GUYANESE turn their attention today to the National Assembly, where Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, will introduce yet another document that further outlines the transformational agenda of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration.

The PPP/C, since being elected to office in 2020, has worked without rest to ensure that the lives of every Guyanese are improved in one way or another.
President, Dr. Irfaan Ali has led his team day and night to communities across the country, to observe how the government’s services are being implemented, and to listen to the individual and collective concerns of residents regardless of their political affiliation, religion or any other personal feature/characteristic.

It is through widespread engagement with not just residents but also members of civil society, the private sector, trade unions and other key stakeholders, and careful planning, that the government has been able to craft plans that are people-centred and effective.

The outcomes of those discussions supplement the party’s own plans, which are outlined in its manifesto— a document that might need a few more pages given the rate at which the PPP/C government is fulfilling its promises.

What is commendable is that the government has been able to achieve its preconceived targets and, simultaneously, devise measures that address the impacts of global economic conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and other factors.

There have been significant global price increases over the past two years because of the existing economic conditions, but Guyana has been able to mitigate some of the impacts of this phenomenon through prudent fiscal planning and strategic welfare measures.

The government was commended for its response by the IDB in its recent report: “Headwinds facing the Post-Pandemic Recovery.”

“One important approach is to provide additional, targeted assistance to lower-income groups, including the elderly. For example, in Guyana, the government’s public assistance payments for vulnerable groups were increased from US$57 to US$67 per month, benefitting approximately 18,000 people. The Old Age Pension Programme, which benefits approximately 65,000 senior citizens, also provided a series of increases that raised the monthly payment from US$98 in 2020 to US$134 in 2022,” the report noted.

Moreover, at the micro level, to support productive sectors and vulnerable populations, the government introduced several policies.
“The excise tax on petroleum was reduced from 20 to 10 percent in January, then reduced further to zero in March.

Tariffs on public utility services such as water and electricity have remained fixed, with the government absorbing higher operating costs. In addition, US$4.8 million was allocated for the purchase and distribution of fertilizer for farmers to reduce operating costs, and US$ 3.8 million was distributed in the form of one-time cash grants for households in the rural interior and riverain communities (US$120 per household),” the report noted.

In addition to those measures, the government was also able to make critical capital provisions to advance the infrastructural transformation of Guyana’s landscape.
The country’s Ministry of Public Works, for instance, was allotted the largest portion of the government’s historic $552.9 billion Budget 2022.

Some $96.1 billion was allocated to the ministry, which is responsible for the country’s infrastructure. Of that sum, $88 billion covered capital expenses, of which $76.7 billion was used for roads and bridges.

There were also other critical allocations under other ministries that catered for the construction and rehabilitation of schools and healthcare facilities, among other things.
With the platform set for further development, Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo has already affirmed that citizens could expect measures consistent with the framework and goals that the PPP/C government administration established very early on.

“There’s consistency in every budget and that is needed in economic policy-making. This budget is not a PR document, it is a policy document with resources to support the goals that we have outlined through our national development strategy or our manifesto.

“So, some people look for newness all the time, but it’s more a solid, sturdy, foundation- type budget that moves us forward, that pays particular attention to all resources and how we utilise them to create the conditions of future growth,” the Vice-President said in a recent interview.

Dr Singh has said too: “It comprises the things that we committed to the people of Guyana, that we will deliver, and therefore guides all that we do as a government. The manifesto has, therefore, been translated into successive annual budgets aimed at delivering these manifesto commitments.”

Considering the government’s track record and the prior commitments by officials, there is no doubt that Budget 2023 will be anything short of transformative, progressive and inclusive.