HEAD of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon has disclosed that, following tripartite discussions, led by President Donald Ramotar, agreement was reached for the elaboration of a protocol that would involve the Opposition more in the preparation of future national budgets.

The Government starts to prepare the estimates in July/August of the previous year and that process continues all the way until the actual presentation.
“So the protocol is intended to formalise whatever is agreed upon that would provide, institutionalise, the involvement of the opposition parties in the process of the preparation of national budgets,” Luncheon reported at his usual Post-Cabinet media briefing yesterday.
Speaking at Office of the President, Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown, he said the participants in recent talks with President Ramotar also examined a number of the issues on the agenda presented by the Opposition and, notwithstanding time constraints, they were able to pronounce on a few of them.  
However, Luncheon said the political opposition made clear, in the National Assembly last Monday, that discussions between them and the Head of State did not influence their behaviour during debate on the Budget Estimates in Parliament.
He said the agenda that was submitted by the Opposition to the President bore no necessary nexus to the budget debate.
Luncheon said, surprisingly, the Opposition submission was mostly old matters that had not gained any significant support by the Administration when they were originally presented.
“Having misused the opportunities for talks between Government and the Opposition, the opposition parties, obviously depended on the political maturity of President Ramotar in having their 11-point agenda submitted to the President on a very immediate request for commencement of talks. The President consented and those talks began,” the HPS explained.