THE 2014 Appropriation Act, which was passed in the National Assembly on April 16, was assented to by Acting President, Samuel Hinds on Tuesday evening.

This was confirmed by Attorney-General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, in an invited comment yesterday. He explained that the Act was signed in the prescribed time.
“The Appropriation Act was assented to by the Prime Minister, performing the functions of the President, within the time prescribed, and sent to the Clerk of the National Assembly,” he said.
The Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, forwarded the Act for approval to the Office of the President only last Friday, April 25.
According to the AG, the current Administration is “still considering” the available options, in terms of movement forward, having regard to the portions of the Budget which were not approved by the Opposition.

IMPACT OF CUTS
Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon, on Wednesday, at a post cabinet press briefing, noted that moving forward presents a challenge, considering the $37.4B reduction in the National Estimates.
He contends that the cuts “stranglehold” the implementation of many programmes and functioning of many entities, including the Office of the President, where allocations in some areas have been reduced to zero, especially since the current administration would not be undertaking “necessary interventions” to ensure it can discharge its constitutional mandate.
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.
The other cuts include $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 organisations and the private sector.
Also on the chopping block were: 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) modernisation project – $6.6B; Civil Aviation – $50M; and hinterland airstrips – $185M.
In total, the allocations’ cuts from the 2014 budget represented nine capital programme budgets and one current programme budget.
Luncheon quipped that a ‘For Rent’ sign outside the Office of the President may have to be the way forward, to ensure the resource flow that is needed to ensure the effective discharge of the functions of that office.
In response to questions, the HPS stressed that a move to general elections is not the sole option to address the present challenge facing Government; rather, it is one of several avenues that can be taken.
Dr. Luncheon reiterated that, in the absence of a “negotiated solution”, the definitive answer to the challenge of the budget cuts lies in the hand of the interpreters of the Constitution of Guyana, the Judiciary.
On January 29 this year, Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang had ruled that the National Assembly has no right to cut the National Budget. In the Preliminary Ruling given in June 2012, the CJ had ruled that the National Assembly has a role to either approve or disapprove of the National Estimate, not to cut them.
A Notice of Appeal of Chief Justice Chang’s decision was filed, in February, by Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Attorney-at-Law Khemraj Ramjattan, on behalf of Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman, who was listed as the appellant in the court.
Last year, the combined Opposition cut the Budget by $31B; and in 2012 by $21B.

(By Vanessa Narine)