The 2013 approved budget of $177 Billion provides opportunities for the Government to move this country forward in a sustainable manner. This was the objective of the Alliance For Change during the almost one month of debates and examination of the estimates.
There are still areas where the AFC would have liked to see more details being provided by the Government, and other areas where the Party is not fully convinced that the allocations satisfy the most urgent needs of the people. However, the AFC believes it is incumbent that the business of running this country must proceed in the least disruptive manner.
While the PPPC Government continues its mad rampage in trying to malign the AFC over what was proposed but not approved, almost nothing is being said about the massive allocations approved for various sectors. As an example, let us take a look at the allocations proposed for the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs and which were approved in its entirety:
$77.9M requested and approved for Amerindian Land Titling and Demarcation;
$350M to commence the implementation in 2013 of 180 Community Development Plans which are aimed at generating the economies of the Amerindian communities;
$66M for continuation of the Hinterland Scholarship Programme;
$200M to support the implementation of a new Amerindian youth entrepreneurship and apprenticeship training scheme;
$500M to roll out the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) initiative to Amerindian villages;
$7.520M for the maintenance of the Amerindian Residence, the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs and the student dormitory at Liliendaal;
$30 M, some of which is to be used to take children home from various hinterland dormitories and to provide, where necessary, flights to patients going in directions that require such;
$31M for National Events including Hope Amerindian Village Day, regional village days, North Rupununi Village Day, sport events, village expo, participation in Mashramani and Independence celebrations, Rupununi Rodeo, Rupununi Expo, Upper Mazaruni sports and Moruca Expo.
Also receiving the full support of the AFC, were the total allocations for the Guyana Elections Commission, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Citizens’ Security Programme, the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, and many others. In fact, very few areas proposed by the government did not receive the full support of the AFC.
Of those few areas that did not receive the AFC’s support, the reasons for withholding support are varied but ultimately cater for the nation’s best interest.
On the LCDS, the nation must understand that of the $20 billion requested, $19 billion has not yet received the approval of the GRIF International partners. If this money was approved by the parliamentary opposition but failed to get the nod from the GRIF international partners, that would result in an additional $19 billion deficit. Surely, this is something to be avoided. The AFC; like it did in 2012, has made it clear and has given the assurance that as soon as the IDB approves the projects to be funded with the $19 billion, the AFC will support a supplementary paper for this amount. The nation has our word on that!
On the Specialty Hospital $1.25 billion, the total allocation for this project was not approved. The government wants the nation to believe that health care would suffer if this hospital is not built. This is clearly an absurd position for the government to take. At present, there are a number of health care institutions all across Guyana that are in desperate need of repairs and a number of others that need to be rebuilt. All of them need equipment or to be refurbished to some extent. Would it not be a better use of money to repair and properly equip these facilities? The government is touting this project as ‘medical tourism’. Does it make sense to spend billions so that you can provide medical care for a tourist while so many of our mothers die in childbirth?
The Alliance For Change is certain that every Guyanese understands why $217.1M for NCN and GINA were cut. But, let us make it clear, funding to the tune of $65 million was approved for NCN capital works programme. The government is not saying a word about this! Why were cuts made to these entities? They both fail to observe the basic level of good journalism and operate as entities of the PPP rather that as entities of the State. The AFC has said before, as long as NCN and GINA operate as agencies in service of the PPP, then they will have to look to the PPP for funding.
$5.2 Billion was cut from the allocations for GPL. Over the years, the power company has continued to enjoy bailouts using taxpayers’ money while promises to bring the Company in line fall far short. Every year, when the Government asks for a bailout of this entity, it is with the undertaking that things will get better and the service provided will improve. Little improvement has been seen. It is important to note that while GPL Managers and others in government threaten increases in tariffs, the very same managers take home hefty salaries of millions of dollars every month.
The $5.36 billion cut from the Ministry of Public Works could have been minimized had the government been willing to work with the opposition. The intention of the AFC was to cut only that allocation for the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. A typographical error which could have been easily corrected was exploited by the government which resulted in cuts in more areas than intended.
Despite the ramblings about “cuts” to the budget, the important fact that many overlook is that the first “cut” made to the budget was in fact made by the PPP Government when they consistently refused year after year to place “ALL” revenues into the Consolidated Fund. These include the Lotto Funds, GNCB, all the NICIL funds including income from the sale of GT&T shares to name a few. Not forgetting the millions found in several “special accounts” that the Auditor General has identified over the years.
At the end of the day until all our revenues are accounted for and declared to the Parliament, the Alliance For Change will continue to scrutinize in detail any proposed budget, ensuring the best use of the Public’s funds.
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