– Minister Westford tells House
PUBLIC Service Minister, Dr. Jennifer Westford, in her presentation during the 2011 budget debate said the PPP/C Government has no reason to be presenting an elections budget as is proffered by the Opposition.  
“Nowhere in this budget can they (Opposition) point to any project that has been inserted because of this being an elections budget,” she asserted. She emphasised that government spends millions of dollars every year to prepare current and capital budget documents, which are distributed to every member of the National Assembly and urged them to cross-analyse the programmes.
She said that the Opposition’s view that there is nothing in the budget for ordinary Guyanese is preposterous as the increases in old age pension, public assistance, and income tax threshold and the decrease in the corporation tax rate are all designed for the benefit of the common man.
The Public Service Minister said that government has been ensuring that capacity is built to provide an enabling environment for the efficient implementation of the developmental programmes.   
In this regard, over the last 15 years, government trained 2,513 Guyanese through scholarships in the fields of human medicine, dentistry, physiotherapy, pharmacy, radiology, ophthalmology, bio-medical technology, veterinary medicine, plant science, agronomy, hydrology, architecture, computer science, environmental science, forestry, human resource and hospital management, hospital administration, tourism, auditing, economics and accountancy and civil, electrical, mechanical, mining, environmental, and automated engineering.
Minister Westford said that contrary to the bleak picture that is painted by the Opposition with regards to the migration of skilled people, out of the 2,513 trained professionals that returned to Guyana, 20 resigned after serving their five years stipulated contracts, six resigned prior to the termination of their contracts but honoured the repayment of their training cost, while the others are meaningfully employed in the government and private sectors.
Additionally, 385 trained Guyanese professionals will be returning to Guyana, 300 of whom are medical doctors who will assist in the delivery of more adequate health care.
“It is evident that this PPP/C government has the capacity and will ensure that all of the proposed projects listed in the 2011 budget are undertaken efficiently,” she said.
As it pertains to the quality of services delivered to Guyanese people, she said that staff developmental programmes have been ongoing both locally and overseas with the aim of upgrading their capacity to discharge their duties.
With regards to infant and maternal mortality, the minister said that government has conducted the necessary investigations and to date has implemented methods in an effort to curb this situation.
Responding to criticisms that the rise in the threshold is inadequate, she said that salaries are paid based on the country’s economic realities.
The income tax threshold has risen from $35,000 to $40,000, removing about 38,000 Guyanese from the tax net.  
“We have not been sitting idly by and allow salaries to languish, in 1992 our salaries were $2,801 and to date that has been increased by 1118 percent (from US$25 to US $200),” she said.
The Minister emphasised that notwithstanding the global financial crisis, government has continued to pay salary increases and created 28 new categories of jobs when other countries were cutting wages and laying off workers. Additionally, more public officers have been added to the list for duty-free concessions.
She also clarified that contrary to what is being insinuated by the Opposition, super-salaries are not being paid to contracted workers in the public service.
In concluding her debate, she urged members of the House to engage in constructive criticisms, which she said is a recipe for development. (GINA)