…says 2011 budget in a matter of weeks
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo said that based on tax collections, there was a significant increase in business activities since there have been no tax increases which means that all of the successes have come from stronger enforcement and expansion in economic activities. Mr. Jagdeo was speaking at a press conference held at the Office of the President yesterday during which he addressed a number of issues of national importance. He said he will hold another, more formal, press conference at which he will speak on more issues related to the performance of various sectors of Guyana’s economy.
But at yesterday’s briefing, he said that the performance of the economy in 2010 was better than projected, despite reports to the contrary being reported in other sections of the media.
He said the country is trying to “keep a stable fiscal [position] and try to keep the fiscal deficit within a certain range.”
Jagdeo said: “So, if you have the revenue performance, you would do better than estimated. You have greater room to spend without deteriorating the fiscal deficit and without it being inflationary. You have expenses that come up for roads…what happens is basically more services for people.”
He cited an example in the $3 billion that had been approved for the Ministry of Housing. “It is not $3 billion parked in some account that nobody could touch…this is an account that is audited by the Auditor General, but then it would allow us to do [between 500 and 600 more] roads than anticipated across the country or to accelerate the infrastructure drive for the 15,000 more house lots that we are going to do on the East Bank, so more of our people can have their house lots faster and with better infrastructure, not just a little road and a canal,” he said.
According to the President, if the revenue does a little better then government can push more of those programmes to benefit citizens. “A lot of the money will be spent on upgrading existing housing areas as well as pushing 15,000 house lots that would be available just by the [Guyana National Stadium]. It will make a big difference to people who live in Georgetown,” he said.
“One thing is certain…We will have a budget in a matter of weeks. The budget will continue to build on our strategy in the past. You are not going to see a major departure from that orientation. That is fixed. What you will see is an expansion of infrastructure supporting economic activities and a strong continued focus on bringing better services to our people wherever they live. You will also see a (dedication) to raise the quality of services that we bring to our people. And we can do this now largely because we are doing better as a country, at least economic wise,” he said.