PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar has chided the Opposition parties, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC), for having a major gap between their “words and deeds” as evidenced in the 2014 budget cuts.

Some of the contradictions noted during the two weeks of the National Assembly’s consideration of the 2014 Estimates were: the fact that both of the Opposition parties’ manifestos reflect promises that some of the allocations in the 2014 Budget were delivering on; and the fact that the budget presentations by Opposition MPs addresses issues like narco-trafficking, but when the allocations addressing such issues were reviewed no questions were asked.
The 2014 Budget was reduced by a whopping $37.4B, the largest cut in the last three years of budget cuts made by the combined Opposition during Ramotar’s term in office.
In a televised interview on Thursday the President said: “The cuts that took place were aimed at not only damaging the economy, in several ways, but also aimed at damaging the social welfare of our people in general…their words and deeds are far apart.”

(QUOTE) ‘I laboured under the impression that the Opposition has the interest of the people at heart…the cuts we have seen affects the economy and the social well-being of our people.
“I did not expect any responsible Opposition, which wants to present itself as an alternative Government, to act so callously in attacking the Budget.’

CONSULTATIONS
According to him, there were broad consultations on the preparations of this year’s national budget involving a cross -section of stakeholders and surmised that the Opposition’s non-participation in the consultations could have been to “justify” the $37.4B in cuts.
The President said: “Clearly the intention here was to hinder Guyana’s progress…this is a huge cut of funds that would have allowed the economy to advance.”
APNU, according to Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, in the National Assembly, indicated that they will not be a part of consultations, while the AFC did not respond at all.
The Finance Minister told the House that as recent as January 24, 2014 the Opposition parties were invited again for consultation on the national budget.
He had also previously explained recently that his e-mail dated January 13, 2014, indicated Government’s invitation to meet on Budget 2014 and requested that the Opposition suggest a date.
The e-mail was also copied to AFC Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, Leader of the Opposition and APNU, David Granger, Lance Carberry of APNU, Dr. Roger Luncheon, and Gail Teixeira. The e-mail also contained copies of documents to be discussed.
Furthermore, in February 2014, there was still no response from the Parliamentary Opposition parties to government’s invitation to participate in pre-budget consultations.
Ramotar added too that despite the Opposition’s failures to engage the Government, exhaustive questions were asked and given exhaustive answers in the National Assembly during the review of the 2014 Budget – as has been the case throughout since the commencement of the 10th Parliament, with no questions asked being left unanswered.
Ramotar said: “I laboured under the impression that the Opposition has the interest of the people at heart…the cuts we have seen affects the economy and the social well-being of our people.
“I did not expect any responsible Opposition, which wants to present itself as an alternative Government, to act so callously in attacking the Budget.”

MAJOR CUTS

Last Friday, the other cuts made included: the Specialty Hospital – $910M; upgrading of Regional and District Hospitals, including Port Kaituma, Kwakwani, Linden, Bartica, Eye Surgery Operating Room at Linden etc. – $360M ambulances, ATVs and Boats – $42M; surgical equipment and instruments – $32M; the Amerindian Development Fund – $1.1B; other Amerindian Programmes, such as ATVs, Tractors etc. – $40M; the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) modernization project – $6.6B; Civil Aviation – $50M; and Hinterland Airstrips – $185M.
The Head of State noted that these cuts are nothing but “savage cuts” that were intended to improve the livelihoods of Guyana’s first people.
“We see the brutality of the Opposition in these acts,” he said.
On Tuesday, under the allocation for the Office of the President, the cuts include: $245M for the Presidential Guard Services; $95M for the provision of developmental and humanitarian aid among other initiatives; $10M for the Office of the First Lady; $73.5M for the Guyana Energy Agency; $119M for the Guyana Office for Investment (Go Invest); $122M for the Institute of Applied Science and Technology (IAST); $17M for the Integrity Commission; and $28.5M for the Office of the Commissioner of Information.
Ramotar stated that the cuts to his office are “hamstrung” to the operations of the Executive.
“I don’t think our Constitution envisaged that the office of the chief executive would be hamstrung by cuts from the Opposition, the constitution never envisaged this, and I think it may be unconstitutional because it affects the functioning of the Office of the President,” he said.
The third day of cuts, on Wednesday night, included: $18.5B for the LCDS initiatives; $450M for loans for University of Guyana Students; $725M for the poverty alleviation programme; $7M for the different rights commissions; $795M for the Basic Needs Trust Fund; and $4M for support to non-governmental organisation and the private sector.
The President stated that these cuts, particularly the $450M for UG student loans, detract from the investment in securing the future of Guyanese and is an irresponsible act, which reflects clearly that the APNU and the AFC are putting “narrow political” agendas above the welfare of the Guyanese people.
“We are committed to the development of our country,” Ramotar stressed.

NEXT STEP
President Donald Ramotar says that the government’s legal team is examining the legitimacy of the $37.4B cuts by the Opposition to the 2014 budget.
He said: “We are going to examine all the legal avenues to deal with this issue, and to try to stymie their plans for blocking the social and economic progress of Guyana.”
Government moved to the courts over the cuts made to the 2012 budget and won a ruling in its favour this year.
In January, this year, Acting Chief Justice, Ian Chang ruled that the National Assembly has no right to cut the national budget. The Chief Justice handed down his decision in the High Court on January 29.In the Preliminary Ruling given in June 2012, the CJ had ruled that the National Assembly had a role to either approve or disapprove of the National Estimate, not to cut them.
However, a Notice of Appeal of Justice Chang’s decision was since filed in February by lawyer and Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan, on behalf of Speaker of the National Assembly, who was listed as the appellant in the court.
The Head of State stressed that the current administration, year after year, has incrementally increased the allocation of resources to key sectors, for the benefit of the Guyanese people, as its financial standing improves.
By Vanessa Narine