VAT in place for protection of poor, needy
– disappointed with Greenidge’s contributions
MINISTER of Public Works, Mr. Robeson Benn said, in Parliament Monday, that he is worried about the manner in which  debate on the 2012 national budget has been proceeding. Making his contribution in the National Assembly, on the fifth day of the exchanges, he said now is the time for true patriots and nationalists to stand up, read and look into the current situation and win, from it, the best for all Guyanese.
He added that there is a need to contextualise the situation in which the budget is being presented and understood.
Benn noted that Opposition members have stood up in the House and said the increase in pensions cannot buy a loaf of bread and a quarter pound of cheese.
“In their days, from the other side of the House, there was no bread and no cheese. The older people, of course, were not a significant part of the population in their time, whilst it is unfortunate that people are on the paves and lie in the streets,” he remarked.
Benn said that government has invested in a centre at Onverwagt which will take care of the needs and issues relating to 600 elderly and needy persons in this country.
EMERGENCY SURGERIES
The minister refuted statements by the Opposition about the current state of the economy, maintaining that the Administration kept the country going at a time when the Caribbean and Southern Europe were littered with countries whose economies were and still are in deficit and are requiring injections and emergency surgeries to stay afloat and alive.
“The stable economy and prudent management we have had under the PPP/C is something that those in the Opposition cannot wish away and ignore and have people think that the streets they walk on, the improvements they see and live in their lives do not exist,” he stated.
The minister said he is disappointed with the contributions, on the budget, from the Opposition benches, making specific reference to that of former Finance Minister Carl Greenidge.
Benn said, while Greenidge and other members from the opposite side have called for the value added tax (VAT) to be reduced to 10 percent, they must, however, remember that it was put in place of consumption and other taxes, which were higher than it, with the intention of protecting the poor and the needy.
He said, whilst a host of interventions were made which saw a number of essential items being zero-rated, there has been a renewed assault on VAT and persons have called for a further increase in wages and salaries by 20 percent, VAT reduction to 10 percent and an even further increase in the income tax threshold.
Benn rejected the argument by the Opposition that the increasing prices for goods and services were caused by VAT, countering that these were related to global issues, such as rising fuel prices and global warming, among others, which the Guyana Government has no control over.
He pointed out that infrastructure is important to the development of a country, as investments in it can better the livelihoods, efficiency and economies of poor families by as much as 30 percent.
POSITIVELY AFFECT
Benn said, although other Member of Parliament (MP) Moses Nagamootoo would have issues with the design of the budget, at the end of the day, people will see and note who made the interventions to positively affect their lives and who voted against those initiatives.
He also responded to A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) MP Joe Harmon, who suggested that $136M disappeared and implied that the ministry and minister were responsible.
Benn informed that the monies were used as advance payments to purchase materials on a project currently being executed at Abary/Profit, which is currently 65 percent completed.
Continuing, he denied the allegation by other APNU MP Vanessa Kissoon that the government is victimising the people of Linden, noting that Linden has the most reliable power supply in all of Guyana.
Turning his attention to the allocations for the expansion and upgrade of both the Ogle and the Cheddi Jagan International Airports, along with other major infrastructural developments that are slated to be executed from the allocations in the 2012 budget, Benn said his ministry will continue the development thrust as mandated by government.
He also mentioned that mini-buses are now accessing hinterland locations, such as Karasabai and Monkey Mountain by road and pledged that his ministry will build further roads for the Guyanese people.
Benn reiterated that Guyana is in the greatest  period of growth, the time for the offspring of development.