AS the 2013 budget consultations continue, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh has advised that parliamentary opposition parties, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) have submitted their issues of interests and priorities which are now being carefully examined.
During a press conference yesterday at the National Communications Network (NCN) television studios on Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown, the minister said government is working on preparation of the 2013 budget.

He noted, however, that preparation of an annual budget is “not a discreet exercise that suddenly start at some point in time” but rather  it is “an ongoing endeavour”.
Dr. Singh further mentioned that the technical work and preparation for the budget has been underway for some time, adding that government has also been engaging the parliamentary opposition in the preparation process.
“In fact, I did invite them (parliamentary opposition) to a meeting perhaps a month or two ago at which we had a very good discussion, the APNU was represented as was the AFC,” the Finance Minister told reporters.
Dr. Singh disclosed that representatives from the opposition parties, at the meeting, did offer initial comments and observations, in addition to a number of references made to ongoing issues.
He related that both  APNU and the AFC parties were invited to make submissions of issues of interest and priorities which were received by the government subsequent to the meeting.
“Those submissions have been looked at, and are being looked at and carefully considered. Many of the issues raised are not completely novel issues; they didn’t come as huge surprises…many of the issues have been publicly ventilated,” Dr. Singh said.
The minister pointed out that there has been some amount of public disclosure and discussion of the issues and priorities that were identified by the opposition parties.
Nevertheless, he reiterated that the submissions made are presently being examined very closely by government.
In addition, he disclosed his intention to convene a follow-up meeting with  APNU and the AFC the to discuss the submissions made in greater detail.
The Finance Minister also related that  government continues to engage other stakeholders, more generally, to get feedback from them on priorities and issues as they perceive them to be important.
“This work will continue, and we hope that this work and the ongoing engagement that we will have with stakeholders will see us concluding a budget that will continue to serve the cause of development in our country,” Dr. Singh declared.
Last year’s over $192.8B budget was slashed by more than $20B by the combined opposition using their one-seat majority. This affected several government agencies including Office of the President and agencies falling under its purview such as the Ethnic Relations Commission, Guyana Power and Light, State Planning Secretariat, Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit, and the Guyana Elections Commission.