Badal says ‘proud to be a hustler’; chides Gov’t for wasting taxpayers’ money

Owner of the Pegasus Hotel Robert Badal says professionals are needed in the Government to effectively manage an oil-rich economy.

Badal, who has joined the race to become the country’s next President as a candidate for the Change Guyana party, blasted Government officials for wasting taxpayers’ money as a result of their inexperience in managing a business of any kind.

“If you never run a cake shop, how could you invest other people’s money, what level of responsibility?” he questioned at the party’s weekly press conference Tuesday at the Pegasus Hotel.

Badal expressed his belief that “people get into politics to put their hand on the treasury,” but he said this is not the case for him because he already has businesses that he manages.

The businessman said he is a proud hustler, adding that he will not even be accepting a salary if elected as the country’s next President.

“I’m proud to be a hustler, I’ve been a hustler all my life. All Guyanese are hustlers, they have to hustle to make ends meet, to pay their bills, to pay loans.

“They [Government officials] are the only ones who don’t hustle, they start the day with a little coffee, then they come in and they give a little interview, then another appointment comes, they put on a jacket and they go and take photograph. That’s not our style, I’ve been a hustler all my life,” the Presidential Candidate said.

Badal hopes to bring the principles he learnt in the private sector to effectively manage the public sector.