TOMORROW, the national debates are scheduled to commence in the National Assembly with a focus on the 2024 budget presented by the Senior Minister with Responsibility for Finance and Public Service, Dr Ashni Singh.

Dr Singh presented a historic budget, totalling 1.146 trillion dollars which was the biggest ever presented in Guyana. That budget has crafted, inside, the PPP/C Government’s bold and laudable economic plan for 2024 which focuses largely on the people, and meeting their needs through increased social sector spending in health, education, human services, social services for the poor and needy, and housing.

This year, the budget also has a continued focus on public infrastructure which is important in meeting the needs of the people who stand to benefit immensely from the start, advancement, and completion of certain large-scale projects. So, without quoting the large figures and numbers, the budget at first glance, has a mixture of social and economic measures aimed at taking Guyana further along the development trajectory if implemented as thought.

It also appears to be people-centred and oriented, meeting the needs of the small man pragmatically while still being public and private-sector friendly.

Any mature, reasonable, critical, and sensible individual would conclude that this budget is remarkably good and has something for every Guyanese from the school child to the young people, the differently-abled community to the poor and vulnerable sections of society, the pensioners to the working-class people and the public sector to the private sector man.

This applies to everyone except for those Opposition Members of Parliament and the combined opposition who have been criticizing the budget when they have not read it and its accompanying financial documents, volumes and appendices. The public could appreciate this when one hears the unjustified assault on the budget that is taking place right before our eyes.

Led by opposition chief Aubrey Norton, the opposition has started to preach the same old criticisms of the budget. Years come and years go by, and it’s the same dialect, lyrics and rhetoric that the opposition is saying. It’s like the opposition is incapable of understanding the principle which says ‘reading is fundamental’ and ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’.

But Amanza Walton-Desir, an opposition MP, could not wait for her five minutes of fame and camera time, unleashing her great dismay and disgust at the budget. Stating for the world to see, her ignorance and foolishness alongside her contempt for truth, facts and proper analyses. Walton-Desir has been opportunistic and politically puerile. One may even say it looked like she was a political rabble-rouser and pariah because her ideas and opinions were jaundiced and distant from the truth.

Her comment about the amount of increase for pensioners was distasteful even though she struggled, according to her, to understand the PPP/C ideology and budget. It is either the poor MP was not au fait with budget and what was promised by the PPP/C in its 2020 Manifesto, or could not comprehend a simple mathematical equation.

The MP could not be so dull and hungry for stardom when she commented that she could not see that the PPP/C was almost doubling the old Age Pension compared to the APNU+AFC Administration. Surely, she knows that APNU+AFC gave the pensioners a mere $1, 475 on average in 5 years, accounting for less than a $7,375 increase.

Additionally, her party shamelessly axed the water and electricity subsidy for the pensioners. What is she in dismay over?

The PPP/C budget has made the provision for 76,000 persons and will pay out $2.6B this year
Only Thursday, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo said, “We have increased it so far by 75%… So, it’s 36,000 now, it will go to 41,000 next year. That’s consistent with our manifesto promise that we made…If you multiply $3,000 by 76,000 people by 12 months a year, it gives you $2.7 billion that the pensioners are getting now more than last year. But, if you take what they will get next year or what it’s costing us so far, it’s costing us already $14.1 billion more per year than 2020. Because that is how much we have increased it, by increasing it by $13,000…since 2020, it’s costing now $14.1 billion more”.

This is not to say that pensioners do not deserve more money. In fact, anyone would support her stance but this year’s budget is based on practicality and financial sustainability, two concepts which are distant to Desir and members of the opposition.

The other things and criticisms made are symptomatic of the confusion the budget has caused in the opposition camp. They want to distract from the good things, and laudable about this budget. The opposition has gone into peddling lies and rhetoric of destruction because the PPP is staying the course and accomplishing what it set out to do.

So, expect that tomorrow the opposition will come with subtle and open attacks on the budget and the government’s flagship projects such as the Gas-to-Shore project, New Demerara River Crossing, and the Wismar Bridge in Linden. One will expect them to ‘holler and buse-out’ about the 1.146 trillion dollars that the government plans to spend on its citizens and for Guyana’s development.

Everything will take on a pure political spin for the opposition. They will, no doubt, bring the drama and unjustly emotional arguments. They will say PPP’s friends, family and favourites are going to benefit hugely. Expect an appeal to be made to cut spending in one area or some very bizarre recommendations and proposals to be highlighted during the debates, if any at all.

But what will be missing from the opposition’s debates are reason, facts, and factual information. No. They will oppose without proposing or they will propose to appease the presence of the cameras. This opposition has proven that when lights and cameras are present, they become the greatest showmen. The most important takeaway from the coming two weeks of fame and media attention is that they do not care about the people and their livelihoods or they would be singing praises and making factual criticisms.

The circus needs a clown! For 30 pieces of silver, can the opposition please prove me wrong during the debates? Act like opposition legislators and not political children and animals. Act like civil adults and put forward strong factual arguments to the House. Give an in-depth financial analysis and factual economic insight into the shortcomings and failures of the budget. Leave out race and emotions, and prove that the opposition is ready to be the next government. We dare you to give us the debates without proving that you are political masqueraders.