Government’s ongoing budget consultations with various stakeholders have been fruitful and promising, as it seeks to include all in the process.
Recently, Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) President Carvil Duncan, along with his team, met with Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh.
“The meeting with the minister was constructive and informative,” said Duncan, pointing out that “we did not go into the meeting expecting any concrete conclusions, but just for the minister to consider our needs as he prepares his budget for 2014.”
Duncan explained that this year’s meeting was no different from previous years when he and his team met with the minister as part of the consultations.
“We presented a five-point agenda for the minister to consider and we left very pleased that the minister was considerate to have invited us to be part of his budget consultations,” he said, noting that “we left satisfied with the outcome of the meeting.”
Late last week, Minister Singh held two meetings, one with FITUG and the other with the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) to seek their recommendations and suggestions as stakeholders on what the budget should include.
A number of additional meetings are scheduled for this week, as the consultations continue to include other stakeholders.
Good gesture
“The intention was to discuss FITUG’s thinking on what should be in the budget to the benefit of the workers we represent,” Duncan noted. “The minister also told us that we can write to him after the meeting, should we have any fresh ideas that should be considered,” he said.
He expressed his gratitude to government for the courtesy they extended to the unions to be part of the consultation meetings this year, as they had in previous years.
Duncan said he anticipates that government will demonstrate the same courtesy in the future in the preparation of the following year’s budget.
Government also invited the parliamentary opposition to be part of the consultations, but A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has publicly rejected the invitation, claiming that it was not given sufficient time to meaningfully participate in the budget preparations.
Dr Singh has refuted this claim and has been meeting with other stakeholders, which have indicated a willingness to participate in the process.
In a statement, the minister pledged government’s ongoing commitment to inclusivity in the budget preparations and remains open to discussions with the opposition.
“Government remains open to meet with the opposition as has always been the case and we look forward to a response by the APNU to our invitation to advance discussion on Budget 2014,” the minister said.
Budget 2014 is expected to be presented to the National Assembly by the end of March.
