GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Another GUY$ 525 million (One Guyana dollar=US$0.004 cents) has been allocated in the 2023 budget for establishing an embassy in neighboring Brazil.
The allocation comes just two months after Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hugh Todd confirmed that the government had scrapped the contract for constructing the embassy building.
It’s reported that despite a flawed contract signed by the previous APNU+AFC administration, the People’s Progressive Party Civic government at the start of 2022 had re-committed to completing the construction of the US$4.3 million Embassy in Brazil.
An ambitious timeline to complete the facility by July this year still needs to be met.
Now, more monies have been allocated, but there is no indication of a new contract.
The project total is listed in the 2023 budget as GUY$ 978.9 million, which the central government will fully finance.
Before 2021, $36.2 million was allocated to the project, with another $407.3 million in 2021 and $10.4 million in 2022.
According to Todd, the government was forced to scrap the entire contract because of mounting inconsistencies.
A team from the Ministry visited Brazil last year, and during that visit, the contract ended.
Todd had promised then to revisit the entire process.
Previously, the Foreign Minister said the issues were directly related to the contract and the design submitted. He said the delay in completing the physician structure for the embassy had not hampered cooperation efforts between the two neighbors.
Guyana and Brazil are cooperating on several fronts, with talks ongoing and agreements signed to support the regional efforts toward energy and food security.
There are bilateral treaties on civil and criminal matters and health and business exchanges, particularly in oil and gas.
Five years have passed since the groundbreaking ceremony to mark the construction of a permanent building for the Guyana Embassy in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil.
The construction contract was made through a partnership between a local firm and another construction firm in Brazil.
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