NEW Member of Parliament on the government benches representing Region 6 (East Berbice/Corentyne) Mohammed Jaffarally has lauded the 2012 National Budget and noted that it was yet another reflection of Government’s concern for the welfare of its people. Responding to Alliance For Change (AFC) member Dr. Veerasammy Ramayya, who lambasted the education system in Region 6, Jafarally told the National Assembly that 2,233 students sat the National Grade Six Assessment examinations in 2011, and 93.1 percent of them attained secondary schools; while 21 percent secured places at senior secondary schools such as Queen’s College, Bishops High, and New Amsterdam Multilateral.
Moreover, at the CSEC level, 70 percent of the 1,573 students who sat the examination in 2011 passed with Grades 1-3, representing a six percent increase in the national average.
Chiding Dr. Ramayya and other AFC members for misguiding Berbicians regarding the government’s One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) programme and urging them not to apply, Jafarally posited that many families had already received their netbook computers.
The PPP/C MP declared that because of Government’s many investments in the agriculture sector, all available land in Region 6 was today under cultivation.
Meanwhile, MP Odinga Lumumba, Presidential Advisor on Community Development, spoke in his presentation of the many successes the PPP/C administration had achieved over its years in office, particularly those in the housing, health and education sectors.
“Our achievements are real. Development is not instant coffee, it has to grow,” Lumumba declared.
He referred to the days when the PPP/C took over the country and illiteracy was rampant while salaries were slave-like, and noted that the interest rate then was 36 percent, while 94 percent of revenue went towards servicing debt.
APNU MP, Africo Selman, in her presentation, called for a complete reform of the tax system, and for the Value Added Tax (VAT) to be reduced to 10 percent; while Rennis Morian, another APNU MP, called on members of the House to rise above political tribalism and work together in the interest of all Guyanese.
He admitted that some of the proposals in the budget were good, but said there was still a lot more that was needed.
PPP/C MP, Joseph Hamilton took APNU MP Vanessa Kissoon to task in regard to solid waste disposal at the Linden Hospital.
He explained that on the day of the budget presentation (March 30), he presented to both Kissoon and Morian, representatives of Region 10, the report of the technical specialist highlighting the problems being experienced with the furnace at Linden.
The report detailed poor operational practices and supervision, and disclosed that the procedure for removing incinerator ashes at the beginning of the burn cycle was not being adhered to.
He noted that Kissoon was aware of the findings of that report when she spoke about the matter.