BUDGET Day is Monday, January 16. This is the third budget presentation by the PPP/C administration since its return to office in August 2020.

Because of the elections fiasco and trauma caused by the then APNU+AFC coalition government, the PPP administration was effectively denied roughly six months of its elected term in office and consequently, in the preparation and implementation of the 2020 budgetary plan, even though significant social and economic gains were made, including the reversal of several draconian taxes imposed by the then regime on the backs of the Guyanese working people.

All of that is now, as it were, water under the bridge and Guyanese can now look forward to a budget that will bring further benefits to them and their children. Indeed, there is now an air of expectancy that this year will be better than last year in terms of their overall standard of living and quality of life.

Guyanese have every right to have such expectations of the 2023 national budget which, from all indications, will further build on the accelerated developmental trajectory which the country has been experiencing in recent years.

As pointed out by Vice-President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo during a recent interview, citizens can expect measures consistent with the framework and goals that the PPP/C administration established very early on.

This budget, like previous budgets, is an annual work plan which, as noted by Dr Jagdeo, is characterized by continuity and consistency necessary for economic policy and decision-making. In this regard, the budget is not a public relations document, but a policy document with resources to support the goals that the PPP/C has outlined through its national development strategy and its elections manifesto. It is more about consistency and predictability over ‘newness.’

This is all the more necessary and relevant, given the country’s promising future due to the emerging oil-and-gas industry, which would generate significant budgetary resources to further accelerate the transformation and modernization processes currently underway.

And, in the words of Vice-President Jagdeo, “the country has a great economic future, but that future is not a given. It could easily be eroded by a fickle government that is not clear on what it wants to achieve and that is why we said we are not going to be anecdotal and convenient. This is what differentiates us in the PPP from the other parties, being stable and predictable.”
Without getting into specifics, Dr Jagdeo indicated that there will be several predictable items in the budget that aligns with the fulfilment of promises made by the PPP/C government, including increases to old age pension and financial support to parents of schoolchildren and to other vulnerable segments of the population.

Similar observations were made by Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, who said that the 2023 Budget will continue to deliver on the things that are necessary to improve the lives of the Guyanese people.

According to Dr Singh, the budget is constructed within the context of President Dr Irfaan Ali’s philosophy of One Guyana. Guyanese, he said, “are united around the common cause of advancing and developing our country and the fact that people start participating and benefitting from the incredibly exciting transformation that is taking place, and that even more so will continue to take place in the future of this beautiful country.”

One important characteristic of this, and for that matter, all past PPP/C budgets, has been the involvement of key stakeholders in the preparatory stages of the budget. These included, but are not limited to, the private sector, government agencies and civil society.

Only recently, the President, Prime Minister, Vice-President, Finance Minister and other senior government officials engaged key stakeholders in a consultative meeting to listen to their concerns and suggestions with a view to incorporating these, to the extent possible, in the budget formulation.

The PPP/C administration must be commended for presenting to the nation another budget early in the new year. This will allow for the early implementation of the plans and programmes of the several budget agencies which are all aimed at enhancing the quality of life of all Guyanese.