Not PPP’s role to call on Govt. to initiate budget talks

Not PPP’s role to call on Govt. to initiate budget talks – General Secretary

Jan 07, 2014 News

General Secretary of the ruling political party, Clement Rohee, says that it is not the role of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) to call on Government to invite the political opposition to consult on the preparation of the National Budget.
The parliamentary opposition has made overtures to the effect that it will slash aspects of the 2014 Budget given that it has not been able to adequately have an input in its preparation.
Rohee, who is also a senior Government Minister, said that the administration is fully aware of its responsibilities when it comes to the preparation of the budget.
He was at the time speaking at the weekly PPP’s Press Briefing held at its Head Office, Freedom House on Robb Street.
Rohee was adamant that the party does not invite persons or parties to discuss the budget at Freedom House, adding that it is a matter that falls squarely within the purview of the Government. He reminded that the Finance Minister would invite stakeholders to the Ministry where consultations take place. According to Rohee, these consultations inform the final Budget document.
He was adamant that the party is fully supportive of dialogue and consultation on any matter.
The political opposition’s most recent position was that government is sidelining them from budget preparations.
According to Opposition executives, this year’s budget, which at this time is more than likely completed or is in its final stages, saw no input, advice or concerns of the one-seat majority Opposition.
A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Executive Member, Joseph Harmon, along with Alliance for Change (AFC) leader Khemraj Ramjattan recently told the media that absolutely no tripartite talks were held in putting together the national budget for the upcoming year.
Both parties have since contended that their only resolve is deeper scrutiny of budget figures and its allocations. It is against this backdrop that the opposition has indicated that travesties such as the paltry increases for Public Servants exist.
Harmon had told this publication that, “We will be giving a much harsher look at the issues in the budget. The government will be hard pressed again to deal with issues of transparency and accountability. We are going to be very, very detailed and precise about the questions we can ask now, because we have had since 2011, two budgets and I think we are in a better position now to be able to debate the government on these issues. We are going to ask for much more details as we are better prepared with questions because we have details and facts on where the Ministers have been silent and where they are trying to hide things”.
The 2014 National Budget is constitutionally mandated to be presented to the House no later than the end March
When the first budget under the Donald Ramotar presidency was slashed, Opposition Leader David Granger and the President had agreed that the Budget Tripartite Committee would be created. While the Finance Minister has repeatedly submitted that the political opposition has been invited on several occasions to make submissions, the joint opposition has called for a more far-reaching arrangement.

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