Guyana is analyzing the repayment of Panama’s million dollar debt

Guyana announced this Monday that it is studying a friendly proposal to offset a million dollar debt contracted by the Panamanian government for rice shipped several years ago.

Guyana’s Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, explained that they are “actively considering” the proposal, although it means “Guyana may have to waive accrued interest”.

The debt is mounting 1,000 million Guyanese dollars (about US$4.8 million) and dates back to the time of the previous Guyanese administration, led by the Association for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU + AFC).

APNU+AFC signed a contract with the company Government of Panama in 2018 to procure some 9000 tons of ricebut the Guyanese authorities received only part of the agreed payment.

The second agreement signed a year later achieved nothing. Soon after, the APNU+AFC government passed a vote of no confidence and failed to take the necessary steps to recover the debt before leaving power in 2020.

Due to this situation, the President of Guyana, Irfaan Aliintervened and forced the Panamanian government to begin talks for an “amicable solution” to the problem, Nandlall explained.

“The reason there is a great temptation to settle, even if we have to waive the interest, is that we may have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars (in litigation), and even after we win, we will have great difficulty receiving payment from Panama. government,” he said.