– President Ramotar
PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar has said that Government will continue in the mode of consultations with the Opposition and other stakeholders, as it relates to future National Budgets. At a press conference held last Friday, at Office of the President, Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown, he had been asked about Government’s effort to get the Oppositions input in the 2012 Budget.
He replied: “I said, here, before, in my first press conference, that we are ready to have consultations with the Opposition and with other forces, as far as the Budget was concerned.
“If the Opposition didn’t have the consultation that they needed, it’s their own fault, because they were open. They had possibilities to have consultation with the Minister of Finance.”
President Ramotar reminded that Government had named a team of people to talk on those issues.
“I know they have had meetings. I haven’t been following it on a day to day basis but, as far as I am aware, there was a team set up, there were discussions had… if they are not satisfied with the consultation that they have had…well, I know that we had not the longest possible time but we will continue in that mode to have consultation with the Opposition and other stakeholders in the country, on budgets in the future,” he reiterated.

Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, also last week, announced that the National Budget for 2012 will be presented in the National Assembly, this Friday. It will be his sixth such presentation and his first since the November 28, 2011 General Elections.

Budget 2011 was presented by Minister Singh on 17th January 2011 under the theme ‘Together Building Tomorrow’s Guyana Today’, and was the largest budget in our country’s history at a total of $161.4 billion.

The minister previously indicated that Budget 2012 will continue to reflect Government’s emphasis on promoting economic growth and social development in Guyana, with ongoing priority given to investment in and physical infrastructure and social services.

In recent years, the Guyanese economy has achieved tremendous growth, with uninterrupted positive growth since 2006, with most sectors of the economy showing bright prospects for the future. It is anticipated that Budget 2012 will lay the foundation for continued growth and development in Guyana.

Meanwhile, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon, during a post-Cabinet news briefing last week, said the Finance Minister’s presentation of the 2012 national budget next week would be “subsequent to Cabinet’s consideration and endorsement”.

According to the HPS, the 2012 budget is constitutionally due within 90 days of the commencement of the fiscal year which would lead to the end of March 2012.

Dr. Luncheon told reporters that Cabinet was advised about the readiness of the Finance Minister and his technical teams, who have been finalising preparations that begun administratively since August of 2011 with the issuance of the budget circular.

Prior to the presentation of the budget, which is a document that 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.

The preparation and implementation of the national budget of any country is the responsibility of its Government, whether minority or majority.

The PPP/C Government has lived up to its tradition of consulting with the country’s stakeholders in the formulation of the national budget each of the nineteen years of its existence in power. The Government, in its drive for togetherness and national unity, also leaves the door open for consultations with the opposition as a stakeholder.

However, sections of the opposition parliamentary parties did not express optimism in participating in the crafting of the important piece of document. 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.