2013 Budget contains some key recommendations by stakeholders

By Michael Younge –

Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh said some of the key recommendations and proposals made by civil society organisations, the private sector and the opposition political parties have indeed been incorporated in the 2013 National Budget presented to the National Assembly on Monday afternoon. Singh, addressing a media conference on Monday evening at the National Communications Network (NCN), said the administration valued all of the consultations, meetings and dialogues which occurred in the immediate pre- budget phase with the stakeholders.
He admitted though that many of the suggestions and recommendations made were “not surprising” or “new” as he labelled many of the positions advanced as being representative of “broad objectives”. Dr Singh argued that many of the recommendations and policies advocated for during the discourses were also not “novel”.
“These are objectives that we don’t disagree with at all and you will see in Budget 2013, a number of initiatives that, in fact, unsurprisingly, are closely aligned with those objectives,” the finance minister offered while declining to point out any specific recommendation that was taken on board following the discussions when quizzed by Guyana Times International.
The minister said he remains hopeful that the opposition political parties will look at the budget “holistically” as he advised that no item in the budget can be looked at in isolation from the whole body of estimates, as they are intertwined and interdependent.
“I am hopeful that they will find in this budget, clear indications that many of the objectives that they espoused are, in fact, objectives that this government has been embracing and that will be serviced by some of the programmes in the budget,” he emphasised.
Dr Singh maintained that there were many things in the budget that all Guyanese can be proud of and will appreciate because they somehow or the other positively impact the lives of the ordinary man.
Without pre-empting the collapse of talks or lack of consensus on the budget which could lead to its non-passage, Dr Singh advocated the need for compromise as he further reinforced President Donald Ramotar’s commitment towards dialogue and discussions on the Gy$ 208.8 billion, budget tabled on Monday, after a long period of anticipation and expectations.
He could not say whether the government and opposition would utilise the intra-party dialogues to deal with differences or whether another approach would be taken to ensure that there is no gridlock or stalemates created.
In defending the budget’s continued and increased focus on capital expenditure, the finance minister noted that the ruling administration “had nothing to apologise for” as he listed a number of social and other economic improvements which accrued from direct investments.
Creating change
Dr Singh though not seeing the comments made by APNU shadow finance minister Carl Greenidge, expressed disappointment that a sitting Member of Parliament would seek to play down the importance of increased budgetary allocations.
He said his administration was doing what was necessary to create change in the society through prudent economic management and the continued diversification of the country’s economy.
On the opposition’s criticisms of the budget, the finance minister referred the media to the many merits contained in the budget as presented to the National Assembly. Dr Singh appeared satisfied at the press conference that the Donald Ramotar-led administration made the right interventions in critical areas of interest that could continue to impact the health, safety and economic security of the Guyanese people.
The minister, explaining the investments being made in the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), said the government understands the issues being faced regarding the viability and long-term sustenance of the pension scheme, and had to intervene to influence the desired outcome.
Government has already announced its intention to foot the bill of a planned one per cent increase in the contribution rate for both employers and employees, who are earning below the national threshold. He said the administration was cognisant of the need for the change and believes that all Guyanese and beneficiaries of the NIS benefits would appreciate the timeliness of the intervention.
Similarly, Dr Singh appeared resolute in his position that any reduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT) could only result in benefits for persons earning large amounts of income and revenue with the poorer classes of people raking in minimum relief. In the same vein, the minister rationalised the move to increase Old Age Pension, while given the undertaking to pay, what some consider the small sum of Gy$ 20,000 per annum, for their electricity rates.