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The government cuts budgets too

Dec 19, 2013 Editorial

 

 

The year is ending pretty much as it began, with protests and disagreements in the hallowed halls of Parliament. There continues to be no change between the government and the parliament opposition to the extent that once the government makes a proposal it is almost a foregone conclusion that the opposition is going to adopt the opposite view.
At the start of the year, when the 2013 Budget was presented in the National Assembly some of the items could not find favour with the opposition with the result that there were budget cuts. Interestingly enough, there were similar situations the year before. Some of the things being pursued by the government on the national development scene did not find favour with the opposition so they refused to support allocations for these projects.
One such disagreement put paid to the construction of the Amaila Falls hydro project. The cost of the project kept mounting and the opposition claimed that the government was less than forthcoming. The result was that they refused to vote on an uncertainty.
Toward the end of this year, the same thing happened when the government sought to secure the vote on the anti-money laundering Bill. This Bill had been in the National Assembly for months having been consigned to the Parliamentary Select Committee.
The government wanted to avoid a blacklist which would hurt the country but the opposition said that it was important to have substance rather than form. In most democracies, the various Members of Parliament would find time to discuss the issue during the parliamentary recess. Of course, Guyana’s parliamentary system only allows for a free vote under certain conditions.
But the discussions could have helped fuel a change of heart because someone could have set about influencing his colleagues to undergo a change of heart. This was not even attempted because of the rigid relationship between the parties.
And so we come to the third budget to be presented during President Donald Ramotar’s presidency. Once more there is the threat of more cuts. The opposition keeps begging to be a part of the planning process and indeed, if the budget is for the national good then there is no harm in involving the opposition ahead of the budget presentation. This is not happening.
If the government is reluctant to involve the opposition then there can only be two reasons. One reason is that the government is bent on managing things unilaterally.  This is the order that prevails when the government insists that it has been elected to rule and it will rule without interruption.
The other reason is that more often than not there may be hidden allocations that could go to fund other aspects of life within the party. For example, the Office of the President until Donald Ramotar relinquished the post of General Secretary, would have been responsible for certain works.  How does one split the President from the Party General Secretary?
For its part, the opposition has their constituencies but their involvement in the budget preparation would not contain anything so partisan.
Even if the government puts in more money that is actually necessary for certain funding in the budget, the opposition would not make a fuss because most times, people are simply content with merely having a say.
The regional democratic councils are closest to people other than the government preparing their budget. And here we see another aspect of life that defies explanation. The government objected most strenuously when the opposition cut the budget. But the very government slashed the budget that came from the regions despite the protestations.
Most of the budgets from those regions not won by the government were slashed by as much as sixty per cent. This surely does not help the government cause but then again, it helps to explain the various needs as seen by one group that is dependent on the state for funds.
So the government has already cut the budgets of the regional democratic councils, it must now brace itself for an examination.

 

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