Minister of Finance Winston Jordan today met with members of the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) to discuss this year’s national budget, the Government Information Agency (GINA) announced this afternoon.
The discussions took place at the Ministry of Finance, where the PPP’s General Secretary Clement Rohee and former ministers Juan Edghill, Pauline Sukhai and Robeson Benn were in attendance.
“At least there is some recognition there, that there is a government in power and one you can sit with at the same table and agree on a set of policies and programmes or even not agree,” Jordan was quoted as saying, while adding that the meeting provided an opportunity for the opposition to give its input. “Their policies and programmes could be ventilated and programmes which the government could consider in the shaping of the budget,” he said.
Jordan underscored the importance of inclusivity in the programmes and policies that the sitting government of the day makes and implements but noted that “at the end of the day, the Executive is responsible for the budget.”