Parliament approves $24B supplemental funds

Dec 20, 2023 News

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…pushes 2023 budget to $897.9B

Kaieteur News – After extensive deliberations, the National Assembly green lit a $24 billion supplemental fund, propelling this year’s budget to $897.9 billion. This additional allocation comes subsequent to the passage of the country’s largest budget of $781.9 billion back in February.

Senior Minister in the Office of the President, Dr. Ashni Singh, tabled Financial Paper No. 5 of 2023 last week.

The supplemental caters for over $12.3 Billion for the agriculture sector including provisions for subsidies and contributions in local organizations and additional resources for the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) to execute drainage and irrigation works aimed at mitigating the effects El Nino has had on Guyana’s agricultural sector.

Farmers have been demanding additional support to protect and boost the productivity of their crops and livestock and Government had committed to providing this support. It would be recalled as well that in November last, President Ali had indicated that as part of the $5 Billion cost of living allocation, $850 Million would be used for the acquisition of fertilizer to be distributed to the farmers.

In a charged parliamentary session, APNU+AFC Member of Parliament Vinceroy Jordan engaged Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, in a probing dialogue regarding the allocation of funds for crucial agricultural initiatives, highlighting the complexities and nuances of financial support in this vital sector.

Jordan’s incisive inquiry questioned the Minister’s proposal of $4 billion for the NDIA under subsidies and contributions, seeking transparency and a detailed breakdown of the allocations.

The Minister’s response dissected the allocation, revealing a comprehensive distribution across vital sectors: maintenance of canals, channels, drainage, machinery, and region-specific manual cleaning efforts.

“We are in the El Nino situation now. We are moving pumps, we are moving machinery, we are clearing canals, and although we are in this situation in terms of irrigation, we are still able to satisfy the farmers’ need in getting irrigation for cash crops, rice farming and things,” Zulfikar said.

The minister explained that the monies will be used to maintain 441,000 rods of canal, channels and drainage to the tune of $2, 572,189,691.

Maintenance of machinery and equipment will cost over $840 million, $244 million for operation of machinery and equipment, $121 million for supervision and transportation, $77 million for maintenance of vehicle, $50 million for fuel and lubricants and $120 million for manual cleaning of a number of channels in Region 10.

The exchange continued as Jordan shifted focus to the $53 million earmarked for the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary Agriculture Development Authority (MMAAD), pressing for clarity on how these funds would be employed. The Minister’s response highlighted strategic investments in infrastructure maintenance and essential services crucial for the agricultural heartland’s sustenance. Maintenance of canals and drains and access dams will cost $50 million and other goods and services which include spare parts for a number of machinery and equipment is expected to cost $3 million.

The discourse expanded further as Jordan probed the significant $2 billion allocation to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), seeking a comprehensive understanding of this substantial investment. The Minister’s breakdown elucidated the fund’s utilization, emphasizing wages, essential materials, fuel, lubricants, and crucial operational support for GuySuCo’s sustainability.

Jordan said, “GuySuCo is now receiving another $2 billion. It is almost $40 billion from the year 2020 to now. While it is clear that other agencies have not received such sum, could the Honourable Minister say what this additional $2 billion would be used for at GuySuCo?”

According to the minister’s disaggregation of the sum, 58% will be used for wages and salary which is equal to $1.168 billion. For fuel $242 million, lubricants $40 million, other essential materials and supplies $284 million and lorry contractors $203 million.

Beyond the specifics of these allocations, the Minister unveiled a broader vision for the agricultural landscape. The proposed funds under NDIA critical drainage and irrigations work were outlined to encompass the procurement of machinery, critical infrastructure works across various regions, extensive canal rehabilitation, and ambitious designs for future agricultural expansions.

Minister Zulfikar stated that the government has received a number of requests for machinery to be placed across the country. To do this he said it will cost almost $1 billion. For critical works in Pomeroon, Friendship, Jacklow and a number of areas, where the government plans to lift the beds so that the flood that have affected citizens can be avoided will cost $794 million.

To rehabilitate a number of canals in places like Friendship, Den Amstel, Craig, Plaisance, Bella Drum, New Amsterdam, the minister said it will cost $2.549 billion.

Also, $880 million additional fund needed for the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP).

Further, the supplemental also provides for over $1 Billion under the Ministry of Public Works for maintenance of roads, procurement of equipment and for the Transport and Harbours Department with the country continuing to undergo massive infrastructure transformation.

In terms of the health sector $3.9 Billion has been provided largely to support the rollout of healthcare infrastructure with $3.3 Billion for the construction of the New Amsterdam Regional Hospital, which adds to the suite of several new hospitals as part of Government’s broader agenda to modernize the health care system.

Under the education sector over $530.6 Million is provided for additional inflows under the Caribbean Development Bank loan for the skills development and employability project.

Under the Ministry of Home Affairs, over $3.9 Billion is provided for various initiatives including $2.8 Billion to boost the firefighting capabilities of the Guyana Fire Service including their operations in hinterland and outlying areas. Additionally, $1.3 Billion is provided for the Guyana Defence Force for defence and security support while under the Regional Development programme, more than $527 Million is catered for to boost a number of development programmes in Regions 1, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

Under the Office of the Prime Minister, supplementary provisions include more than $188 Million for additional resources to support the Linden Electricity Company Incorporated to sustain Ituni’s operation, the Mahdia Power and Light Inc. and Kwakwani Utilities, as well as for additional inflows under the Government of India’s supported Line of Credit due to an acceleration in the delivery of solar photovoltaic systems.

These additional funds follow previous supplemental budgets passed earlier in the year: in July, a $31 billion supplementary budget was passed. The sum includes $4.7 billion that will be directly allocated to 242 Indigenous communities and $26.5 billion for climate adaptation measures that were earned through Guyana’s carbon credits deal with the Hess Corporation. It also allocated US$150 million in revenues from carbon credits towards two critical priorities under the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).

In August, a $61 billion supplementary was approved, distributing funds across various sectors. The disaggregated sum of $61,013,184,705 includes $10,181,998,722 and $50,831,185,983 for current and capital projects, respectively.

The fiscal provision allocated an additional $5 billion to the Office of the Prime Minister; $33 billion for the Ministry of Public Works, and over $3 billion for the Ministry of Education. Other notable provisions include close to $15 million more for the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs for Security services; $500 million more for the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and $638 million additional resources for the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).  Under the Health Sector, $1 billion was approved for the rehabilitation and upgrade of health facilities countrywide.

Meanwhile, under the Ministry of Agriculture, over $8B was approved. The Ministry of Home Affairs also received an additional $1.5 billion to procure vehicles and boats to boost the operational effectiveness of the Guyana Police Force and finance other initiatives.

The initial budget of $781.9 billion, passed in February, was partially financed through revenue generated from Guyana’s sale of carbon credits, with contributions from the Hess Corporation. Budget 2023 included significant allocations for crucial sectors, including healthcare, education, and infrastructure development. Notable projects included the construction of a natural gas liquids plant, a combined cycle gas turbine power plant, upgrades to highways, bridges, and energy supply systems.

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• budget, Financial Paper No. 5, National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA, Parliament, supplemental funds

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