The Alliance for Change (AFC), in two Notice Papers that have been circulated to Members of Parliament, has signalled its intention to cut almost $39 billion from the budget, including $1.734 billion from the Guyana Elections Commission, $1.255 billion from the Office of the President inclusive of allocations for NCN and GINA and $1 billion earmarked for the completion of the Amaila Road.
The AFC is also proposing to reduce the $20 billion allocated towards low carbon programmes by $19 billion. The consideration of the estimates is to begin at 2 pm tomorrow and there is to be a meeting between the government and the opposition at the Office of the President at 9 am in a last minute attempt to stave off the proposed cuts.
The Notice Papers said AFC also proposes to cut $592.4 million from the budget of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The entire sum allocated in the 2013 budget for the specialty hospital of $1.250 billion is on the list to be cut as is sum of $5.353 billion for the Cheddi Jagan Airport Modernisation Project – the budget’s entire allocation for the project.
Under the Office of the President, sums allocated for contracted employees in the amounts of $43.205 million and $380.332 million are proposed to be slashed by $15.150 million and $159.807 million respectively.
The sums allocated for security services at the Office of the President – $48.707 million and $46.473 million – are proposed to be cut by $41.818 million and $16.397 million respectively. Two allocations under ‘Other’ in the Office of the President – $245.165 million and $30.436 million – are proposed to be reduced by $179.043 million and $23.440 million respectively.
The sum of $39.168 million set aside in the budget for contracted employees in the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development is proposed to be cut by $19.753 million.
The monies to be cut from the Gecom allocations include those for contracted employees, local travel and subsistence, security services, refreshment and meals and several allocations under ‘Other’. The largest allocation under ‘Other’ is $902.764 million and this entire sum is proposed to be cut.
Under the Office of the President, GINA had an allocation of $135.858 million; this entire sum is proposed to be slashed by the AFC. The same applies to an allocation of $81.337 million for NCN.
The Board of Industrial Training of the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security has an amount of $224 million and this entire sum is proposed to be slashed by the AFC.
The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport’s Sports and Art Development Fund has an allocation of $100 million and this entire amount is proposed to be cut.
Out of an allocation under the Office of the President of $4.586 billion for ICT, the AFC has proposed to cut this amount by $541 million. Under the Office of the Prime Minister – Electrification Programme, an allocation of $10.255 billion is proposed to be reduced by $6.255 billion. An allocation under the Ministry of Finance of $20 billion for low carbon development programmes is proposed to be reduced by $19 billion.
The Ministry of Agricul-ture has an allocation of $1.4 billion for drainage and irrigation and this is proposed to be reduced by $814 million. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Consumer Affairs has an allocation of $259 million for its competitiveness programme and the AFC has proposed to slash this by $100 million. The East Bank Highway allocation of $1.239 billion under the Ministry of Public Works is proposed to be slashed by $539 million. The Amaila Access Road under the Ministry of Public Works has an allocation of $2.350 billion and this is slated for a reduction by $1 billion.
