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“Why with $1.146 trillion budget people still hungry”?
– Opposition MPs query during New York Town Hall meeting
Kaieteur News – Budget 2024 at a whopping $1.146 trillion is the single greatest transfer of wealth to the contractors in Guyana, since some 59 percent of that is for infrastructure projects.
Member of Parliament, Roysdale Forde
This according to aspiring leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R), Roysdale Forde, who along with Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Natasha Singh-Lewis and Former Mayor Ubraj Narine, addressed a Town Hall Meeting in New York with members of the Guyanese Diaspora last Friday last.
Forde in his address, noted too that, “we are at a very critical juncture in our history; for the first time in independent Guyana, resources, monies, wealth is not an issue.” “We are living today in a very special time in history when we are able to see at least on paper, the country transforms from a very poor country to a very wealthy country; so much so that it is now indisputably accepted.” With this in mind, he drew reference to the biggest budget ever at $1.146 trillion, and said that’s the evidence “that supports my statement that we are now living in a time like no other where money and access to resources.”
He reminded however, that “despite this massive wealth 48 percent of the people are living in poverty; there is no welfare system, there is no support.” According to Forde “… this government is comfortable to build roads and bridges, hospitals where we don’t need them, schools beyond the capacity that is needed and infrastructure all about the country; infrastructure and changing the landscape is not the way to go; the way to go is to develop the lives of the Guyanese people now.”
He queried “what sort of political beast, what sort of political outfit is the PPP, knowing now that you have wealth, the people that have served, retired nurses, teachers, public servants” and know fully well that they are at the end of their lives and opt to instead build roads.” He posited that this approach would not allow the true investments to benefits, the pensioners and other such vulnerable groups. “Of the $1.146 trillion; almost 59 percent of the budget is spent on infrastructure,” and according to Forde, “it is the greatest transfer of wealth at any one time, in one budget in the history of Guyana to one small group of people, the contractor class.”
Singh-Lewis, in her address to the gathering was of the view that the ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C Administration) is at present squandering Guyana’s resources, including its oil resources.
The Opposition Member of Parliament who holds the portfolio of Shadow Minister of Human Services and Social Security, noted that this much is being related to the party’s leadership during their outreaches in Guyana. With this in mind, she was adamant “we got to find a creative way to tell the PPP enough is enough; do not let the PPP divide us.” To this end, the Opposition MP argues that “one of the factors of unity is good living conditions, safety and security for all people, those are the fundamentals…” Reminding that in January of this year, a $1.146 trillion dollar budget was approved for government spending, she lamented that public assistance is still less than US$100 per month while pensioners get just over that at $36,000. “We pay our seniors who would have worked all their lives to prepare a Guyana for all our children; we pay them $36,000 every month; with a budget of more than a trillion that is what we give to our pensioners.”
The MP was adamant “there isn’t a community without complaints about NIS, public assistance and old age pension.” According to Singh-Lewis, “…our people are so neglected economically, all sorts of things are spin off from that; with $1.146 trillion dollars, we should have systems in place that allow every single woman in Guyana to have the support of the system to be better, firstly economically, so you do not have to stay in a relationship that is abusive.”
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