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The minority government led by President Donald Ramotar is due to face its stiffest test in the weeks ahead when its annual budget is due to be presented to Parliament for examination, debate and acceptance.
It is the time of year when the people of any given country pay rapt attention to the presentation by the country’s Finance Minister, or any other minister of the government that acts in that capacity.
It is the document that tells the people what to expect in the new fiscal year in terms of personal benefits, and what developments are due to come on stream, and how they will be financed.
Prior to the presentation of the budget, a document which sets out a summary of estimates for intended expenditures for the new fiscal year, numerous considerations are made before crafting of the actual document is done.
In Guyana, we have a very peculiar situation in which for the first time in the country’s history, there is a minority government. Although the PPP/C has won the presidency by attaining the highest amount of votes cast, 166,340, the combined opposition has one seat more than the government in Parliament.
This could create some unnecessary setbacks, as already the opposition is making unrealistic demands with regard to the crafting of the budget.
But they are dead wrong. The preparation and implementation of the national budget of any country is the responsibility of its government, whether minority or majority.
It is not difficult for us to recall that the PPP/C administration has lived up to its tradition of consulting with the country’s stakeholders in the formulation of the national budget each of the 19 years of its existence in power. These include labour, private sector organisations and civil society among a host of other bodies.
The government, in its striving for togetherness and national unity also leaves the door open for consultations with the opposition as a stakeholder also. The people feel that in this way we could have a budget which is all-inclusive that would work in the interest of all the people of this country.
We refer to Article 218 (1) of the Guyana constitution which states: “The Prime Minister or any other Minister designated by the President shall cause to be prepared and laid before the National Assembly before or within ninety days after the commencement of each financial year, estimates of the revenues and expenditure of Guyana for that year.”
The compilation and presentation of the national budget, therefore, is the task of the government of the day, and in this case, the task of the PPP/C government headed by President Donald Ramotar.
The people are of the view that there is a whole lot of aspirants sitting on the opposition benches, but they will have to learn to live with the idea that they are the opposition, and not the government, and it is the duty of the government of the day to fulfil its obligation as is provided for in the constitution in article 218 (1).
Therefore, it must be clearly understood that the government cannot abdicate its responsibility for the preparation, submission and implementation of the national budget.
The people feel that in this way we could have a budget which is all-inclusive that would work in the interest of all the people of this country. We wish to stress that we are not aware of any country where the opposition in parliament has had anything to do with the crafting of national budgets.
This is downright foolishness, and would be denounced as such by any member of civilised society.
In the case of Guyana, the national budget is serious business. It spells out, for instance, allocations for sectoral developments. The people recognise that the PPP/C gained the majority of votes in the November 28 elections because most Guyanese have confidence in its programmes, ideas and plans as outlined in its manifesto.
These will now be directly implemented through the various programmes and projects in the national budget.
We are also aware of the fact that the constitution provides for the national budget to be scrutinised and debated in Parliament. This obviously allows the opposition to make recommendations and other inputs before the budget is passed.
Many people refer to this stage of the budget debate as “going through a fine teeth comb.”
To say the least then, the combined opposition would be involved in the budget process in its entirety, and this is in keeping with the democratic principles which the government has rekindled and kept alive since coming to power in 1992.
Let us as patriotic Guyanese stand ready to support the upcoming national budget which we anticipate, will include provisions to improve the lives of all.
It is the time of year when the people of any given country pay rapt attention to the presentation by the country’s Finance Minister, or any other minister of the government that acts in that capacity.
It is the document that tells the people what to expect in the new fiscal year in terms of personal benefits, and what developments are due to come on stream, and how they will be financed.
Prior to the presentation of the budget, a document which sets out a summary of estimates for intended expenditures for the new fiscal year, numerous considerations are made before crafting of the actual document is done.
In Guyana, we have a very peculiar situation in which for the first time in the country’s history, there is a minority government. Although the PPP/C has won the presidency by attaining the highest amount of votes cast, 166,340, the combined opposition has one seat more than the government in Parliament.
This could create some unnecessary setbacks, as already the opposition is making unrealistic demands with regard to the crafting of the budget.
But they are dead wrong. The preparation and implementation of the national budget of any country is the responsibility of its government, whether minority or majority.
It is not difficult for us to recall that the PPP/C administration has lived up to its tradition of consulting with the country’s stakeholders in the formulation of the national budget each of the 19 years of its existence in power. These include labour, private sector organisations and civil society among a host of other bodies.
The government, in its striving for togetherness and national unity also leaves the door open for consultations with the opposition as a stakeholder also. The people feel that in this way we could have a budget which is all-inclusive that would work in the interest of all the people of this country.
We refer to Article 218 (1) of the Guyana constitution which states: “The Prime Minister or any other Minister designated by the President shall cause to be prepared and laid before the National Assembly before or within ninety days after the commencement of each financial year, estimates of the revenues and expenditure of Guyana for that year.”
The compilation and presentation of the national budget, therefore, is the task of the government of the day, and in this case, the task of the PPP/C government headed by President Donald Ramotar.
The people are of the view that there is a whole lot of aspirants sitting on the opposition benches, but they will have to learn to live with the idea that they are the opposition, and not the government, and it is the duty of the government of the day to fulfil its obligation as is provided for in the constitution in article 218 (1).
Therefore, it must be clearly understood that the government cannot abdicate its responsibility for the preparation, submission and implementation of the national budget.
The people feel that in this way we could have a budget which is all-inclusive that would work in the interest of all the people of this country. We wish to stress that we are not aware of any country where the opposition in parliament has had anything to do with the crafting of national budgets.
This is downright foolishness, and would be denounced as such by any member of civilised society.
In the case of Guyana, the national budget is serious business. It spells out, for instance, allocations for sectoral developments. The people recognise that the PPP/C gained the majority of votes in the November 28 elections because most Guyanese have confidence in its programmes, ideas and plans as outlined in its manifesto.
These will now be directly implemented through the various programmes and projects in the national budget.
We are also aware of the fact that the constitution provides for the national budget to be scrutinised and debated in Parliament. This obviously allows the opposition to make recommendations and other inputs before the budget is passed.
Many people refer to this stage of the budget debate as “going through a fine teeth comb.”
To say the least then, the combined opposition would be involved in the budget process in its entirety, and this is in keeping with the democratic principles which the government has rekindled and kept alive since coming to power in 1992.
Let us as patriotic Guyanese stand ready to support the upcoming national budget which we anticipate, will include provisions to improve the lives of all.
