$1.146 Trillion Budget approved for 2024 

Feb 03, 2024 News

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Kaieteur News – The National Assembly late Friday evening approved Guyana’s first trillion-dollar Budget, following an almost 12-hour long Consideration of Estimates on the final day.

The $1.146 trillion fiscal plan was presented to the National Assembly on January 15, 2024, under the theme, “Staying the Course: Building Prosperity for All.”

This year’s budget represents a 46.6 percent increase over 2023’s budget which was $789.1B. Despite the increase in revenues to the country, some 40% of the fiscal plan is to be supported by loans, with the remaining 60% to be financed through state revenue.

In his closing remarks, the Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and Public Service, Dr. Ashni Singh expressed gratitude to the Finance and Parliamentary staff as well as the Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) for their contribution to the process.

He said, “Permit me also sir to thank our colleagues on that side of the House who through their questions provided what we consider on this side of the House a valuable opportunity to expand, elaborate, more fully articulate the various incredibly exciting plans, programmes, projects that we will be implementing in the national interest and in the interest of improving well-being of all of the Guyanese people.”

The National Assembly engaged in a rigorous Debate over a five-day period, that commenced on January 22, 2024. The House was then resolved into the Committee of Supply on January 30, 2024, to Consider the Estimates of this year’s Budget. The Opposition was afforded an opportunity to scrutinize the respective allocations and past year performance of the various agencies and Ministries funded by the State during this period.

Included in this year’s Budget is $236.1 billion for Public Works, $129.8 billion for Public Health and $135.2 billion for the Education Ministry.

This year, $10.5 billion was allocated to continue roadwork on the East Coast Demerara (ECD) to West Berbice corridor of the upgrading the Railway Embankment Road into a four-lane highway, from Sheriff Street to Orange Nassau and continuing to the Mahaica River Bridge.

$19.7 billion was allocated to continue the construction of the New Demerara River Bridge which began in 2023.

The sum of $4.2 billion has been allocated for the construction of the new Wismar Bridge which is also expected to commence this year.

On the power generation front, $80 billion has been set aside for the highly touted Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project.

The allocation for the health sector will go towards the construction of a world class paediatric and maternal hospital in Ogle and six Regional Hospitals, among others.

Meanwhile, the bulk of this year’s allocation for the Education Ministry, some $28.7 billion will be spent on the construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of schools and educational facilities in the country.

The government has set aside $7 billion in this year’s Budget for measures aimed at improving the lives of Guyanese. These measures will be determined after consultations with stakeholders.

It would be recalled that Government had launched the part-time job programme in 2022, in which one person per household was able to earn $40,000 by working 10 days per month in public offices in proximity to their homes. In 2023, over 15,000 persons were employed through the programme in several regions, placing over $6 billion in disposable income into these households. In 2024, the programme will continue and be expanded, with over $10 billion allocated.

In support of the development and expansion of small and medium enterprises as it relates to the cost of financing, government will partner with the commercial banks to lower the interest rates on loans up to $5 million, thereby reducing the cost of financing for small businesses.

Pensioners will also receive an increase from $33,000 to $36,000 per month. Some 76,000 persons will benefit, placing an additional $2.7 billion of disposable income in their hands.

Regarding public assistance, this will increase from $16,000 monthly to $19,000 with effect from January 1, 2024. It will place $1.2 billion in additional disposable income in the hands of over 35,000 persons.

To promote eye care for schoolchildren and pensioners, government will provide a $3,000 voucher towards the cost of an eye test for over 205,000 school children and 76,000 pensioners at a cost of over $840 million, to determine whether the person tested requires spectacles to aid their vision. For those who require spectacles, a $15,000 voucher would be provided towards the cost of the spectacles for the above category. This measure is estimated to cost $955 million.

In the case of schoolchildren and pensioners living in the hinterland where testing facilities might not be readily accessible, an alternative arrangement will be put in place. The total cost of this intervention aggregates to $1.8 billion.

Government will also provide a voucher of $8,000 for women between the ages of 21 to 65 years of age, to meet the cost of Cervical Cancer Testing. This intervention will cost an estimated $2.8 billion.

To promote household fire prevention capabilities, there has been a removal of VAT and Duty on fire extinguishers and smoke alarms.

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• 2024, budget, disposable, Parliament, passed

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