The PPPC administration has once again presented a people-centered budget

Mar 29, 2014 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
The PPPC administration has once again presented a budget to the National Assembly which from all indications can be described as a people-centered budget. This is the largest budget presented to Parliament by Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh and comes at a time when the economy has shown strong indications of buoyancy and resilience. This is the eighth year in a row that the economy has registered positive growth, even though other countries in the region have been recording sluggish growth rates.
There are a number of ingredients in this year’s budget estimates that are noteworthy.
The first has to do with the emphasis placed on addressing the needs of the poor and vulnerable in our society. This is reflected in the increase in old age pensions and in increased subsidies for electricity. It would be recalled that the government had earlier subsidized the payment of water tariffs for pensioners.
The opposition parties would no doubt seek to downplay the importance of the increases and subsidies given to our senior citizens, but the truth is that a significant number of pensioners are better off for this gesture on the part of the government.
One interesting novelty in this year’s budget is the financial allocation provided for parents and guardians of children who are attending public schools at the nursery, primary and secondary levels. This is a highly commendable measure which is likely to result in higher levels of school enrollment and attendance.
Guyana has already attained a relatively good enrollment and attendance level at the nursery and primary levels even though nursery education is not compulsory in law.
One significant achievement by the current administration has been the phased introduction of universal secondary education which saw the conversion of several community high schools and primary tops into discrete secondary schools.
There is yet another dimension that I thought should not go unnoticed and that is the allocation of some one billion dollars to keep the surroundings clean and healthy. Half of this allocation would be utilized in the city of Georgetown, which in conjunction with the other measures taken by the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Local Government and the City Council itself, should translate in a much cleaner environment.
The waste disposal and garbage collection problem remains a major challenge to policy-makers and it is envisaged that with the increased budgetary and surveillance measures now in place, the garbage situation would see marked improvement.
The budget seeks to further consolidate on the macro-economic fundamentals of the country with the aim of increasing further the economic pie. The overall objective is to increase the overall prosperity of the country and by extension, all the people of Guyana.
At a more philosophical level, the budget and the budgetary measures contained therein seek to give meaning to the overarching thrust of the PPPC administration, which is to create a just and egalitarian society, where the fruits of our collective labour are equitably distributed.
From the very inception of the new PPPC administration, a commitment was made by the late President Cheddi Jagan that a new approach to development would be embraced which would at all times be people-oriented and fair to all stakeholders including the business community, which was described as the engine of growth.
The current administration of President Ramotar has remained faithful to this ideological mantra as has been the case of all previous PPPC administrations before him. Indeed, the projected growth rate of 5.6 percent is the highest for over a decade and speaks to the high level of optimism and confidence reposed in the economy.
The opposition parties in an attempt to score political points will seek to downplay the key elements and components of the Budget Estimates when the debate commences in a few days’ time. One hopes, however, that when the dust is finally settled there will be maturity and good sense on the part of the combined parliamentary opposition.
The national budget is in effect an annual work plan of the government. The successful implementation of that plan requires the support of all Guyanese, which includes the parliamentary opposition. The last thing Guyanese would want to see is a repeat of what transpired last year when the opposition parties used their one-seat majority to derail the government’s development agenda.
Congratulations are in order to President Donald Ramotar and his entire Cabinet for crafting yet another transformational budget which will positively impact not only on the economy, but on the lives and well-being on each and every Guyanese. Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh and his budget team have once again lived up to the high expectations Guyanese have in their ability to put together a high quality of work.
Hydar Ally

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