The government’s attempt today to restore allocations cut from the budget will only be supported if adequate information is forthcoming as to why the spending is necessary, according to Shadow Finance Minister Carl Greenidge.
Financial papers 1 and 2 of 2012, tabled by Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh last week, are being debated in the National Assembly today—the last sitting before the parliamentary recess—and Greenidge told Stabroek News yesterday that the only item assured of support is the expenditure sought to cover the increase approved for old age pensions.
The expenditure sought in the financial papers totals $14 billion, and Greenidge said that the old Age pension increase – which accounts for $635 million – and an allocation in the amount of $5.330 billion for the acquisition of a new 26 megawatt power plant, was the only new expenditure. The other allocations brought back to the House were casualties of the opposition-led $21 billion budget cuts.
“We will support the old age pension [allocation] because we [asked for this]. But regarding the allocation for the generator, the government will be asked why it was they did not submit this in the budget. It is inconceivable that they could not have known of the expenditure [given the fact that they would have had to have gone through the procurement process] for it,” he said.
Greenidge continued to bemoan the lack of descriptions on the two financial papers for many of the allocations sought, saying it constitutes a breach of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act (FMAA). “Such descriptions – like ‘provision of additional inflows’ – are not in keeping with the requirement of the law,” he said.
He added that as the Shadow Finance Minister, it is his responsibility to ensure that government’s actions are done in accordance with the laws. “When submitting financial papers for supplementary provisions [the finance minister] must say why those expenditures were unforeseen and necessary,” he said. “If [today] the information that we request is provided, then we would consider the requests favourably. However, if not then we cannot treat them any differently [than we had in the past],” he said.
Greenidge said that even if the law had not specified it, the fact that the parliamentary opposition asked for the additional information means that the government should have been required to provide it to the House. The lack of details for spending was among the main reasons for the budget cuts. The government later moved to restore the cut funds through an action in the High Court. Although finding that the National Assembly did not have the power to cut the budget, acting Chief Justice Ian Chang last month, in an interim ruling, said the court could not restore the funds, except for allocations to the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) to perform its constitutional duties.
Among the allocations sought by government in the financial papers is $127.39 million for the provision of payment of wages and salaries to contracted employees under Office of the President (OP) – Presidential Advisory (Cabinet and other services). An allocation of $68.6 million for the provision for payment in relation to climate change consultancies and legal fees is also being sought for OP.
Allocations in the amount of $170 million for the development of information technology and $73.3 million for the provision of developmental, humanitarian and other activities is also being sought for OP. Government is also seeking as well to get back for OP the provisions cut in the amount of $211.5 million, representing subsidies for the Government Information Agency (GINA) and the National Communications Network (NCN) and $22.6 million as wages and salaries for contracted employees.
An amount of $1 billion as replenishment of the cut subsidy for the GPL and allocations in the amount of $224.4 million axed from the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU), the ERC and the State Planning Secretariat are also being sought.
The sum of $1.974 billion is being requested for the Ministry of Finance for the provision of low carbon development initiatives, an allocation of $116.9 million for the Ministry of Agriculture for the Conservancy Adaptation Project and $132.5 million for the Agricultural Export Diversification Project.
Also, an allocation in the amount of $84.7 million is being requested for the Ministry of Public Works for administration and management and an allocation in the amount of $4.8 million related to the Georgetown – Lethem road.
Approval of an allocation of $856 million is being sought for the Ministry of Education of for its Education For All Fast Track Initiative. Approval is being sought for an allocation of $500 million for the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom) to cover the payment to temporary staff and monitoring groups, to cover distribution of ID cards, honoraria for permanent staff and payment for temporary staff in 2012.
For the community roads improvement project, under the Ministry of Housing and Water, government is seeking an allocation of $500 million, while it seeks $331.5 million for the Georgetown Sanita-tion Improvement Programme. Approval for an allocation of $207.2 million is also being sought for the ministry’s Water Supply Rehabilita-tion in Linden.
An allocation of $134 million is being sought for the Health Ministry to provide for additional works on its warehouse, and $146 million for the Specialty Hospital Project, which has attracted intense opposition scrutiny. In addition, $429 million is being sought for the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Citizen Security Programme and $319 million for the Ministry of Legal Affairs’ Justice Improvement Programme.
