GCCI lauds government for 2021 National Budget

Feb 15, 2021 News

Kaieteur News- The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) has commended the government for this year’s budget and also sought to give praise to Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh for his presentation of the budget in the National Assembly on Friday.
In their press release yesterday, they lauded the “diligent work” of the staff of the Ministry of Finance, who would have managed to prepare two budgets; this year’s budget and last year’s emergency budget, in the course of six months.
The statement went on to say that the government invited the GCCI to provide input in a consultative process as they prepared the national budget, to which it participated in line with its mandate of representation of the private sector and their input aligned with private sector development and, improvement of the business environment.
It was noted that in 2020 Guyana’s economy grew by 43.5 per cent as a result of the kickstart in oil production. However, the non-oil economy contracted by 7.3 per cent which is the largest contraction in economic growth for Guyana. Also highlighted was the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the political standoff following the March 2, General and Regional Elections (GRE) 2020, and the lack of democracy which resulted in slowed investment, halts in expansion and thwarted confidence in the Guyanese economy.
“It is with this in mind that the GCCI recognizes and commends the Government for its effort, through its fiscal programme, in ensuring that the much-needed restart to the economy is provided by way of the largest national budget in the history of Guyana,” the GCCI said. The release noted that the budget is particularly welcomed by the members of the Chamber and of course the wider private sector, especially because enterprises, investors and the Guyanese public continue to navigate the novel coronavirus and the tremendous hurdles and challenges never experienced before that it has brought.
The GCCI highlighted the government allocating 45 per cent of the $383.1 billion overall budget sum to education, public infrastructure and healthcare, stating that from its perspective it is extremely important for ensuring the broad-based economic development of Guyana.
It said that the $60.7B billion allocation for education ensures that the Guyanese people are further developed, trained, retrained and upskilled for an evolving labour market. “This sectoral priority, the largest of the three, can be seen as the backbone of a government’s programme for economic development,” it lamented.
In light of the aforementioned, the leadership and members of the GCCI remain supportive as partners in national development and plans to continue working with the government to chart for a higher growth trajectory for Guyana, according to the statement.

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