BUDGET 2018 will be presented in the National Assembly today by Finance Minister Winston Jordan with high expectations from the Opposition, trade unions, private sector and most importantly, the man in the street.

Ahead of the presentation, the Opposition – People’s Progressive Party (PPP) said it should be a people-centred budget, focused on the sustainability and creation of jobs.
Speaking at a recent forum organised by the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) to discuss Budget 2018, PPP Member of Parliament, Bishop Juan Edghill said though the Opposition did not engage in budget consultation with the Finance Ministry, it did submit to the National Assembly its proposals.

Edghill, speaking to a roomful of politicians, trade unionists, and regular citizens at the Regency Suites, said Budget 2018 should include measures that would allow for the sustainability of jobs.

“We must have a budget that guarantees the retaining of jobs…. We want a budget that ensures that the sectors that exist and the jobs created in those sectors are retained and that they are preserved,” the PPP MP said.
The PPP is holding strong to its position that money must be pumped into the sugar industry that would safeguard the jobs of sugar workers.

The Guyana Sugar Corporation has said that for the next two years it would require financial support to stay afloat, but by 2020 the corporation is expected to be ‘cash positive’ with no need for Government’s intervention.

In 2015, GuySuCo received a $12B subvention. That year, the corporation had raked in $19.6B in revenues, but its labour cost stood at $21.4B. In 2016, the corporation received a reduced subvention of $11B, and though its labour cost that year – $18.3B – did not surpass the revenues garnered – $20.9B – the corporation still had to clear expenses relating to fuel, transportation and fertiliser, among other things.

This year, GuySuCo was given a $9B subvention. The corporation is forecast to have garnered $17.4B in revenue, while labour is expected to cost the corporation $18.5B. While Government has taken steps to scale down the operations of the sugar industry, an ‘Alternative Livelihoods Programme’ has been initiated to cushion the impact.

OTHER SECTORS
Aside from the sugar industry, Edghill said measures should be included in the 2018 Budget to bring relief to persons operating in the forestry, mining and wider agriculture sectors, positing that high taxation is a deterring factor.
In addition to retaining of jobs, the PPP MP said too that new jobs should be created not only in the oil and gas industry, but in the tourism industry and other key sectors and industries.

Accountant Nigel Hinds, who also featured at the FITUG-organised budget forum, expressed the hope that Budget 2018 addressed the needs and concerns of the poor, underprivileged, working class and the jobless.
Stating that the “National Budget is an extension and expression of the constitution in action and really has no place for bigotry and prejudice,” Hinds said that it should have an objective and unbiased approach.

He was keen on noting that voting patterns in the 10 administrative regions should not influence the way the budget is allocated, emphasising that Government should use the country’s scarce resources in a balanced manner by investing more in people.

Meanwhile, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has implored the Government to remove the Value Added Tax (VAT) from finished products in the logging industry and from the inputs for rice operations, in addition to the reinstatement of the 10 per cent Tributors Tax against the 20 per cent imposed this year. The GCCI is also calling on Government to reduce the Corporate Income Tax by 10 per cent from its current high of 35 per cent through a process of gradualism.

On November 17, the National Assembly, ahead of the Budget 2018 presentation, approved over $8B for 16 constitutional bodies.
The finance minister, in defending cuts to the proposed sums by the constitutional agencies, said that lack of proper procurement planning was among the reasons cited for the cuts.

Collectively, the constitutional bodies had requested a total of $10.293B but only $8.057B was approved. Minister Jordan had explained that the recommended allocations took into account the economic outlook for 2018 for revenue, expenditure and growth in the economy. The Government, he said, also took into consideration the challenges faced in implementing programmes and projects in 2017, and even 2016.