PPP ELECTION BUDGET: NOTHING TO SHOUT ABOUT

Jan 23, 2011 APNU Column, Features / Columnists

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What Quality of Life?
As predicted, the $161.4 billion, 2011 Election Budget, presented to the National Assembly last Monday fell mighty short of offering a better quality of life for the workers and poorer classes of Guyana.
Despite the usual boast of it being the “largest Budget ever”, Guyanese workers are still saddled with the unconscionable, 16 per cent Value Added Tax, (VAT), which makes a mockery of all the alleged increases in old age pensions; and social assistance, and, the raising of the Income Tax threshold from $35,000.00 to $40,000.00.
Given the recognition of the need to raise pensions by 14 per cent, one would have expected that, at the minimum, wages and salaries would have been increased by the same 14 per cent.
The raising of the income tax threshold, therefore, will have no impact on most workers who are in fact receiving less than $40,000.00 per month, which is grossly inadequate to cope with the high cost of living in Guyana. It is obvious that the Minister of Finance, abusing his parliamentary privilege, feels that the length of his Budget speech is a substitute for substance and coherent measures that can promote the development of Guyana.
Transparency, Accountability & Value For Money
The absence of consultation with stakeholders which characterised previous Budgets remains a continuing deficiency and the huge figures announced for capital expenditure give no assurance in the area of transparency, accountability, and value for money.
More important, the Budget has become a most unreliable source of determining the activities of the administration, which has been notorious with the regular passage of huge supplementary provisions later in the year.
In December 2010, alone, the Government approved some $6B under the amorphous head of Housing Development. Parliamentary scrutiny, however, exposed the reality: the money was really intended to undertake a number of projects which could not, by any stretch of the imagination, be classified as Housing projects.
The reality was that the PPP had commenced accumulating their election slush fund to be utilised in 2011 for the expressed purpose of buying votes.  The 2011 Budget was merely an extension of this objective.
The PPP fails to realise that the people of Guyana are far more intelligent than they give them credit for.
Quality Of Service
The huge expenditures announced give no assurance that the result will be a better quality of service in the various sectors.
For example, will the $14B announced for the Health sector impact the extraordinary high level of maternal deaths at Government Hospitals?
Or, will the $1.4 B allocated to the water sector ensure the delivery of potable water to the many villages on the Atlantic Coast that have suffered from the most unreliable distribution system?
Will the residents of East Coast Demerara still have to endure the experience of obtaining water in containers, drawn from pipeline in trenches and holes in the ground, because of the absence of water pressure?
Or, will the huge allocations in the security sector guarantee greater security for our citizens? The daily newspaper reports of escalating crime confirm that the 2011 Budget will do very little in responding to the major security crisis in our country.
The Budget Debate that commences on Monday, January 24, will expose why the much touted largest 2011 Election Budget is really nothing to shout about.
HYPOCRICY AT UN YEAR LAUNCH
The hypocritical call by President Jagdeo for a united programme for the UN’s Year for People of African Descent was clearly political gimmickry, when by proceeding with the state controlled launching ceremony on Wednesday last, he was rejecting the call by the authentic African organisations in Guyana for its postponement until a mutually agreed upon, “National Programme for the UN’s Year for People of African Descent” was accomplished.
Slave Masters’ Strategy
Instead of addressing the legitimate concerns raised by African Guyanese Organisations, in a letter to them dated 10th January 2011, the Government, using the old Slave Master Strategy of divide and rule against African ancestors, whereby they created house slaves versus field slaves, began approaching individuals within the African Guyanese Community to participate in the so-called launch in the hope of advancing the propaganda that African Guyanese groups have been involved.
Having had their invitations declined, they then sent a belated invitation, two days before the event, to the Leader of the Opposition, inviting him to deliver, “the remarks”.
In response, Mr. Corbin urged the Government to act responsibly so that the real objectives of the United Nations designated Year are accomplished. Naturally, that was too much to expect of the Regime that has over the years shown no regard for consultation, so evident in their approach to the LCDS and the recent Budget.
PR Event
Determined to manipulate the Year’s programme for political gain, all the PPP wanted was a PR event to propagandise to the world that Guyanese of African Descent were involved so that they can proceed, as they propose to do, to use the moneys allocated in the 2011 Budget for electioneering purposes disguised as expenditure for the Year of People of African Descent. It is for this reason that they excluded the genuine African Guyanese Organisations from planning the programme.
Misuse Of State Media
To ensure that they succeeded in the farcical launch ceremony, they changed the original location from the National Cultural Center to the smaller venue of the National Convention Center.
Next, they misused the NCN Radio and Television to deliver false Reports that the Leader of the Opposition was participating in the programme. Such blatant misuse of the National Media explains why after eight years the PPP has adamantly refused to pass the legislation for the establishment of a National Broadcasting Authority.
No Confusion
Jagdeo ought to be advised, however, that there is no confusion in the African community about this year’s events or its significance.  While there was no adequate Press coverage of the event, the Civil Society Committee for the UN Year For People of African Descent have already held a launch Ceremony with an appropriate Programme on 31st December 2010 at the Girl Guides Pavilion at which several Guyanese, including the Prime Minister were invited.
Since October 2010  that Organisation had recognised that the direction of the Government was inimical to their interests and had organised an alternative. As a Kaieteur News editorial correctly analysed, “Something had to be horribly wrong for the government to single-handedly plan    a year of activities for Afro centric people in Guyana. Even if the United Nations expected governments to take the lead, there would have been the need for national consultations.”
International Inquiry
The PNCR has already stated in last week’s PNCR Column that, any national programme must include tangible actions to address the many concerns of the African dominated communities, which have been the subject of discussion for many years.
The issue of marginalized communities, ancestral lands, infrastructure in various communities and employment are only a few that must assume paramountcy.
If Jagdeo wants Guyanese to take him seriously, he must also during this Year, agree to an International Inquiry into the Death Squad, which was responsible for the deaths of over four hundred Guyanese, including Ronald Waddell, most of whom were young Guyanese of African descent.
The PNCR, however, reiterates, that it will not attend any State sponsored programme for the UN Year for People of African Descent unless the expressed concerns of legitimate African Organisations are addressed.
If indeed the PPP/C Administration refuses to engage in proper consultation for a Nationally agreed Programme, the Organisations will have no alternative but to arrange an independent programme of their own, which the PNCR will support.

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