THE majority of the annual budgets for constitutional agencies put forward for consideration by the Ministry of Finance have been slashed.
In the document, the 2018 annual budget proposals of constitutional agencies, tabled in the National Assembly on Thursday, only those of the Teaching and Judicial Service Commissions and the Human Rights Commission remained intact.
Parliament Office has requested $1.739B representing a combination of capital and current expenditure, but the Ministry of Finance has recommended a budget of $1.578B, noting that it takes into account the “economic outlook for 2018 for revenue, expenditure and growth in the economy, challenges in implementation encountered in 2017 and annualisation of salaries.”

Last year, Parliament Office’s actual expenditure stood at $1.326B. Additionally, the Ministry of Finance in its comments noted that the Budget 2018 submission did not fulfil the requirements of the 2018 Budget Circular, paragraph 4.4 which speaks to procurement plans being submitted for next year’s budget.
Identical reasons were put forward for the other constitutional agencies. In the case of the Audit Office, a requested $844, 422M was slashed to a proposal of $783; 876M; however, next year’s proposed sum is $82M more than the entity spent in 2016. Despite the Public and Police Service Commissions requesting $158, 709M, the ministry is recommending that the total be cut to $95, 140M.

In the case of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), its budget request for $3.715B was slashed to a proposed $2.900B, some $800M less than requested. This year, the commission received $2.029B for the execution of its functions.
The Ministry of Finance, in justifying its proposal to reduce the requested amount to $2.9B, said “substantial increase in allocation is due to the hosting of Local Government Elections in 2018,” but also noted that no procurement plan was submitted by the agency.
The actual expenditure for GECOM in 2016 amounted to $3.098B, the same year, Local Government Elections were held after a long hiatus. Having expended $1.712B in 2016, the Supreme Court has requested $2.753B in its budget for 2018, but the Finance Ministry has proposed that the court receive some $1.874B.

Similarly, the Director of Public Prosecutions Office’s actual expenditure stood at $152, 337M last year. They have budgeted for $223, 882M, but the Ministry of Finance has submitted a proposal for $174, 290M, an increase of $22M.
The Finance Ministry has recommended a budget of $57, 823M for the Office of the Ombudsman, though that office requested $64, 098M; $43, 237M was the agency’s actual expenditure. Likewise, in the case of the Public Service Appellate Tribunal, $105, 550M has been requested by the entity but the Finance Ministry has recommended that $51, 884 be allocated.

The Ethnic Relations Commission budgeted for $142, 269M, but only $86, 534 out of that total has been recommended by the ministry, while the Indigenous People’s Commission, which had an actual expenditure of $21, 242M in 2016, requested $27, 372M of which the ministry recommended $25, 683M.

Meanwhile, the newly constituted Public Procurement Commission has requested $251, 912M for 2018, but the Finance Ministry has recommended $177,666M.
In the case of the Rights of the Child Commission, $53, 805M was requested with $42, 695M recommended by the Finance Ministry, while a recommendation has been made for the Women and Gender Equality Commission to receive $43, 135M as opposed to the $45, 997M requested.

In the case of the three constitutional agencies whose requested budgets remain the same, the Teaching Service Commission requested $125, 158M, while the Judicial and Human Rights Commissions requested $10, 020M and $31, 113M respectively.
The 2018 budgetary requests by the Constitutional Agencies (capital and current expenditure) stand at $10B, while the recommended amount stands at $8B. The proposals will be considered at the next sitting of the National Assembly.