[www.inewsguyana.com] – Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan has reiterated that all monies owed to millers for rice shipped to Venezuela have already been paid by government.
The minister told GINA that the new administration was aware of the plight of some 7,000 farmers after it was discovered that the Petro Caribe Fund was left depleted by the previous administration. Hence, the decision was made to address this issue immediately. He emphasised that the Guyana Rice Development Board, as was previously stated, was given monies to pay millers for rice which had already been shipped to Venezuela.
The current challenge, the Minister stressed, was that the neighbouring country has halted all rice shipments since August. This action poses challenges for the farmers in meeting their contractual obligations under the current rice barter agreement, scheduled to end in November of this year.
All of the rice shipped thus far, he said, has therefore been paid for, and monies handed over to Guyana Rice Development Board to meet payment to the farmers.
It was explained that under the original Petro- Caribe deal, Guyana would pay upfront a percentage of the cost of the fuel acquired from Venezuela, with the balance, which is placed in the Petro Caribe Fund at the Bank of Guyana, being treated as a loan repayable over 23 years, with a two-year grace period and 2% interest. The higher the price per barrel of oil acquired from Venezuela, the lower is the upfront payment and the higher is the amount deposited in the Fund.
Each deposit into the Fund was treated as a loan to the country on the same concessionary terms. In effect, this resulted in Guyana being able to defer its payments, which were at very concessionary rates, over a longer period of time. However, with the Barter deal clinched by the previous Administration, the Petro-Caribe Fund at the Bank of Guyana was utilised to facilitate payments to farmers, via millers.
Vain promises.Rude awakening.
Well you got a chance to get into power by fooling farmers but u know next election you will be out because those farmers are not going to believe u. So if you want to win next election u have to be make the farmers happy
I feel sorry for the poor farmers, but in one way I am happy because most of them
voted for the pnc/afc and this is what they get LADOO for their vote. keep on asking for the 23 B the finance minister say he have in the budget and then said his ministry have no money.. thanks to to the hon Minister ask dr ramaya he said he will
rice farmer get 9,000 per bag what happen to that they shoud go to his office or in front of his house and wait for him to give an answer.
Answer to the question: NOTHING. The govt is clueless.
Stop misleading farmers. You guys are fooling. What is meant by saying all monies paid???
First thing APNU did is spoiling the relationship with our neighbors. You killed the market and will see farmers suffering. Now what payments you are talking about?
Mr. Minister first try to understand what is “petrocaribe ” and tell farmers how you killed the only rice market.
Don’t blame millers or farmers it is the policy of your government and your foreign policy and ignorance that is going to destroy our farmers.
The question posed by the farmers is what is the government doing to establish other markets given the fact that Venezuela is not purchasing anymore?