juan Edghill, MP.

Yours Sincerely,

Annette Ferguson, MP

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• 2025 elections, Annette Ferguson, campaign, PPP/C, state resources

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