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Coalition wants budget to include water and electricity subsidies for low-income families
Kaieteur News – With the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government set to reveal its 2023 Budget come Monday, the Opposition Coalition has reiterated the need for “people-centered” considerations that entail the removal of electricity and water bill payments for low-income families.
On the party’s official Facebook page, it recognized stakeholder support as being important toward pushing government to implement strategies that directly address the existent cost of living hardships. The party said it believes that water and electricity services for low-income households should be subsidized by the government to ensure no household in need of these essentials.
That party said that, “In line with our vision on this matter, we had called on the government, at our press conference on 4th October (2022), to urgently introduce electricity bill relief for low-income households. We had then explained that in this proposal, “households whose total monthly light bill is less than a specified dollar amount (a cap) will not be required to pay Guyana Power and Light (GPL) bills. Instead, the Government of Guyana (GoG) will stand the costs and compensate GPL for the total amount forgone. The cap must be chosen to cover as many low-income households as possible,” the party stated.
The Coalition related that their people-centered approach can easily cover water, electricity and other essential services, “and move away from the PPP approach of exploiting our people.” As such, the party added that the waiving of all reconnection fees is also a policy they will adopt.
At the October press conference, Youth and Economic Policy Advisor at the Office of the Opposition Leader, Elson Low had indicated that given the windfall cash that was coming in from higher oil prices, the government could have given better relief to citizens and at an earlier time to aid the cost-of-living dilemma.
He said the PPP government refused to budge despite calls from several sections of society including the Opposition. He said that the Coalition was in full agreement with the advice of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its report on its Article IV Consultation with Guyana. “The IMF advises that Guyana should ease the burden of prices on the most vulnerable groups of society by gradually unwinding untargeted measures and instead further develop and strengthen a well-targeted social safety net.”
Against that background, the Opposition called for the government to urgently introduce the electricity subsidy for low-income households. Using the cap, it was suggested that households with certain bill amounts get exempt from paying GPL bills. Low said the government would stand the costs and compensate GPL for the total amount forgone. “The cap must be chosen to cover as many low-income households as possible. Those whose light bills are above the cap will continue to pay GPL as per the norm for now,” the economist noted.
He stressed the advantages of this proposed subsidy effectively targeting homes that are most in need of assistance. He said, “As the scheme will use the existing GPL billing system, administrative costs to delivery benefits will be minimal for the government; and participation costs non-existent for beneficiaries; the use of a cap can incentivize households to become more energy conscious in using electricity, and benefits are predictable and continuous (not one-off).” The Opposition advisor had asserted that “as the next government” the party had already crafted certain measures, and would be implementing them “to guarantee every Guyanese a high quality of life.”
On Tuesday, Senior Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh announced that Budget 2023 would be unveiled on January 16. The budget is expected again, to be significantly propped up by oil revenues. Minister Singh said in a public statement that over the last several months he and his team had been meeting and consulting with various stakeholders including the private sector, government ministries, other agencies and civil society.
In last year’s budget, the government had set aside $5B to offer cost of living relief to citizens. Some of the measures implemented were one off payments to farmers, fishermen and disabled children. The government had also announced the availability of part-time jobs in some regions.
- Article IV Consultation, Dr. Ashni Singh, Government of Guyana (GoG), People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Senior Finance Minister
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