SENIOR Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, has dubbed the APNU+AFC’s criticisms of the 2023 Budget as “bogus,” one that is based on misrepresentation of the facts and an attempt to mislead the Guyanese people.

“The nation continues to be regaled by a pathetic display of incompetence, ineptitude and incoherence for the whole of five days,” the Finance Minister said, as the curtains came down on the debate.

To be fair, one cannot reasonably expect the political opposition to speak glowingly about the budget, especially given its track record which appears bent on pursuing a path of non-cooperation and confrontation with the ruling PPP/C administration.

But, at the very least, one expects a certain level of parliamentary behaviour based on the norms of civility and decorum befitting the Office of the Speaker of the hallowed chamber of the National Assembly. In a civilised democracy, opposition parties do not oppose for the sake of scoring cheap political points, but to advance the overall good of the nation. Discussions tend, more often than not, to focus on the principle of constructive criticism, where alternative ideas are proffered to advance the good of society.

But not so in the case of the APNU and its political side-kick, the AFC, which apparently are united in only one respect, namely, to ‘oppose’ the ruling PPP/C administration’s programmes and policies, regardless of how well-meaning and forward-looking these may be.

Without a shadow of a doubt, this 2023 Budget is the biggest and most comprehensive, both from a financing and pragmatic standpoint. Instead of acknowledging, however grudgingly, the positive elements contained in the budget, the APNU+AFC have engaged in a display of infantile political and parliamentary immaturity hardly seen in the Anglophone Caribbean.

On several occasions, the Speaker of the House Mr Manzoor Nadir had cause to admonish opposition Members of the House for unparliamentary behaviour.

Make no mistake about it, this 2023 Budget is unique and historic in a number of fundamental ways. To begin with, it is the first budget that is being funded partially with revenues from the sale of carbon credits totalling US$150 million which, when added to money from the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), will amount to roughly 40 per cent of revenues for 2023.

What this means, in effect, is that the government is relying less on taxes to finance its development, which is significant given the fact that prior to oil revenues and inflows from the sale of carbon credits, almost the entire budget, especially from the recurrent side was funded out of taxes. No wonder that this year’s budget contains no new tax increases, which in effect, means more disposable income for Guyanese taxpayers.

The “bogus” analysts would, out of political convenience, choose rather to ignore these fundamental truths and seek instead to project the budget as ‘anti-poor,’ despite the fact that some $89 billion will go directly, or indirectly, to pro-poor measures.

And while it is true that the major part of the budget will be spent on infrastructural development, this sum has to be seen in the context of nearly three decades of infrastructural decay under the previous PNC regime. This is why it is so necessary to ensure that there is the right balance between consumption and investment, failing which there is the risk of inflationary pressure which is now within manageable proportions and is projected to be further reduced to 3.8 per cent this year.

The 2023 budget, contrary to what is being projected by the political opposition, is not the result of any random thinking on the part of our policymakers, but is informed by an overarching development framework which takes into account the country’s National Development Strategy, the National Competitiveness Strategy, the Revised Low Carbon Development Strategy, the PPP/C Manifesto promises, stakeholders inputs and by no means least, the One Guyana vision as articulated by President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali.

It is aimed at bringing the entire nation together in the spirit of unity, social harmony and the creation of an environment in which no Guyanese, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, colour, creed or political affiliation, will be left behind.

The PPP/C administration must be commended for having been able to raise the magnitude of financing to accelerate the development trajectory of the economy, while at the same time raising the standard of living of the Guyanese people.