Lead spokesperson for the opposition on matters of finance and economics Carl Greenidge yesterday said that a smooth passage of the 2013 national budget is unlikely given government’s continued lack of willingness to meet and seriously consider proposals from the other side.
Speaking at a press conference held at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition yesterday, Greenidge warned that time is running out for government to meet the opposition parties on proposals sent in since November last year.
“This press conference has been convened to make it clear to the public that although it is obvious that the government and the Ministry of Finance in particular are moving to the final stages of preparation of the 2013 national budget, there has been no effort on the part of government to honour their pledge to have dialogue. We are not aware of which other entities the minister has seen it fit to hold talks with [however] we wish to make it clear that no dialogue, apart from the talks about talks, has taken place at the political level. This breach of faith and lack of consultations will have serious implications for the consideration of the budget proposals and its passage through the National Assembly,” Greenidge said.
“There can be no guarantee that things that are laid will [come out as they went in]…As of now there has only been one meeting between the government and the opposition on the budget,” he added.
Greenidge said that this meeting, which took place on November 21, 2012, saw a number of issues being discussed in a preliminary fashion. He noted that the government sought to persuade the meeting that it was serious and that it would pursue the discussions in good faith and would provide the necessary information specified in the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act, as well as answer the questions posed by the opposition.
However, he said APNU had concerns about the assumptions on which government was basing its numbers, the goals of the budget, budget measures and the continued lack of information from it.
Greenidge said that at the first meeting, it was agreed that the sides would meet every fortnight and that they would submit in writing issues of concern to be raised and addressed at the meetings.
He noted that APNU had submitted a 13-page document proposing a number of measures and calling for attention to be placed on many areas of the economy. Among the issues raised in the proposal were cost of living, corruption, discrimination, lawlessness and a spirit of rebellion which seems to be growing among the masses. He said there is need for the government to fashion a budget which bears these issues in mind.
“These [proposals] were sent to the Minister of Finance since the beginning of December [2012] and so far we have not heard from the minister. These things have serious implications for the budget debate and whether the budget is approved,” he said. “It is unlikely that we will have a smooth passage of any budget,” he said.
