The Alliance For Change (AFC), through its Leader Nigel Hughes, has officially written to U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, expressing serious concerns over the deliberate misinformation provided to him during his recent visit to Guyana.
The AFC highlighted that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government falsely claimed that the Heroes Highway was constructed under the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) government, when it was in fact built under their own tenure.
Even more egregious was the claim that the Chinese were responsible for the road’s construction, a falsehood that led Secretary Rubio to publicly criticise the Chinese for its alleged involvement. According to Rubio during a press briefing in Suriname yesterday, “The Guyana Government paid these [Chinese] people to build this road and then they bring their workers….they don’t hire you, they bring their workers in to do all the work and they want you to borrow a bunch of money, and they hold it over your head.”
The reality, however, is that the project was carried out by individuals closely tied to the PPP/C government, who delivered substandard work—so poor that Secretary Rubio himself remarked on the road’s roughness, warning that it could cause concussions
This pattern of deception is deeply troubling. If the PPP/C government is willing to mislead the international community on such verifiable facts, it raises serious concerns about the credibility of all their engagements with the U.S. and other foreign partners.
The AFC has urged the U.S. State Department to take note of this blatant misinformation and carefully scrutinise any statements or commitments made by the PPP/C moving forward. The party remains committed to ensuring transparency and accountability in Guyana’s governance and calls on all Guyanese to demand the truth from those in power.
In Rubio’s criticism he compared the road’s subpar construction to what would happen in the United States, suggesting that contractors would be sued for delivering such a product. “If this road [were] built in the U.S., the contractors would be sued,” he said.
The road’s appearance is more akin to a repaved secondary route than a major highway.
Apart from being misled under which administration the road was built and who built it, the Secretary of State’s comments echo widespread concern that Guyana isn’t receiving value for money. Experts have raised alarms over safety hazards, citing light poles positioned in the middle of the road, unsafe concrete dividers, and the presence of pedestrian provisions on a highway, all of which could increase the risk of accidents.
“The road is not being built with safety in mind,” one expert said. “It’s poorly designed, and that will have real consequences.”
Rubio made it clear that the U.S. offers countries an alternative. If you’re going to build a road, it has to be a real road” he emphasised, suggesting that Guyana would have been better off with a “dirt road” than the poorly constructed highway they were given.
The ongoing concerns about the quality of Guyana’s roads underscore broader issues surrounding Government handling of road infrastructure projects which raise questions about the long-term benefits, and the hefty loans that must be repaid by the taxpayers. The highway, which cost $13.3 Billion (US$65 Million), was commissioned by President Ali in December 2023.