Ramotar refuses to sign 2014 ‘Budget’ Bill

May 01, 2014 News

President Donald Ramotar whose office has been in receipt of the Appropriation Act of 2014 from Parliament since Friday April 25, is yet to give his assent to the said Act.

This is according to the Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, who said that the President left the jurisdiction early on Monday morning for the activities of the CARCIOM Mexican summit in Mexico City “so no discourse has as yet taken place and the intentions of the President has not been gleaned over the weekend which essentially is when the Appropriations Bill has been with us.”

The Bill is necessary since it allows for money to be allocated by governing bodies and generally if it is not assented to it would mean that government would be unable to function, a problem which is usually solved by the holding of General Elections.

Luncheon, pronouncing on elections as a last resort, said, “I don’t believe that we face an either or proposition or situation. Among the options that are available, holding National Elections cannot be excluded but that is not the exclusive option.”

The combined opposition which has the Majority in Parliament has disapproved over $37 Billion from the 2014 Budget including projects from Office of the President; those disapprovals are reflected in the Appropriations Act.

According to Luncheon, expenditure as authorized by the constitution in the Appropriations Act comprises Current and Capital items. He said that the Appropriation Act “as amended to reflect the decisions made during the Committee of Supply by the majoritorian opposition did not provide approval in 10 instances.”

He said that it is to be noted that the one instance where the current expenditure was not approved was that of the Office of the President (OP) and that the Capital expenditure for the OP was one of the nine Capital expenditures that were not approved by the combined opposition.

This cutting of the Capital and Current Expenditures of the OP, according to Luncheon, has placed a “stranglehold” on programmes within the said office.

“Obviously the intention of the opposition of our Shiv Chandrapaul Drive premises is to have erected a ‘for rent’ sign because in the absence of current and capital flows we probably might be able to acquire revenue renting the facilities as we won’t be able to run a Ministry,” said Luncheon.

The other eight instances when capital expenditure was not approved during the committee of supply according to Luncheon, “indeed continues the 2012 and 2013 saga however, one important difference in 2014 is, we are not dealing with cuts and reduction in the expenditure approved by or during the Committee of Supply. The decisions here perhaps in accordance with the Chief Justice’s ruling are to essentially disapprove the entire expenditure.”

“So the current expenditure for the OP has been disapproved its zero in the Appropriations Act and the other eight instances Capital has been rendered zero no Appropriations,” said Luncheon.

According to Luncheon, “a situation like this cannot be entertained and one can hardly in the remaining months of the fiscal year 2014 see the government discharging its constitutional and statutory responsibilities fettered by the provisions in the Appropriation Act and reflect in the intentions of the majoritarian opposition.”

He said that one can anticipate that the “administration would have to undertake those interventions that are necessary to allow it to discharge its constitutional responsibilities and to do so within the meaning and within the exercise of the law of Guyana.”

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Ramotar refuses to sign 2014 ‘Budget’ Bill

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