Minister of Finance Winston Jordan yesterday met with members of the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) to discuss this year’s national budget.
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, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported. Former president Bharrat Jagdeo, who is expected to lead the PPP/C as opposition leader during the current Parliament, was not among those in attendance at the meeting.
Following its defeat at the May 11th polls, the PPP has refused to take up its seats in the new Parliament. It, however, recently identified its parliamentary slate, signaling that it may join the Assembly sooner rather than later.
Yesterday’s meeting is significant given the PPP’s ambivalence about engaging the new APNU+AFC government, in light of its contention that it was “cheated” out of office after nearly 23 years. The PPP has said that it had yet to determine its position with regard to the new government and Parliament.
Contacted yesterday about the budget meeting with government and the party’s basis for attendance, Rohee said that a press statement would be forthcoming. However, up to press time last evening no statement had been issued.
Jordan, however, said the meeting represented “an opportunity for cooperating with the government.”
“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.”
While in opposition, both APNU and the AFC had continuously complained about the PPP/C government’s unwillingness to meaningfully engage them in the preparation of national budgets, resulting in the opposition parties using their majority to trim what they considered unjustifiable spending during consideration of the estimates.
Meanwhile, at next week’s scheduled sitting of the National Assembly, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo will move a motion to suspend Standing Order 9, which provides for the parliamentary recess, in order to cater for the presentation and consideration of the budget on or before September 1st.
Standing Order 9 provides that “unless there are special reasons for so doing, no sitting of the National Assembly shall be held” between the August 10th and October 10th in any year.
According to the motion, due to the prorogation and dissolution of the 10th Parliament, the Minister of Finance was unable to lay the 2015 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for before the National Assembly and the government is desirous of seeing it presented and considered on or before September 1st.
