– Finance Minister urges Opposition in concluding budget debate presentation

Concluding a six days debate on the 2010 National Budget Monday evening, Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh urged Opposition members to open their eyes and see the developments visible throughout the country, since they have failed to make constructive criticisms.
“I urge the Opposition to remove their heads from the proverbial sand, to acknowledge the progress that is being made and visibly so, to desist from the practice of the politics of distortion and deception for which they seem to have a proclivity, and instead to engage us in the future in meaningful and sincere debates on how we can deepen, widen and accelerate development in our country,” Minister Singh said.

Noting that Government has undertaken to build a modern and prosperous Guyana, the Minister said that notwithstanding the vast progress that has been made to this end, this work is still in progress.

The Minister stated that the progress of this work will be considerably aided if all Guyanese would add their bit to this effort, including the political opposition.

“Budget 2010 outlines a comprehensive agenda of programmes and projects aimed to advance this work, to grow our economy, to develop our country and to improve the lives of all of our people. On the eve of our Republic’s 40th anniversary, I call on the Opposition to join us and to work with us in accelerating our progress towards achieving a modern and prosperous Guyana,” Minister Singh said.

Noting that the Opposition failed to propose an alternative plan for the development of Guyana, the Minister stated that the government was bombarded with personal insults, jibes and barbs from the Opposition.

“I believe that any objective appraisal of the 2010 budget debate would conclude that the opposition destroyed whatever shred of credibility they might still have remaining by apparently blindfolding themselves and refusing to see the obvious progress taking place in our country; by refusing to commend Government for policies and programmes that are obviously commendable; by criticising everything for the sake of criticising and by failing miserably to articulate any iota of an alternative plan for developing Guyana,” Minister Singh said.

Commenting on the presentations of the Opposition throughout the debate, Minister Singh stated that what was on display was an opposition that has a diametrically different view and a fundamentally flawed view of democracy, governance and government.

“An opposition that is stuck in the past and that is backward looking. An opposition that is removed from reality and oblivious to the global and regional contexts that obtain in the world today. An opposition that has very little if anything to offer in the effort to develop Guyana; but an opposition that nevertheless is content to rely on distortion, manipulation and misrepresentation of truth and fact in the cause of political expediency and in pursuit of their narrow political aim,” Minister Singh said.

The Minister pointed out that the presentations by Opposition members focused on specific themes. Minister Singh stated that in the area of inclusiveness, stakeholder involvement and inclusiveness are at a historically unprecedented level in this country and would compare favourably with any of the other countries in the Caribbean.

Based on criticisms raised on governance and accountability, the Minister stated that Government places the highest priority on accountability.

On issues relating to performance measurement, provision of information and the availability of information on programmes and policies implemented by Government, the

Minister stated that for the first time in history, Government has articulated detailed sector strategies for all of the main sectors including education and health, which have measurable, quantifiable and observable targets publicly available on the internet.

On macro-economic performance, the Minister pointed out that by characterising Guyana’s performance as slow, the Opposition is hopelessly out of touch with reality.

Referring to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) World Economic Outlook, October 2009, which showed that from the period 1991 to 2000, Guyana with an average growth rate of 4.9 percent, was the sixth fastest growing economy in the 32 emerging and growing economies. In 2009, the report showed that Guyana was the second fastest growing economy amongst the 32 emerging and developing economies in the Western Hemisphere. Projections for 2010 were that Guyana will continue to be the second fastest growing economy after Peru, which he described as marginally more modest that what Guyana projected.

The Minister pointed to what the IMF most recently said about Guyana. “Despite external shocks and social pressures, macro economic stability was preserved. Directors commended the authority’s commitment to further entrench macro economic stability, further strengthen the financial system and implement structural reforms,” Minister Singh quoted from the IMF.

He stated that the report further noted that Directors observed that direct spillovers from the global financial crisis on the banking system have so far been limited and welcomed the authority’s commitment to sustain the fiscal consolidation effort and the progress made in the area of fiscal reforms.

On the issue of vision, the Minister stated that throughout the debates,, the Ministers articulated Government’s vision for Guyana’s development but that the Opposition sought to make the nexus between the government’s vision and policies which they claim do not lay the foundation for growth and job creation.
However, he pointed out that investment and growth have been highlighted over the past year through the newspapers which carried articles on developments in the area of banking, where several banks established new offices which shows visible progress.

He further noted that Government has policy continuity, consistency, predictability and stability in Guyana, which has been a cardinal feature of Government.

The estimates of the 2010 National Budget will be presented for consideration from Wednesday, February 24 to Friday, February 26. (GINA)