First Lady dismisses ‘mischievous’ report over $25M allocation

The Office of the First Lady has dismissed a report by online media house News Source, which claimed that her office have received a more than 100% increase and that she is running no new projects.

The report follows questions by Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon.

The First Lady’s office received $25 million this year, up from $15 million last year, and the amount is far below what is required to run her projects, her Office stated.

“A simple comparison of last year’s budget and this year’s would have led to a simple mathematical calculation that would have allowed Mr Moseley to provide an accurate report to the public,” the First Lady’s office stated.

It added: “The work of the First Lady focuses on the vulnerable, humanitarian causes, support to the national One Guyana Initiative and environmental and beautification projects. Is Mr Harmon against such work? Surely, he cannot feign ignorance of the First Lady’s initiatives. It needs to be noted that this is the first time that an opposition has questioned the allocation to the First Lady’s office in this manner.”

Mrs. Ali’s agenda for 2021 includes the Vulnerable Women Scholarship initiative, which has benefitted 15 women this year.

The First Lady’s groundbreaking Menstrual Hygiene Initiative, aims to provide sanitary pads to girls from poor families across the country who were previously forced to drop out of school simply because they cannot afford sanitary pads.

Shortly, Mrs Ali will announce another groundbreaking initiative, in partnership with several businesses, which will see the expenses of orphanages across the country being covered.

Further, Mrs. Ali’s signature initiative, the National Beautification Project, requires a higher capital budget since it involves significant infrastructural expenditure.

So far, the private sector has given generous support to the First Lady’s beautification initiatives but the projects for 2021 will require more direct support to complement both private sector assistance and joint projects with other government agencies.