LEAD project suspended-pending talks between Gov’t and US

Georgetown : The United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID), Leadership and Democracy (LEAD) project has been put on hold as discussions begin between the Governments of Guyana and the United States (US) with a view to commencing re-engagement of the project at a later date.
At a special press briefing tyesterday, shared between Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Luncheon and the US Ambassador Brent Hardt at the Office of the President, a joint statement was issued, stating “The Governments of Guyana and the United States of America have agreed that the implementation of the activities of the USAID, LEAD project would be put on hold temporarily during the re-engagement on the design of that project the two sides have agreed would commence immediately”.
No time frame has yet been set for the completion of the re-engagement, but both sides welcomed the opportunity to re-engage on the project with the expectation of a mutually beneficial outcome. “I welcome the opportunity for us to move on in a structured way with regards to the USAID, LEAD project and I want to believe that there are considerable expectations about a mutually beneficial outcome,” Dr. Luncheon said. Echoing similar sentiments, the US Ambassador said that his country welcomed the willingness of the Government to Guyana to re-engage in discussion on democracy and governance and in particular the LEAD project. 
He said that the project was “initially proposed and designed to benefit the Government and the people of Guyana and we certainly think that the objectives for which the Government’s participation is vital can be of lasting benefit to the people and so we look forward to constructive dialogue, and we are hopeful that at the end of the day we can find a way forward in the tradition of our long and beneficial bilateral relationship.”
Dr. Luncheon said that the engagement between Government and US with regards to the project will not be dictated solely by consideration of time. He noted that the engagement is intended to benefit the people of Guyana and the decision that would flow from ensuring the benefit to the people of Guyana is one that cannot be “flippantly made” and be constrained by time consideration. 
Ambassador Hardt expressed confidence that a resolution could be reached, noting that this is buoyed by the fact that many of the things that will be discussed have previously been part of bilateral discussions, and are issues on which both sides have in the past agreed. “I certainly do believe that these issues are not so difficult that we cannot find a way forward in the interest of the people here,” he said.
In July 2013, the US launched the LEAD project without the formal sanction of the Guyana Government. The project’s non-approval was formally indicated to the relevant authorities on October 26, 2013. In spite of this, the USAID continued to implement the project, even as Government maintained that Guyana was committed to re-engaging the discussion process, but not when the activities under the LEAD project were still being implemented.
 To facilitate the re-engagement proposed by the Government of Guyana, the US Government on April 30 conveyed their willingness to temporarily suspend the project’s implementation.