The Government of Guyana and the European Union (EU) yesterday signed a €14.8M financing agreement for the Tenth European Development Fund (10th EDF) Sea and River Defence Sector Budget Support Programme.The signing done between Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh, Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson Benn, and the Head of the EU Delegation to Guyana, Ambassador Robert Kopecký took place at theMinister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh, Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson Benn, and the Head of the EU Delegation to Guyana,Cheap Jerseys Supply, Ambassador Robert Kopecký sign the financing agreementMinistry of Finance boardroom in the presence of media operatives.The €14.8M support would be provided over a three-year span in tranches, unlike the previous supports which financed large scale projects. Financing under the 10th EDF would be released based on performance and the Public Works Ministry satisfying benchmarks negotiated between the Ministry and the EU.Currently, the benchmarks for the release of funds for the first tranche are being negotiated and the areas to benefit would be listed in this year’s National Budget. However, some of the areas identified by Benn on the coastland that will benefit are situated in Regions Two and Three.According to Benn, this financing would allow the maintenance of sea defence structures along the coastland where majority of the economic activities are executed. He added that foods harvested from the vast agricultural lands are exported to the Caribbean and further afield, as such, drainage structures are pertinent.Benn emphasized that since 1994 Government has been benefiting from the EDF.According to Ambassador Kopecký, the EU’s partnership with Guyana in this sector dates back to the 7th EDF programme signed on 24 February 1994, at which time €12M was committed. A further €20M and €18.018M were committed under the Eighth and Ninth EDF programmes respectively.Overall, the EU has contributed about €50 million into the sea and river defence sector towards the construction, rehabilitation and/or maintenance of approximately 35km of sea defence structures in Regions Two, Three, Four and Six.He noted that the Tenth EDF financing agreement builds on previous Sea and River Defence programmes undertaken by the Government and the EU. The previous financial commitments made under the 7th, 8th and 9th EDFs have been implemented through project interventions, but recent policy development, institutional reforms and capacity building activities, have set the environment for continuing EDF assistance to the sea and river defence sector through Sector Budget Support.Emphasizing Guyana’s vulnerability to climate change, Dr. Singh said that 90 percent of the population resides on the coastland which is below the Atlantic Ocean. While mining and forest, which contribute to the country’s Gross Domestic Product, are done in the interior, other economic activities are done on the coastland.Ironically, Guyana finds itself in a position where it is critical in its fight against climate change, he added. The Minister noted that Guyana’s pristine rainforest, which has been intact for generations by choice, is one of the lungs of the earth.
