Hastings-Williams calls for changes to budget

Feb 02, 2022 News

– urges increase in tax threshold, bigger raise for pensioners

Kaieteur News – If the needs of the people are not taken into account and set as priorities over the course of this year’s scrutiny of the 2022 estimates, then the process would have been a waste of time, and will not find the support of the political opposition, according to coalition Member of Parliament (MP), Dawn Hastings-Williams.
She was at the time adding her voice to this year’s budget debates and lamented that the $553B Budget “is not people-oriented, not people-centered.”
To this end, she was adamant, “unless we listen to the population” and include their priorities, their needs and interests into the document, then “I as a representative of them will not approve it in its present form.” In her presentation, the opposition Member of Parliament (MP) in defending her position to the Assembly reminded that there had been a high level of expectation among the Guyanese population with regard, “what is in it for me.”

Coalition Member of Parliament (MP), Dawn Hastings-Williams

The former government minister prefaced her position by reminding that Guyanese on January 26 were all in anticipation but having been presented, “citizens still asking what is in it for me.”
She cited as example, public servants that were looking out for an increase and pensioners that were glued to their televisions to hear if there was anything in Budget 2022 for them such as a cost of living allowance. This, since the Budget was not only touted as the biggest ever, “but the best because of the inclusion of our oil.”
According to Hastings-Williams, citizens’ hopes were dashed having heard the more than five hours long presentation of platitudes with little to no real relief. To this end, she like many of her colleagues that would have made presentations before called for additional measures to be put in place.
According to Hastings-Williams, “the Guyanese populace expect the government of the day, sitting at the centre of unprecedented change and challenges to provide a guiding hand and steer a course that brings prosperity in the midst of uncertainty.”
With this in mind, she recommended that the income tax threshold be increased to at least $120,000 as against the proposed increase to $75,000. According to Hastings-Williams, “action speaks louder than work.”
With regard the relief measures that had been announced for the Business Community such as the removal of certain import and other taxes for certain classes of vehicles, this she said should also be extended to categories of workers such as teachers in the hinterland. The MP’s presentation, which focused primarily on hinterland development, questioned rhetorically, “…are we better off in the last 18 months than we were five years ago?”
In response, she said, “…the answer, at least from indigenous population will be a resounding no.” Government MP, Alister Charlie, in response vehemently insisted that Budget 2022 in fact paves the way for continued development and transformation of our country this year and that the coalition did absolutely nothing in the five years they had control of the government.
According to the Government MP, the coalition government was in fact like a “demolition gang” that did not realize a single promise they made. His position, is that Guyana had, under the coalition “become a retrogressive country on fast track to (Forbes) Burnham era.”
Charlie was in loud praise of the allocations for hinterland and Amerindian a support base that he said, faced retribution between 2015 and 2020, since it did not support the coalition.
According to the Government MP Budget 2022 is progressive, people-oriented and people centered, full of promise, backed by the resilience of oil and gas sector. To this end, he was adamant that government will be approving Budget 2022 despite the condemnations of the opposition.

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