THIS year’s budget debates reflect the diversity of views which exists in our body politics and the Parliament of Guyana. In the light of clear evidence of steady progress and incremental growth over the last two decades, many of the opposition speakers had very little tangible evidence of any regression of our programmes of social services and infrastructural development and were thus reduced to mounting the same old lines which they come to the house with each year. The opposition members spoke of our parliamentary practices, which is in consonance with parliamentary procedures all over the world, where governments are required to bring supplementary papers to the Assembly each year for approval. During the PNC regime (from 1988 to 1992), the average of the total supplementary provisions approved by the National Assembly amounted to 57 percent of budgetary allocations.

QUOTE:Guyana has come a long way and has the potential to leap forward and make greater changes. Today we are at a crossroad. We can continue to progress incrementally as we have done for the past two decades or we can try to improve our lot exponentially. The foundation we have built is solid and the time is ripe for a realization of our long acknowledged potential.

The present government, over a similar period, requested approval for only 14 percent. These are the same people who are lecturing and criticizing us for what we have done, while in their days in office they exceeded the budget by more than half of the national annual expenditure. Not only that, for the majority of the same period they did not even table an Auditor General’s report to account for their expenditures to the people of Guyana.

QUOTE:With the additional revenues coming in from the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and our potential revenue streams from our expanding economic base and possible oil and mineral discoveries, we stand on the brink of a quantum leap into a better tomorrow for all Guyanese.

Now they are saying that the records were destroyed. This very statement is an insult to the hardworking staff of the National Assembly and should be condemned by all decent people in Guyana. Their members also claimed that the budget is without meaningful increases or clear measures to deal with many of the social issues affecting Guyanese. It is the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), which has met the needs of the Guyanese people and advanced the provisions of equal opportunities.
It was the current administration which removed the Means Test for old age pension, which was in place under the PNC, to deliver more benefits to the senior citizens of the country. Prior to 1992, it had to be verified that applicants for old age pension had absolutely no means of support. Since 1993, to qualify, they only have to be a 65 year-old Guyanese living in Guyana two years prior to receipt of the benefit.

QUOTE:In the new and brighter tomorrow, there is a place for everyone. The opposition, too, has a role to play and they should step up to the wicket and accept the big role they should play in a developing democracy.

We have continuously improved the lot of our senior citizens as our economy expands. Vulnerable women and children have been supported and our recent Women of Worth (WOW) initiative has benefited single-parent women in all areas of our country. In this programme, we are providing these women with the means to earn a living as our party has done for the women of Guyana since its formation over sixty years ago.
The people of Guyana will verify that we have made consistent efforts to enhance their quality of life and the evidence shows that we have been improving the quality of life all across the country. In most of the populated areas, there have been drastic improvements under our watch and the opposition knows this. On the issue of Value Added Tax (VAT), the reality is that VAT has replaced many other taxes. It is lower here than it is in other countries.
All the basic items that the poor people use every day have been zero-rated. The revenue garnered through the VAT is being used to raise old age pensions, the income tax threshold and invest in the general development of the country, all for the people’s benefit.
Our economic policies are sound and rely on the distribution of our wealth through the provision of social services which raises the standard of living of all Guyanese simultaneously.
Investments are being made by the private sector and the financial sector, all of which lead to a better economy, which by extension, expressly facilitates the creation of jobs and a general improvement in the livelihoods of the Guyanese people.
Clearly, we were able to do this because of good management of the economy. We can speak here, all night, about the changes that have impacted the lives of our people but we still remain a developing country.
Once again this year the opposition rallied around the restructuring of the sugar industry and the fact that we are working to keep the industry alive while it has been shut down in many of the other Caribbean countries. While we agree that there are many challenges facing GuySuCo, the primary factor is the 36 percent price cut by the European Union (EU), in keeping with rulings by the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
In order to remain viable, the corporation must restructure and modernise its operation in an effort to reduce the cost of production. GuySuCo’s management has been working hard and needs, for the efforts being made, to “beef up” managing skills in the industry. Obviously, we have to do a turnaround. We have to improve the industry. We have to make different arrangements in the industry.
That is what we are doing, the whole Skeldon project has been designed to do this and the challenges are being addressed. It is important for the sector stakeholders to understand what is taking place and the necessity for mechanization. The problems of the industry surround restructuring and we can make a good future for all of the stakeholders in the sugar industry if we work on this national effort together.
Guyana has come a long way and has the potential to leap forward and make greater changes. Today we are at a crossroad. We can continue to progress incrementally as we have done for the past two decades or we can try to improve our lot exponentially. The foundation we have built is solid and the time is ripe for a realization of our long acknowledged potential.
With the additional revenues coming in from the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and our potential revenue streams from our expanding economic base and possible oil and mineral discoveries, we stand on the brink of a quantum leap into a better tomorrow for all Guyanese.
In the new and brighter tomorrow, there is a place for everyone. The opposition, too, has a role to play and they should step up to the wicket and accept the big role they should play in a developing democracy.
We have a lot of challenges to face together…can we do it? Yes we can!! A better tomorrow for all Guyana depends on our efforts to continue our progressive gains today. I challenge all Guyanese to acknowledge the need for Guyana to leap forward and effect greater changes for the benefit of our country and our people. (This article was first published in the Weekend Mirror of February 5-6, 2011)