2014 Budget debates over, voting begins today

Apr 09, 2014 News

– Finance Minister roasts opposition presentations

The General Policy Debates on the 2014 Budget ended last evening in the National Assembly with Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh and Prime Minister Samuel Hinds defending the estimates and issuing a final call for support.

Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh delivers his fiery rebuttal

The House will from today resolve itself into a Committee of Supply when it will begin consideration and voting.
Referred to earlier in the day as a parallel treasury, the Finance Minister used the opportunity in his rebuttal to Opposition Speakers to assert that the monies held in the accounts of public corporations such as the Guyana Forestry Commission, the Guyana Geology and Mines and the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) are being done so lawfully.
Dr Singh argued that the entities are created by statute, and as such, they are legally required to keep their revenues.
Prime Minister Hinds told the House that it should be seen as local reserve.
He said that the monies in the various agencies accumulated over years, and further, there have been transfers from time to time to the Consolidated Fund.
The Prime Minister reminded of a time when he held the Ministerial portfolio for mining and there were occasions when money from GGMC was used to repair the Bell 412 helicopter, “if not we would have heard issues of the helicopter there and not being fixed.”
According to the Prime Minister, “off-budget financing is practiced in all jurisdictions and is used to give flexibility for executive government for the good of the nation.”
In responding to the Alliance For Change Leader Khemraj Ramjattan who had pointed out that while in Jamaica they had sold their spectrum for US$25M, in Guyana it is legislated to be given to friends, the Prime Minister said that there are two ways of allocating a spectrum – via auction or to charge fees annually.
He said that if there is greater attraction to get into a marketplace then auction is way to go and when there is not so great appeal, fees is the preferred option.
Touching on the criticism that there are no locals working on the construction of the Marriott in Kingston, the Prime Minister said that “it will take a decade to build such an efficient team and then it will be uncertain if we will find work in Guyana, but at present we want a hotel in good time.”
Meanwhile, the Finance Minister in a fiery rebuttal to the Opposition Speakers took to task A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)’s Basil Williams, who accused him of lying to the nation for several years.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, staunchly defends the 2014 Estimates

Williams during his presentation had said that out of 182 countries surveyed Guyana was the fifth from the bottom as it relates to the Human Development Index.
The Minister however produced a report which stated that Guyana was in fact ranked 118 out of the 186 countries surveyed.
“We have been regaled with such misrepresentations and when they were not readily at hand there was resort to insults,” Dr Singh argued.
In responding to the Leader of the political opposition, Brigadier (rtd) David Granger, the Finance Minister said that he (Granger) had failed to acknowledge new schools built, the new hostels, new dormitories, new business being put up new commercial estate in Lethem or even of the $1B in allocations for the development of hinterland roads among other initiatives in the budget.
He was adamant that A Partnership for National Unity was nothing but “a rebranded Peoples National Congress (PNC)”.
Throughout the course of his presentations, the Finance Minister repeatedly sought to sully the performance of the then Finance Minister Carl Greenidge whom he accused of “bankrupting Guyana”.
The Finance Minister was adamant that with the exception of a few suggestions by members of the Political Opposition, during the course of the debates, instead of proffering “alternatives on how we could do things better, what we were regaled with is a series of regrettable misrepresentations and even more unfortunate a resort to insult.”
Dr Ashni Singh in defending the 2014 Budget, said that many of what is being offered by the current administration includes many of the promises made by APNU in their Election Manifesto.
“We included hundreds of millions for hinterland airstrips, a promise you (APNU) made. We are delivering on our promises and yours.”
Dr Singh further pointed out that despite the promise of rehabilitated airstrips, the allocation was cut from the budget by APNU last year.
“What you promised we are doing, but you can’t see that and acknowledge it, what you promise we are delivering.”
According to the Minister, whether it’s a new bridge across the Demerara River, transportation assistance or tourism assistance, there is no acknowledgement in the camps of the opposition.
“APNU had promised in its manifesto tourism training, and when the current administration announces the same thing, they are told that there is nothing in the budget for jobs for young people.”
In speaking to the financial management of the country, the Finance Minister was adamant that the ruling administration will never bankrupt Guyana at the altar of political expediency.
Responding to a call by Granger to reduce the Value Added Tax (VAT) to 10 per cent, Dr Singh said that they could do that and then announce elections and would surely win a landslide victory but “we will never sacrifice the prosperity of our country on the altar of political expediency….We will never bankrupt the country like Mr Greenidge did.”
According to the Finance Minister, the Government’s track record will speak for itself, “if one were to examine the responsibility with which we have discharged our stewardship of the economy the facts would speak for itself.”
Dr Singh wrapped up by saying that over the coming days the estimates will be subjected to the most intense of scrutiny and once that is over he is hopeful that the opposition votes favourably.