Finance Minister optimistic merits of Budget will be embraced by all
– Stressed that Budget 2012 is about meeting needs of the people
TODAY, all eyes will be on Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, as he presents the much-anticipated National Budget for 2012 before the National Assembly, and it is the minister’s fervent hope that the merits of the budget will be recognised and embraced by all Guyanese.
He expressed this during an interview with the Guyana Chronicle earlier this week, as he was preparing for this significant event, to present his sixth budget, and his first since the historic November 28, 2011 General Elections, following which the minister was re-appointed to his current portfolio.
Dr. Singh said the budget is built around a sustainable macroeconomic framework and assured that it is about “meeting the needs of the Guyanese people and helping to create an environment where the aspirations of the Guyanese people can be realised”.
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 the country’s history, at a total of $161.4B.

Questioned about his experience in delivering the budget, and what he is thinking as he prepares to deliver another budget, Dr. Singh noted that even prior to his appointment as Finance Minister; he had served five years before in a civil servant position, as Director of Budget.
“So it is a process that I have been involved in for some time; but as far as being the person that presents the budget, it will be the sixth year that I will be doing it,” he said.
The Finance Minister said that the presentation of the National Budget is one of the highlights of the work of his ministry, a high point of their annual calendar, adding, “It is a very significant event for the country and certainly for my ministry”.
“You experience a variety of emotions – you are anxious that everything goes well and smoothly; you are constantly anxious that the other side will understand the arguments that you are making, that they see the merits in the proposals that you are taking to the Parliament, and that they will see beyond the politics,” he said.
He went on, “I will say to you that I remain eternally hopeful that they will see beyond the politics. Every year I say to myself they can’t possibly disagree with some of this, or with a lot of this”.
Reiterating that one experiences the widest variety of emotions, the Finance Minister said, “I think the overwhelming thing really for me is that as I go to the Parliament with the budget, it is always my fervent hope that the budget will be evaluated on its merits and not on the basis of a political position – that is always the overriding concern as I approach Budget Day and as I present the Budget to the Parliament.”
On the other hand, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament said it is another day in the working life of a Finance Minister and in the life of a Parliamentarian.
“As I approach Budget Day, and certainly, on Budget Day, my overriding concern would have to be that the merits of the budget are recognised and embraced by all who are looking on – those who are sitting in Parliament; those who are looking on through the cameras at Parliament; and those who are sitting in their homes considering how this budget will influence their future,” Dr. Singh asserted.
“Because a lot of what we have in the budget is, of course, about the future of people – investment in education, creation of opportunities, etc., so that is really the overriding concern, that the merits of the budget are recognised and evaluated objectively,” Dr. Singh said.

Singh also said it is an opportunity to present a review of economic developments in the country over the past year, situated in a regional and external context, and it’s an opportunity to outline plans and programmes for the coming year, and indeed, macro economic projections for the year.
The budget for 2012, he said, like its predecessors for several years now, will follow the format of accounting for economic performance last year and outlining plans and programmes for 2012.
The Finance Minister said budget 2012 will be situated in this context, and it is built on the premise that “our objective is continued economic growth and social development”.
“So it is built on a macroeconomic framework that is conducive to growth and development – that is a macroeconomic framework that places macroeconomic stability as a principal pillar and a framework that accommodates initiatives that are conducive to economic growth and social development”.
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.