Actual vs. estimated

Nov 05, 2016 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

The Ministry of Finance is being patronizing in organizing a training session for the Guyana Press Association on the basics of analyzing the National Budget. The media really does not need any classes in this regard even though the quality of reporting on financial issues leaves much to be desired in this country.

The problem is more one of a jaundiced examination of issues by the media rather than lack of skills. But the media nonetheless does not really have to be tutored by a government ministry on how to analyze a financial document produced by that ministry.

The media is bringing itself into disrepute by entertaining and accepting such an offer. Should never have happened!

The work of the media is to report on what the Minister says during his presentation. It may be helpful in the reporting process if there is an understanding of the elements of budgeting. But any journalist worth his or her salt should be familiar with the basic elements of taxes, other revenues, current expenditure and capital expenditure.

The Budget speech is an opportunity for the minister to explain his policies to the Guyanese people. The media does not need any high technical knowledge to explain what the Budget has in store for the people. If the Minister cannot explain in layman’s terms what the various measures mean for the public, then no training programme by the Ministry of Finance will change that reality.

The job of reporters is to report on facts. If the X says Y and Y says Z, then that is the job of the media to report on. Reporters are not supposed to give opinions on matters. The injection of opinions into stories is referred to as editorializing within a story.

This practice is becoming quite common amongst some print reporters. It is a habit that they have picked up from some television reporters who are notorious for prefacing a story with an editorial comment.

The media’s job is to give experts an opportunity to comment on the Budget and to report what the experts say. The job of reporters is not to become experts on financial matters. They have to be experts on reporting what the experts say. They also have to report on the criticisms that the opposition makes of the Budget.

A reporter’s job is not to write about whether it was wrong for the government to pay increases in wages and salaries to public servants. That judgment is left for an editorial or op-eds comment. The job of reporters is to report that despite not having an agreement with the Guyana Public Service Union, the government will pay the increase or has paid the increase. It is for the reporter to then solicit the reaction of the Guyana Public Service Union and other persons within an interest in such matters.

The National Budget will be read in December. It will be the first time in a long time that a Budget will be presented so early. The fact of the matter, though, is that there is a disadvantage in presenting such an early Budget.

The presentation of a December Budget will mean that much of the annual production figures will not be actual figures because the fiscal year ends on December 31, 2016. It means that in terms of output, there will be estimated numbers. It also means that the actual revenues for 2016 will not be exactly known since the fiscal year also ends on December 31, 2016.

The Budget therefore is likely to be a ‘guesstimate’ in terms of revenues and actual GDP. This is one major drawback of an early Budget without the government having the foresight to adjust the fiscal year to end in October instead of the end of December. It is not certain whether the Ministry of Finance explained this to the media operatives at the training session held for them.

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Actual vs. estimated

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