Local Government Elections in 2018 a certainty – Finance Minister

Nov 18, 2017 News

-Opposition questions $800M cut to agency’s budget request

Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, has assured that Local Government Elections will be held in 2018 despite the $800 million cut to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) budget request which the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) believes will negatively impact electoral preparations.

Opposition Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira

The Minister gave the assurance during last evening’s sitting of the National Assembly which considered current and capital expenditure for 2018 proposed by the Constitutional Agencies, including GECOM which has an approved capital and current expenditure budget totalling $2.9 billion.
GECOM had originally requested $3.7 billion.
According to the Finance Minister, the budget with donor financing will be sufficient to ensure the holding of Local Government Elections next year. “Local Government Elections in 2018 is a certainty,” the Minister declared.
He informed that more money was budget for GECOM because of General Elections in 2015 and then the holding of Local Government Elections in 2016 for the ‘first time in decades’. He stated that because of those two back-to-back elections, GECOM would have acquired sufficient hardware and software which the Commission will not have to duplicate in 2018.
“If per chance GECOM falls short of resources, it knows it can come to the House to ensure that the return of Local Government Elections which returned in 2016 will continue,” the Minister said.
Opposition Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira, questioned why the government would cut the GECOM budget for 2018 to an amount that is lower than the 2016 election year.
According to Teixeira, the Government has consistently reduced GECOM’s budget for 2018 when the agency is expected to increase its workload since there were no continuous registration in 2017 and no bi-election at the local government level.
“I’m trying to comprehend why this Government would cut $800M when you have Local Government Elections planned for 2018. There were no Local Government Elections and continuous registration, therefore, the figures for 2017 can’t be considered as savings,” Teixeira pointed out.
At one stage, Speaker of the House, Dr. Barton Scotland, intervened to warn Teixeira not to debate the matter, but that she is allowed to ask questions of the Minister of Finance.
“The Standing Order allows us to debate the estimates…We have the right to question the Minister,” Teixeira stated.
Opposition MP, Priya Manickchand, told the House that she found it odd that the Minister of Finance gave the same answer to every single question raised by the Opposition.
She stated that in the case of GECOM, the Finance Minister advanced the reason that the agency was unable to spend its allocation in 2017. She countered by pointing out that there were several factors that led to lower spending, including the non-appointment of a GECOM Chairperson and no commission meetings, among other things.
President, David Granger appointed retired Justice, James Patterson as GECOM Chair.
“If indeed the gentleman is “fit and proper,” then they should increase the GECOM budget,” Manickchand stated.

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