–Dr Singh says, announces January 16 as ‘Budget Day’

SENIOR Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, on Monday announced that Budget Day is Monday, January 16, 2023.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Finance, Dr Singh has been over the last several months, meeting and consulting with various stakeholders including the private sector, government ministries, other agencies and civil society.

Just last week, President, Dr Irfaan Ali led another consultative meeting at State House with representatives from several private sector and other agencies to discuss their concerns and identify possibilities for Budget 2023.

Those all formed part of possible inclusions, as the Budget 2023 planning process continues.
As was the case with Budget 2022, this year’s budget is expected to see critical development programmes being fast-tracked and many more expanded to reflect the government’s continued transformational agenda for the country.

The government’s agenda has been taking Guyana forward at a rapid pace over the last two years and five months, since the PPP/C’s return to office in August 2020.
It will be the fourth budget presented by the current administration and the third by Dr Singh, who commenced his tenure as Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance in November 2020. The government’s first budget for its current term was presented in August 2020.

In its first budget, the government reversed a large number of harsh taxes imposed on citizens by the former A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) government.
The second Budget in 2021 was presented under the theme: “A Path to Recovery, Economic Dynamism, and Resilience,” while the third was unveiled under the theme: “Steadfast Against All Challenges, Resolute in Building Our One Guyana.”

Budget 2021 comprised a number of developmental measures and also included funding for the construction of a number of housing schemes and expansion of existing ones, along with investment in the revitalisation of the country’s sugar industry.

There were also programmes which the government implemented in partnership with private sector bodies and other stakeholders, especially with regard to the tourism, hospitality and agricultural sectors.

Several cash-grant relief measures were also implemented and saw thousands of citizens across the country benefitting from same.

A number of areas had been devastated by flooding and the government also provided relief for affected persons, especially those who had suffered loss of crops and livestock.
The health, infrastructural and education sectors also saw major injections in Budget 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic was in progress.

Budget 2022 also saw major injections in a number of sectors, including more expansions of the government’s housing drive, the infrastructural sector was catapulted with an increased number of roads and bridges constructed, energy expansion and diversification and provisions for persons with disabilities, and several injections for Amerindian and hinterland development as the government fulfilled its commitment to bettering the lives of the indigenous peoples. It also saw large injections into the health, education and security sectors.