A CALL ANSWERED

Aug 13, 2015 Editorial

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Last Monday, Finance Minister Winston Jordan presented the Budgetary Proposals to the nation, in the National Assembly, under the theme “A Fresh Approach to a Good Life in a Green Economy.” His speech was an insightful analysis of the current state of the country’s staggering economy inherited from the former administration. It was the largest budget ever presented in the history of Guyana, with a whopping G$221B for the fiscal year 2015.
It was a well-crafted budget with something in it for almost everyone, and the Granger/Nagamootoo-led government, especially the Minister of Finance, must be commended given the limited choices available.
Devoid of the highfalutin jargon that often characterizes discussion of economic issues, Minister Jordan is convinced that his budget will place Guyana firmly on a path of sustainable growth. If nothing else, his near four-hour presentation, even though some say it was too long, required viewing or listening for any layperson seeking to gain a better understanding of the major strategies of the Coalition Government and the challenges it faces and must overcome to make noteworthy progress.
The Minister’s presentation focused on a number of major issues: the imperative of achieving sustainable growth to support a continued high standard of living for Guyanese, and the urgent need for the Government to address the record high level of public debt that is placing a severe strain on the country and adversely affecting its development prospects.
Minister Jordan’s speech was not in the partisan language of the typical politician looking to score points, but as a serious statesman befitting his status as the first Minister of Finance in the Coalition Government. It was his maiden budget presentation, which, with the exception of the reduction of Value Added Tax (VAT), delivered on several of the important promises made to the people during the joint opposition’s election campaign.
This year’s budget is not only record-breaking in terms of its individual provisions for the masses, but is also practical, in terms of real GDP growth forecast for this year and next. Among the highlights are significant increases in salaries and old age pensions; reduction in the Berbice Bridge toll; tax relief for gold miners; and a transfer of $8.2B from the national coffers to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).
The rice industry was boosted with a $23B subvention to support farmers; $33B was allocated to revamp the education system; $23B was allotted to improve health services, especially the public hospitals; $21B to improve national security, of which $11.9 billion will support the operations of the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Prison Service, Guyana Fire Service, and Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), while $9.1 billion is allocated to expand and upkeep the Guyana Defence Force.
Subsidies have also been granted to the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL), the Linden electricity supply and the Trade Unions, among others.
While the Minister is convinced that sugar and rice along with bauxite, livestock, forestry and manufacturing are poised to improve in output, he did not provide any details. But the fact that the government has to provide a subsidy in the total amount of $31B to both sugar and rice in the 2015 budget tells a different story.
How much longer will these two enormous industries be subsidized? What would happen if the sugar and rice industries remain unprofitable for the unforeseeable future? Like the government, the public knows that it would be overwhelmingly difficult to even remotely turn around GuySuCo, and that the rice industry could be in serious trouble should Venezuela carry out its threat to cancel its rice deal. The next few months will be crucial.
While unloading the goodies to improve the physical infrastructure of the security sector and acquiring tools and equipment to bolster its image are important, they still are not enough to stem armed robberies and murders in the country. Greater efforts will have to be made to establish a well-trained and professional security force to fight crime.
With such a huge budget, one would speculate whether the Treasury was really empty as stated earlier. Or is it that the Minister was able to locate and transfer billions of dollars scattered or found in various inactive accounts related to entities such as the Lotto Funds, NICIL, National Frequency Management Unit, Forestry Commission, Geology and Mines, among others?
Whatever the case, the budget appears to have been good news for most Guyanese. For the poor and the working class there seems to be consensus that Minister Jordan answered their call.

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