The European Union
Commission of the European Communities
European Union development assistance to the seventy countries of the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) grouping which includes Guyana, is governed by the ten-year fourth Lomé Convention (Lomé IV) which began in 1990. Lomé's aid provisions are financed by EU member states' direct contributions to the European Development Fund (EDF.). For the second half of Lomé IV, following the 1995 mid-term review, a grant total of ECU13.3 B (US$16.35 B) has been set for EDF VIII, maintaining in real terms the level of EDF VII. Other EDF funds are channeled as loans through the European Investment Bank (E.I.B). EU assistance to the ACP countries, as to other geographical groups, is guided by the objectives set out by the Maastricht Treaty on European Union. These are: the sustainable economic and social development of developing countries, particularly of the most disadvantaged; their integration into the world economy; the campaign against poverty; the development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law; and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
As with other ACP countries, most EU assistance to Guyana arises from a National Indicative Programme (N.I.P.), worked out with the local authorities. The existing Guyana NIP signed in 1991 corresponds with the first half of Lomé IV, and programmed 26 MECU, with 85% of the funding concentrated on economic and social infrastructure. Following a visit by President Jagan to the European Commission in 1994, the NIP was supplemented by a further 6 MECU. Under the Second Financial Protocol signed in February 1997, 32 MECU are to be programmed in the local sectors infrastucture rehabilitation, primarily for the sea defence and water supply systems, as well as in private sector development.
The Lomé Convention is a trade as well as aid agreement. Under the provisions of Lomé IV, selected commodity exports of ACP countries, including Guyana's sugar and rice, are accorded quota-access to EU markets at advantageous prices.
Current Projects
Objective: The General Import Programmes are composed of two elements:
Description: Importers pay for supplies in local currency which is then placed in a special counterpart-funds account at the Bank of Guyana, and used for health, education, and social infrastructure projects. The GIP I phase has been completed, and social sector programmes funded from GIP II began in April 1996. Element (i) of GIP III was completed in April 1997.
Objective: To increase the availability of credit, and provide technical support for small and micro businesses.
Description: Participating organisations such as the Guyana Rice Producers Association facilitate a more effective outreach into rural areas, and ensure better community involvement. As of 31 December 1995, at the end of Phase I, 171 loans had been granted for a total of more than G$28 M.
Objective: To establish a Private Sector Centre which would provide general membership services, advocacy, trade and business facilitation, and technical assistance to local companies. The Centre would also function as the Secretariat of the Private Sector Commission.
Description: Activities under the project began in June 1996. Private companies can access technical assistance through the Centre for the Development of Industry (C.D.I.), a joint institution of the EU and the ACP Secretariat, for which the Private Sector Commission is the local antenna.
Description: This project is a European Development Fund contribution within a multi-donor programme to rehabilitate sea defences. The other donors are the IDB, W.B., and CDB The EDF contribution will finance mainly the rehabilitation of 6 to 7 km in Regions 2 and 3 (east and west of Essequibo River). In a related project [7 ACP GUA 006], the EDF is providing 750,000 ECU (US$923,000) to finance a Technical Assistance Team for the implementing agency, the Sea Defence Project Execution Unit.
Objective: The project is a continuation of a previous EDF intervention in 1986, to ensure the safety and reliability of the 18 km floating Demerara Harbour Bridge.
Description: The substructure of the bridge was in an advanced state of deterioration, and the bridge had exceeded its expected life span. In addition, the only means to keep the bridge from sinking used to be by constantly pumping water out of the various leaking pontoons. The rehabilitation of the bridge comprises the supply and installation of new pontoons and refurbishment of unifloats. The project has also provided technical assistance, including the training of counterparts, and the implementation of a new maintenance and traffic management system.
Objective: This is the continuation of a previous intervention financed by the 6th European Development Fund.
Description: Phase I involved the construction of a new water treatment plant, and under Phase II the water distribution system for the town is being rehabilitated, and maintenance and management systems are being improved. Some inputs are financed from counterpart funds generated under the General Import Programmes.
Objective: The EDF funded component of the project aims at improving the quality and reliability of the water to the Pouderoyen area which sustains approximately 25,000 inhabitants.
Description: The project is financed by an additional allocation granted to Guyana under the first financial protocol of the Fourth Lomé Convention. The Pouderoyen water supply system is one of seven major systems identified under the "Water Supply Technical Assistance and Rehabilitation Project," which is financed by seven donor agencies.
Regional Projects
These projects are the Guyana-specific components arising from the Caribbean Regional Indicative Programme (CRIP) for the first half of Lomé IV. Other CRIP activities from which Guyana benefits include support for integrated Agricultural and Fisheries Development, the University Level Programme, and the Caribbean Examination Council. The total financial volume of the regional programmes under Lomé IV amounts to 195MECU (US$230 M). Georgetown is the seat of the Secretariat of CARIFORUM, the body established to co-ordinate and monitor the implementation of CRIP.
Current Projects
Objective: To improve the air transport capabilities, and increase the level of safety in the Caribbean South, thereby contributing to regional integration.
Description: Under the programme, the facilities at three airports - Timehri in Guyana, and Zorg-en-Hoop, and Nickerie in Suriname - will be upgraded. At Timehri, this will comprise perimeter fencing, the supply and installation of equipment (communications, meteorological, and electrical) including spares, as well as training of operators and maintenance personnel. Once the programme has been implemented, Timehri will be on its way to meeting minimum ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) operating standards.
Objective: To increase communication and trade between Guyana and Suriname, by providing an appropriate transportation link across the Corentyne River.
Description: The first phase of the project, finalised in 1992, comprised the construction of access roads to the two ferry terminal sites, and landfill for the shore facilities. Under the second and final phase, a contract was awarded in August 1992 to a Danish consultant, for the re-design of the marine structures, modification of terminal site layout, design of a vessel, and preparation of tender documents for the civil works and the supply of the vessel. Contracts awarded for both should be completed by mid-1997.
Apart from the projects financed with EDF funding, a number of smaller-scale activities in Guyana are funded by Budget Lines of the Commission of the European Communities. The Budget Lines have provided assistance, for example, for a study on the establishment of a protected area in the Kanuku Mountains, as well as for the Auditor-General's office, the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association, and the Community Based Rehabilitation Programme (CBR) for disabled persons. Other areas of intervention include the fight against AIDS (National Blood Transfusion Services), drug abuse control, and measures to protect the environment (Environmental Studies Unit at the University of Guyana). The Commission also helps fund the attendance of Guyanese tourism entrepreneurs and officials at the major European tourism trade fairs.