GEORGETOWN – VPAC has launched a furious public indictment of Guyana’s infrastructure projects, warning that the country is sinking under the weight of foreign loans while being left with “roads that start breaking up months after they open.” The committee issued an ultimatum: contractors who deliver substandard work must be forced to fix it at their own cost or face severe legal penalties.
VPAC’s statement acknowledged full support for massive investments like the new Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge and national road links, but stressed that visible defects, bumps, and uneven paving on projects like the Mahaica-Mahaicony corridor prove the work is “not up to the standard.”
The Foreign Scrutiny and Failed Projects
The call to action is underscored by international embarrassment and a history of colossal financial failures. VPAC recalled that even foreign partners have noticed the poor quality, citing U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent, sensational comment calling one of Guyana’s new thoroughfares a “concussion highway” due to its rough state.
The committee highlighted two prior, monumental failures that cost the nation billions and still saddle taxpayers with debt:
The Skeldon Sugar Factory: Commissioned in 2010 at an estimated cost of US$200 million, the factory was intended to modernize the sugar industry but was plagued by technical defects and poor performance, becoming one of the country’s biggest financial burdens.
The Brazil/Guyana Fibre Optic Cable Project: This initiative, meant to modernize communication and costing over G$1.3 billion, failed miserably after poor planning and laying issues, and had to be abandoned. Debt That Outlasts the ConcreteVPAC argued that this continuous cycle of failed projects occurs because “oversight is weak and there are no consequences for poor performance.”
They stressed that Guyanese taxpayers are owed infrastructure that lasts for generations, not projects that start “falling apart before the ribbon from the opening ceremony is even taken down.”
The core crisis, VPAC concluded, is that “The people of this country deserve infrastructure that lasts, not debt that lasts longer than the projects themselves.” The committee demanded stronger supervisory systems and transparency, warning that no project should ever be rushed merely to meet a political deadline.
