FINANCE Minister, Dr Ashni Singh, assured last Friday, that Government will not cut critical social programmes for the sake of improving its rating on the United States (U.S.) economic freedoms index.

He gave the assurance when responding to Alliance for Change (AFC) Parliamentarian Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan, who said, during the general debate on the 2009 National Budget in the National Assembly, that Government should improve its score on the listing.

Guyana scored 0.4 point lower than last year because improvements in four of 10 economic freedoms were offset by a large decline in Government scoring size.

The compilation said this country’s oversize Government, with expenditure exceeding half the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is the biggest barrier to development.

It added that the Government has been consistently increasing social spending, resulting in a persistent fiscal deficit.

But Singh, winding up the five-day exchanges, contended that what Ramjattan suggested implies that Government should resort to cutting jobs, consistent with his advocating closure of eight ministries.

The minister, still alluding to the rating, said, in the area of monetary fund, Guyana was scored down for influencing prices through the regulation of State-owned utilities and enterprises but has no regrets for so doing.

“This Government has no apology for intervening in the market to ensure the people of Guyana continue to benefit from affordable fuel,” Singh declared.

He maintained that the Administration will not work to lower its score to please Ramjattan, at the expense of the populace.

AFC Leader, Mr. Raphael Trotman, had charged that the Budget objectives were not realistic but Minister noted that the difficulties confronting the sugar industry were dealt with candidly, also in the ensuing debate.

Singh reiterated that growth in sectors excluding sugar is projected at 1.8 per cent this year, as compared to 5.9 per cent in 2008.

In the larger sectors, he reminded that conservative growth is projected in 2009, relative to 2008.

Singh said the assertions by Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) that the separation of sugar from other industries in the budget indicated that Government is practicing divide and rule was grossly misinformed.

He explained that, in any economy where there is a dominant sector, it is not unusual to isolate that one for the purposes of understanding what happens in the rest.

Skeptics
Responding to whom he called skeptics, that the documentation in his presentation lacks development, Singh said it is far from true.

The Minister argued that the $710M allocated for the school feeding programme targets the vulnerable in society and the 10,000 persons who will benefit from eye surgery at Port Mourant Diagnostic Centre and thousands of farmers directly from some $8B in drainage and irrigation works, among other projects, all speak to positive development.

He also said concerns raised by People’s National Congress Reform-One Guyana (PNCR-IG) MP, Mr. Winston Murray, on the computation of the fiscal deficit, are uncalled for.

Singh told the House that the measurement of an economic variable does not change every week, month or year and table three of the budget, to which Murray referred in his contribution, has been the standard calculation for decades.

Singh said that measure shows the inflows and outflows relative to the Consolidated Fund and the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act of 2003 explicitly states that all proceeds from loans and grants shall be paid into the Fund.

He said Government has achieved praiseworthy success in lowering the deficit in 2008.

For 2009, it is projected at 6.5 per cent, a considerable reduction from the 13.7 per cent in 2005, which was due to considerable investment in the Skeldon Sugar Modernisation Project (SSMP) and other infrastructural developments, Singh said.

He disclosed that Government is, in quest of Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), committed to a medium term pass by reducing the deficit, consistent with fiscal and debt sustainability policies.

According to him, Guyana is on the verge of qualifying for significant external assistance through the MCA, having attained a considerable reduction of the fiscal deficit.

The minister said, too, that Murray’s closing remarks, in which he stated that, under the current Administration, Guyana has never been on the path to prosperity, are unfounded.

Singh supported his contention by pointing out that, in 1992 public servants minimum wage was $3,137 as against $29,836 today, excluding the temporary cost of living adjustment announced by President Bharrat Jagdeo last year.

Singh said that reminded reality represents an 851 per cent rise in Guyana dollars.

He said gross international reserves moved from US$191.1M in 1992 to US$355.9M at the end of 2008, an 86 per cent reduction in light of the food, fuel and economic crises.

Singh said, in addition to the many noteworthy economic strides, the US$2.1B total external debt, inherited by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) in 1992, has since been reduced to US$833M or 60 per cent.