…Min Gaskin defends budget as people-centred

Undaunted by criticisms about the state of the country’s economy Business Minister, Dominic Gaskin said the 2018 estimates is a “good-natured budget” and not “a fat cat measure.”

“It is a people-focused budget,” he declared while noting that his sector is doing as much as it could to ensure that businesses have the support needed to be successful. Gaskin made the comments when he addressed the National Assembly during the opening day of the budget debate.

In fact, the minister disclosed that with the implementation of the much-anticipated electronic single window system of which $10M has been allocated from the government’s capital budget there would be an inter-agency approach to applying for government services. He explained that the entire project costs some $21.2M and will be funded by an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan.

“The system is intended to automate and enhance the flow of information between businesses and regulatory agencies resulting in a more efficient and less concerted system for obtaining various approvals from government,” Gaskin said during the opening day of the 2018 budget debates on Monday.

He said applications for licences and permits can be made in one single electronic window where approvals can also be obtained after logging on. Gaskin explained that it prevents applicants from having to submit the same information several times to government agencies. “One submission and it moves through the entire system,” he told the National Assembly while noting that such a system reduces corruption “because it reduces the opportunity for interference”.

The system will also record any instance of interference. That aside, other initiatives are being put in place by the Ministry of Business to ensure that there is an ease of doing business here. The IDB will be assisting the government with $10M which will see work being done in the area of access to credit through the establishment of a secure transaction machine aimed at making it easier to access credit using movable assets.

A modern electronic registry for registering movable property will also be established while, the Ministry of Business will partner with the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) and the City Engineer’s Department to work on building permits. An application process that is both time bound and efficient will be implemented.

Additionally, in a bid to support the country’s export competitiveness strategy, some $200M has been allocated for 2018 to improve our national quality infrastructure. To this end, the enforcement of quality standards will guarantee that all exports leaving Guyana meet the international standards to be sold on the world market.

Minister Gaskin pointed too to the Small Business Development Fund which would serve as a revolving loan fund to address the needs of businesses that haven’t met the requirements of the traditional banking system. “The effective implementation of a sustainable revolving fund will limit the erosion of the Fund’s capital- this would be achieved by the careful screening of the applicants prior to referral to the programme,” Gaskin stated, while noting that a frequent review of the Fund will also prove effective.

That aside, the Minister expressed much surprise at the parliamentary opposition’s fray over the 2018 budget which was presented last Monday. He told the National Assembly that he sees a totally different picture. According to him, his administration has worked assiduously to ensure that the people of Guyana benefit. Minister Gaskin spoke to the changes to the personal income tax where a person who was employed for part of a year can now claim and benefit from a tax refund of a minimum of $720,000.

It means that the tax deduced by the employer and remitted to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) will be refunded to those employees whose income did not reach $720,000. The new relief is aimed at assisting low income earners who may be unable to work for the entire year.
“This measure speaks to the ordinary man, woman, worker and lets them know our government is fair and considerate and wants the best for them,” the business minister stated.

Additionally, the removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) on low-cost housing units below $6.5M is a measure which he said targets young and ordinary working persons to ensure they can become homeowners.
Meanwhile, the contention by Gaskin was refuted by opposition member Joe Hamilton. Hamilton in his 20 minutes presentation before the House called on the administration to show progress in all sectors. In fact, he accused the administration of making false promises to Guyanese. He said the people of Guyana will be the judge of the coalition government’s performance come 2020 when the next national election will be held.

“What are you doing in the tourism sector?” Hamilton asked Gaskin, who also has responsibility for tourism. “You’re doing nothing!” he declared, while stressing that the APNU+AFC coalition government failed to deliver on its promise of ‘the good life’.