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PPP mismanagement of resources wounds economy – Finance Minister
Guyana’s economy is wounded. It seems to be the instant recognizable image appearing on the blackboard
Finance Minister, Winston Jordan
as the Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, gets closer to understanding just what his new government really inherited from the previous administration.
The more he gathers, the more evident it appears that the actions of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) have finally come full circle.
Jordan will more than likely find that at the end of the rainbow, there may be more trouble inherited and a greater mess to clean up. The politician made no bones, stating yesterday, to Kaieteur News that had the country’s resources not been mismanaged, Guyana would have been better off today.
He said that some of the worst cases in this regard to be the Marriott Hotel and the Skeldon Sugar Factory.
“These projects saw billions (of dollars) being mismanaged. If this did not occur, do you think that Guyana would have been where it is today? Of course not. I am not saying that this is the only factor, for others include some financial constraints in some areas but this really did affect the economy,” the Finance Minister said.
He added, “The mismanagement of the country’s resources has indeed wounded the economy in some general areas. We are in the process of crunching the numbers to see the extent of the damage and where we are.”
Jordan said, too, that the country’s average growth rate has been fluctuating between three and four percent. This has been supported by the statistics published by the Central Bank in its annual reports.
According to the Bank of Guyana, the country’s growth rate from 2008 to 2011 fluctuated between two and four percent. And from 2012 to 2014 it swayed between four and 3.9 percent.
The Finance Minister said, that the average percentage is good enough for a middle income country but not for Guyana, one of the poorest countries in the Caribbean looking to lift its people out of poverty.
He said that the 2015 budget cannot be expected to be as exorbitant as the last one presented in 2014 ($220B) as it is going to be presented in the latter part of the year. It will reflect mostly the one-twelfth expenditure incurred by the previous administration.
He said that the budget will also look at allocations for the next four months.
Jordan who is still trying to get a vivid macroeconomic picture of the country, said that his team is looking to see how the APNU+AFC’s 100-day plans will be affected, considering the inherited debt which according to the Central Bank figures stands at almost US$2M.
He is considering the feasibility of reducing the Berbice Bridge tolls, implementing a revised VAT system, projects to sustain the economy, the performance of the domestic economy , how to clear its debts with international agencies among other burning issues.
Commenting on the issue, Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram, said that the task facing the newly appointed Finance Minister is quite formidable, and he has already had to deal with the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), which demands fundamental structural changes.
The attorney-at-law said that GuySuCo cannot be ignored any longer. He said that Mr. Jordan is also taking over from Dr. Ashni Singh who always seemed to see only the bright side and ignore the less palatable matters.
These he said include; the uncertainty surrounding the PetroCaribe arrangement which was pivotal to the rice sector, the comparably low price for gold, leakages in the tax system, and the politicization of public financial management.
Together, Ram contends that these pose significant challenges to the new Finance Minister. “Fortunately for him,” the Chartered Accountant said, “there is significant scope for reduction of wasteful and extravagant public expenditure which hopefully, compensates for some of the weaknesses identified by the Finance Minister.”
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