State funds not needed to finance PPP political campaign – Jagdeo

General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has swiftly dismissed accusations from PNC/R-member Volda Lawrence, that funds approved in the 2025 budget will be used as slush funds for its political campaign.

In fact, Dr Jagdeo informed reporters that the party is designing a framework to secure the necessary finances to fund its campaign for the upcoming General and Regional Elections.

In rubbishing these allegations, Jagdeo stated that the PPP will emerge successful in the elections, and does not need state funds to achieve this.

“We are already making plans to get all of our materials in place and these are all funded from money that we will raise. We don’t need to use state funds,” GS Jagdeo made clear during a press conference on Thursday at Freedom House.

Lawrence had claimed that 2025 budget was rife with elections campaign fund and lacked crucial measures to diversity the economy.

According to a Kaieteur News article, “Elaborating on her findings, she said that under the Ministry of Education programme 402, an increase of $321M is observed, followed by a whopping $1B increase for programme 405. Additionally, Lawrence told the National Assembly that the Ministry of Local Government marked a $300M increase under programme 131.”

However, the general secretary pointed out that these monies will be used to fund mathematics and literacy interventions and advancing the One Guyana Digital School model.

“If we’re promising world-class education, we have to get it done. But Volda Lawrence thinks it’s a slush fund …. The $300 million for the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development is for [the operationalization of new] landfill sites,” Jagdeo further clarified.

“You can’t let these things go unanswered,” he strongly emphasised. 

He drew contrast to the APNU+AFC’s coalition, which spent some $419.5 billion during the 2020 elections campaign season, without parliamentary approval – a clear violation of the constitution.

Contrary, the funds secured by the government in 2025, have been approved by the Parliament of Guyana, following five-days of debates and four days of Committee of Supply deliberations, during which the funds were rigorously scrutinised.