…Greenidge asked for deferral of meeting, says Finance Minister
FINANCE Minister Dr. Ashni Singh yesterday stated that Opposition Leader Mr. David Granger appears misinformed by his representatives about the budget discussions with the Government, in response to an article carried in yesterday’s Stabroek News on the matter.
The minister pointed out that on Monday, March 5, he wrote to the representatives of the various parliamentary parties inviting them to discussions on economic matters, including the budget, on Wednesday, March 7. He received a response from the AFC’s Gerhard Ramsaroop, asking for a minor shift in the proposed time, and shortly thereafter he received a response from APNU’s Winston Jordan, asking for a shift in the date to the following week, on account of Carl Greenidge’s unavailability.
The minister further stated that, in response to Jordan’s request sent on Greenidge’s behalf, he promptly proposed an alternative date in the following week, to which the AFC representatives and Jordan, from the APNU, have since confirmed their availability.
As it currently stands, Carl Greenidge is still to confirm his availability.
The fact of the matter is that a postponement of the meeting was requested on Greenidge’s behalf, and Greenidge is still to respond to the minister’s proposal of a revised date.
It is therefore completely misleading to suggest that no efforts have been made by the government to convene a meeting, and extremely alarming that, one week after the invitation had been issued, Mr. Granger is still unaware of the invitation and labouring under the misconception that efforts have not been made to convene the discussions.
The minister emphasised that the government is looking forward to the consultative discussions with the Opposition representatives and to receiving their views. He further indicated that the government may have no choice but to proceed with the other Opposition representatives, if Mr. Greenidge continues to be unavailable.