APNU+AFC spent $50M from Lottery Fund for Buju Banton concert

The former APNU+AFC administration used $50 million of taxpayers money to finance the Buju Banton concert and related activities in Guyana in 2019.

This information was revealed during the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting on Monday.

In 2019, a total of $728 million was spent from the Guyana Lottery Fund, out of the $745 million allocated to the Guyana Lottery Control Commission through budgetary provisions.

According to Finance Secretary Sukrishnalall Pasha, of the $745 million, $32 million was transferred to the consolidated fund that year, as mandated.

The 2019 expenditure, he said, catered for $150 million which was allocated for the rehabilitation of grounds; $88 million for the 2019 Independence Flag Rising Ceremony; $27.8 million for Emancipation activities; $50 million paid to Buju Banton for his performance and other planning related to the Walk to Freedom campaign; and $49 million for associated infrastructure works for the Linden Broadcasting Network, among others.

In 2020, the then People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) General Secretary, Amna Ally had insisted that the Buju Banton concert was funded by the party.

The former APNU+AFC Government has previously been red-flagged for its use of the lotto fund. In his 2015 report, the Auditor General had said that Government used millions from the fund for the building of the controversial D’Urban Park, Georgetown, without parliamentary approval.

According to the findings, the Government was using the 24 per cent of the lottery proceeds it was earning to spend with Cabinet approval. The report also noted that at the beginning of 2015, that account held some $1.4 billion and it received an additional $421 million in 2015.

The Auditor General had said that following checks on the accounts, it was found that while Government transferred $1 billion of that money to the Consolidated Fund in 2015, it held on to just over half a billion dollars to remain under the control of the Ministry of the Presidency and it spent $305 million on various activities.