Parliament approves $3.21B in developmental projects

GOVERNMENT, last evening, secured Parliamentary support for monies, $3.21B, for key developmental projects – projects that were initially the subject of allocations cut from the 2013 Budget.Of the six areas of spending included in a $3.38B Statement of Excess brought to the House for consideration by Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, two areas were voted down: $217.2m for the provision of subsidy to the Guyana Information Agency (GINA) and the National Communications Network (NCN), with $135.8m and $81.3m allocated respectively; and $65.4m for the provision of the modernisation of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).
The four areas of spending approved included: $1.7b for capital works by the Guyana Power and Light Inc., $21m for the completion of hinterland airstrips, $80m for the acquisition of equipment by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority and $34.5m for a mobilisation advance for a consultancy firm to oversee works on the Specialty Hospital.

DIALOGUE
Speaker of the House, Raphael Trotman, called for dialogue to allow for the government’s policies to be advanced, given that the arguments proffered by Members of Parliament were largely legalese.
Trotman also noted that dialogue among Parliamentary parties would ensure that Parliament would not find itself in a “de facto” position.
“You will have to find a way out,” he said, referring to both sides of the House.
Opposition MPs referred to the debate as a conundrum as the monies, subject of allocation cut from the Budget, have already been spent, hence their inclusion in a Statement of Excess, and their consideration by Parliament is to approve withdrawal from the Consolidated Fund.
Government MPs, on the other hand, relied on the interim ruling of the Chief Justice, Ian Chang, who stated that the National Assembly cannot cut the budget and that the Finance Minister has the authority to allocate monies as needed.
The main arguments proffered also relied on Section 218 of the Constitution which states that monies from the Consolidated Fund can be used and subsequently included in a Statement of Excess – as was done.
The Speaker explained that his understanding is that the Opposition’s arguments are founded in the fear that amounts, the subject of allocations not approved in the 2013 Budget during the April debates, will be incrementally increased.
“I don’t have a solution…the way out is that we have to speak to each other,” he said.
Alliance For Change (AFC) member, Moses Nagamootoo, said the issue at hand is one that has to be addressed politically.
The Finance Minister maintained that his actions were in keeping with requirements in the Constitution.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, added that the amounts on the Statement of Excess are presented in accordance with Section 218 of the Constitution, which regards the Consolidated Fund, not the Contingency Fund.
He stated that this particular section deals with the financial situation after the Budget has been passed, and its provisions are clear.
“This is what the Constitution says and this is what we are doing,” Nandlall said.

(By Vanessa Narine)