Parliamentary see-saw stalls budget passage…The Opposition is standing in a very lonely place by denying support – Dr. Ashni Singh

Apr 10, 2013 News

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In what was a political see-saw, filled with yes and no votes, the consideration of the estimates of the 2013 National Budget has been held up.
The opposition in the wee hours this morning voted against starting consideration of the estimates today, and has signalled its intention to weed out projects it says will continue to fester corruption and excesses – a charge the Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh dismissed as an old argument.

The Finance Minister said that the opposition is standing in a very lonely place when it comes to their denial of support for the budget. He pointed to the private sector and other stakeholders welcoming the measures contained in the budget.
The government wanted the consideration of the estimates to begin as early as today.  The opposition wants it to start on Monday and that’s what happened just after midnight. In a Business Sub-Committee of the Parliament, the opposition outnumbered the government (Five-Four) and had its way.
That report of the committee was taken to the House for a vote to adopt the report.
In a bold move, the government called Dr Vindhya Persaud out of mourning her father’s death so that it could have a solid position to force the consideration of the estimates to begin from today.
With 33 seats, the opposition has a one-seat majority in the House. With Dr. Persaud in the House, it evened up the numbers on the government and opposition sides, given that APNU had one member less given the hospitalisation of Mr. Richard Allen.
With even votes on both sides, as Parliamentary rules go, the motion was not carried, and was returned to the Business Sub Committee.
With the motion not carried, the government brought its motion for a schedule for the consideration of the estimates, and with equal votes as well, the vote was not carried.
The intention of the government seemed clear – if consideration of the estimates begins today, it would rob the opposition of its power to deny support for certain items. The opposition is required to give a 24-hour notice of its intention to cut spending.
The Prime Minister drew attention to Standing Order No.8, suggested that the consideration of the estimates could start today.
The Speaker reverted to Standing Order 74 (4) which states that if the vote is “negative” the matter has to go back to the Business Sub-Committee.  A compromise position now is certain for the way forward.
The Prime Minister proposed that the Assembly resume at 14:00 hrs today, but with equal votes again, that too was denied.
With no clear majority on either side, the Speaker said the Assembly has to recommence on the roll over date, which is at 14:00 hrs today, as per the Standing Orders.
The Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, sought to soften the opposition by quoting from the manifestos of the two opposition Parliamentary parties. He said some of the measures proposed in their plans are already being implemented by the governing PPP.
There is no definitive time when the consideration of the estimates, line by line, will begin; but when that time comes, the government hopes it will get the entire $208.8 budget passed. That is not likely to happen.
The Finance Minister expressed disappointment with the positions taken by the opposition. He said that Parliamentarians must be able to set politics aside and be guided by that which is good for Guyana.
He said that even if the opposition speakers wanted to be critical, he would have expected some honesty, since some of the promises made by the opposition parties to their supporters in the last election are being delivered by the PPP.
Dr Singh again trumped up the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric and Marriott Hotel projects as being good for Guyana and once more committed to sharing the details with the opposition behind closed doors.
He maintained that full details cannot be disclosed to the public because of confidentiality clauses in some of the agreements.
Dr Singh stressed that the government would be the last to say that everything is perfect in Guyana.
He said that every day the government wrestles with the reality that there are things to fix.
The Finance Minister denounced the objections by the opposition as “unsubstantiated,” arguing that they were saying no just for the sake of saying no, disagreeing for the sake of disagreeing.
He expressed hope that there might still yet be time.
He said that whilst there was the opportunity for political rhetoric, the critical time is when the Speaker will put the vote for the passage of budget item by item.
The Finance Minister expressed the hope that the opposition would use the time between now and the consideration of the estimate to reflect and recognise that every single measure in the budget is good for Guyana.

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