Govt to take ‘comprehensive approach’ for supplementary funding—Dr. Luncheon

May 20, 2014 News

‘They want to be able to tell the populace, you are suffering because of the opposition,’ — Greenidge

By Abena Rockcliffe
The probability of the budgetary allocations which were set aside for several public offices being restored appears slim as government is seemingly heading down an all or nothing path./ At the same time the opposition maintains its stance on controversial programmes.
There is so far no clear indication whether funds will be restored as neither of the political sides seems to want to flex.
Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, in March, presented a $220B Budget for 2014. By the time the voting was finished, some $37.4B was slashed from the Estimates, leaving the administration with only $182.6B.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon

Those affected by the cuts are the Ministries of Health, Amerindian Affairs, Public Works, Finance and Office of the President.
The combined Opposition voted down the $22.2B allocation for the Ministry of Finance’s Policy and Administration capital budget. An allocation of $450M earmarked for loans to students of the University of Guyana (UG) was opposed. The entire sum was therefore not approved.
This was as a result of the Opposition’s determination not to support other programmes contained in the block of allocations. The contentious allocation in the Ministry’s Capital Programme was that of a $16B allocation for the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project under the Bharrat Jagdeo-led Low Carbon Development Strategy.
Opposition leader, David Granger, had invited the government to return to the National Assembly, “as soon as possible”, for supplementary approvals on the “non-controversial programmes.” His specific reference, at the time when he extended his invitation through the press, was to the University of Guyana loan allocations.
But the government has made no move in this direction so far. Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, recently indicated that Government will most likely take a “comprehensive approach” in seeking to get funding for those programmes and agencies that were affected.
Dr. Luncheon said that the government has still not decided the way forward on this issue. He said, however, that he will not be advocating for anything less than a holistic or comprehensive approach, “I don’t think we should pick, pick and take to the House. I would say take all.”
This, the Cabinet Secretary said, even in the face of the opposition stance that it will not support projects like the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project, Specialty Hospital, and CJIA expansion project at this stage. That is until certain expectations are met. The opposition has taken a similar stance on agencies like the Government Information Agency (GINA) and the National Communications Network (NCN).
Dr. Luncheon said that he does not believe in “giving this one back and not giving the other…you either give all a dem back, because we went for all.”
According to Dr. Luncheon, “We didn’t go to Parliament and present a budget saying we would attend to the appropriation needs to this entity now and attend to the others later. We didn’t do it that way. A comprehensive national budget was presented.”
He said, “Whatever the administration does, it would be Luncheon’s argument that it be comprehensively done.”
A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)’s shadow Minister of Finance, Carl Greenidge, is of the opinion that it is not in the interest of the government to get the non-controversial appropriations out of the way.
Greenidge said that the government would not be in a hurry to approach the National Assembly to approve supplementary funding for the University of Guyana because “they see it as a way to get the populace to turn against the opposition.”
He said that the government wants to be able to tell Guyanese that they are suffering because of the opposition. “So don’t expect them to do anything in a hurry,” he told Kaieteur News.
Greenidge also believes that there is some “hanky panky afoot.”
President Donald Ramotar concluded that the disapproval of the funding that affected the university loan appropriations was a “vicious attack” to the nation’s future. He said that some time ago that money to be invested in Guyana’s youths should not have attracted such a negative vote.