GEA says employees facing the bread line due to 2014 budget cut

May 12, 2014 News

The Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) has outlined that the budget cuts to the allocations for the Office of the President could put some of its employees out of work.
According to the agency, part of the budgetary allocations to the Office of the President falls under the line item of payment of salaries for its staff.
The GEA said that the non-approved allocation was for G$73.5 million as subsidies/ contribution from Central Government.
“An additional G$10 million which was requested for capital expenditure towards the cost of extending the building to create additional office space for GEA’s employees, was included in the Office of the President’s Capital allocation which was also not approved.”
GEA explained that its recurrent budgeted expenditure for 2014 is $119M (excluding the 10 million capital expenditure for the extension of the current office space). Of the aforementioned amount, the Agency outlined that it only needed G$73.5 Million, since “the remaining G$44.5 Million will be generated from revenue received for Agency and licensing fees. Of the G$119 Million budgeted expenditure of the Agency, G$76.264 Million is allocated to employment cost. Hence, the G$73.5 Million dollars subvention that was requested was towards employment cost for 33 employees.”
“With no finances to pay salaries, the future of the staff is bleak and uncertain. Many have children and other dependents who rely on them for financial support. Additionally, they have mortgage, rent, water and electricity bills, loan repayment and financial obligations to Ministry of Housing and other banking institutions. All of this pales in comparison to the reality that without their salaries, individuals will not be able to provide food which is needed for basic survival.”
The Agency explained that it had planned several activities for 2014 toward ensuring the “vision of providing reliable energy that is economically, environmentally and socially sustainable for all in Guyana.”
According to the GEA, it plays a significant role in the development of Guyana through various activities such as the importation and sale of petroleum and petroleum related products, regulation of the licencing process, providing advice, giving recommendation and giving approval on energy related matters.
Additionally, “through school presentations, dissemination of information, research and implementation of various energy efficient activities and initiatives, the Agency has made a significantly positive impact on the Nation’s economy and sustainable energy initiatives,” said the GEA.
The non-approval of the Agency’s subvention request “has therefore lent a tremendous blow not only to the staff of GEA but also to Guyana and Guyanese as a whole,” the GEA outlined.
The combined Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance for Change (AFC) had placed blame squarely at the feet of the government for disapprovals to the 2014 Budget.
They had explained that the government had linked non problematic areas with areas of contention so that allocations to the contentious areas will be approved along with the non contentious which were certain to receive Opposition support.
The AFC had said that “it feels that the government is to be wholly and solely blamed for irresponsibility and recklessness in not de-linking the controversial projects from other worthwhile allocations such as rehabilitation of interior airstrips, student loans, presidential guards, land titling, basic needs projects, etc., which the AFC support, and would approve when the government returns them to the National Assembly for supplementary vote, as it has done on previous occasions.”
APNU has since expressed similar sentiments and said that government could return for supplementary appropriation for the non problematic areas provided that its (government) intentions are clear.

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GEA says employees facing the bread line due to 2014 budget cut

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