Budget debate opens with accusations of irresponsible spending, walk out

Jan 25, 2011 News

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The 2011 budget debates got underway yesterday and the Parliamentarians did not hesitate in engaging in a war of words causing the PNCR members to momentarily walk out of the National Assembly
Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir did not waste time in lashing out at Shadow Finance Minister Volda Lawrence’s opening presentation. Nadir said that in his view Lawrence “is out her depth” and he doubts whether she has the comprehension to deal with the economic issues at hand.
Lawrence led off the debate from the opposition benches.

Nadir’s constant reference to Lawrence as “She” even after Shadow Home Affairs Minister Deborah Backer sought the protection of the Speaker to have Nadir refer to her colleague appropriately, caused the parliamentarians to walk out to register their disgust.
They returned to the debate when Nadir concluded his presentation. Lawrence, in her presentation to the House, said that over the years the budget has been masked. It will not be fully known until all of the supplementary provisions.
Nadir responded that the actual expenditure by the government despite the supplementary allocations, is below the initial budgeted amounts.
Lawrence also reiterated what the Opposition Leader Robert Corbin had said in the wake of the budget presentation, that the excessive borrowing will be a burden on future generations.
Lawrence chided the administration for its handling of the debt situation. Public enterprise recorded a huge deficit as against a surplus in 2009. “This is where people pay for mismanagement.”
She said that the debt stock is rising faster than that of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) adding that the currently unrestrained borrowing by the Administration will be a burden.
The Shadow Finance Minister said that the People’s Progressive Party Civic in its 18 years in office has borrowed more than the People’s National Congress ever. The rise in debt has to be managed; the increase in debt stock is excessive and is not sustainable.
Nadir however disagreed with Lawrence, insisting that the debt they have accrued is manageable adding that the increase in debt stock is to control inflation.
He said that unlike the PNC’s debt the nation can see where the money that they borrow is going, pointing to the many roads such as the four-lane highways and hospitals and doctors being trained and the schools among other examples.
Nadir said that when the then Finance Minister Carl Greenidge had presented the Economic Recovery Programme he himself admitted that Guyana was not getting monies from the International Financial Institutions.
Guyana is now recognised and he pointed to the many summits and conferences being held in this country such as the recently concluded Summit of the Union of South American Nations.
He said that the issue is not quantum of debt but “if we can manage it.”
He said that the current debt is only .5 per cent of the nation’s GDP. “We can borrow more…we can borrow more…we are not borrowing for borrowing sake.”
Lawrence, in her presentation, had said too, that the transformation and modernisation that the Finance Minister spoke of in Budget presentation is not reflected in the Capital Expenditures.
She said that in economic terms transforming new things such as new industries with modernising mean investing in technology.
She said that the budget is about rehabilitations not about the grand transformation that the Minister spoke of, “we need more value added products and seek larger more lucrative markets.”
The Shadow Finance Minister said that there needs to be a conscious effort to address Transparency and Accountability.
She gave as example the fact that over the past weekend Head of State Bharrat Jagdeo launched the One Laptop for a Family programme but says it is unknown how the programme will be implemented.
She asked what criteria will be used for the phases, “What is the cost and was there a competitive bid?”
She said that the Government needs to take to the National Assembly a document detailing the programme so that it could be monitored so as to ensure that it will not be used for political gains in this election year.
Lawrence indicated to the Minister that her party welcomes the GDP growth recorded and projections notwithstanding “the accuracy of the figures local and overseas.
She said, too, that the successes gained in 2010 was not at the hands of the government, pointing to the fact that success was private sector such as rice and gold with the state control sugar it failed miserably and the projection for sugar is questionable.
Lawrence said that a word that Dr Ashni Singh failed to use in his budget presentation was that of corruption and drew reference to Jean Claude Duvalier called ‘Baby Doc’ who was recently charged in Haiti for corruption and embezzlement.
“You can run but you can’t hide,” warned Lawrence.
Nadir told the House that the Opposition continues to make the same criticism but every year fails to discredit the government.
He said that the 1998 to 2005 period was around the most testing period in recent history pointing to the six months of marches and civil unrests which caused an 18 per cent devaluation in the Guyana dollar.
When that happened, according to Nadir, the inflation went up and devalued all workers’ salary.
He said, too, that during that period also the PNCR boycotted parliament which scared away investment.
He praised President Jagdeo who he said was severely tested but “Jagdeo stayed the course and saw five years of growth.”
As it relates to the figures that the opposition questioned, Nadir said that such computations was a science and Guyana complies with international standards.

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