Turning up for the first time in the 11th Parliament yesterday, opposition PPP/C MPs denounced the 2015 Budget as “full of fluff” with former Housing Minister Irfaan Ali leading the charge but his accusations drew heckles from the government side which repeatedly invoked the PPP’s failures during its 23 years in office.
In a boisterous first session as debate on the 2015 Budget kicked off, Speaker of the National Assembly Dr. Barton Scotland was forced to caution parliamentarians several times as the heckles and jeers drowned out Ali whose statements from the beginning drew swift rejoinders from government parliamentarians in the first sitting of the National Assembly since the May 11 general elections that saw both government and opposition parliamentarians present.
The PPP had boycotted previous sittings of the House and finally trooped in yesterday as the Budget 2015 debate began. Minister of Finance Winston Jordan presented Budget 2015 to the National Assembly last week. With notable members such as former Prime Minister, Ministers of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Natural Resources and the Environment, Public Works, Sam Hinds, Ashni Singh, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Robert Persaud and Robeson Benn respectively, no longer representing the PPP in Parliament, the party turned to former President Bharrat Jagdeo for leadership and he was greeted by cheers from the PPP/C MPs as he strode into the parliamentary chambers.
Only some government parliamentarians were present in the Chamber at the time and Jagdeo told Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo that he was not looking happy but should be since he was the PM. He then greeted Minister of State Joseph Harmon. It was Jagdeo’s first time back in Parliament as an MP since becoming President in 1999.
The first order of business was for the election of a Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly but opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira in an unexpected move told Speaker Scotland that “we have no nominations for deputy speaker.” The Deputy Speaker usually comes from the opposition benches. Scotland put the matter down for the next sitting of the House which is today.
After the PPP parliamentarians were sworn in, Ali led off the debate. “Mr. Speaker there is a lot of fluff in Budget 2015. I describe it as an essay full of fluff. There is a lot of statements but there is no policy formulation to give meat to the statements, there is no structured approach in how we will achieve this output of the statements,” he charged.
“Budget 2015 has taken away thousands of jobs and over $1 billion dollars from Amerindian villages, Budget 2015 has taken away more than $500 million of direct subsidies for the pensioners, Budget 2015 has taken away $10 000 per family, poor families, Budget 2015 has further delayed the aspirations of the Guyanese people in having cheap electricity…Budget 2015 has contracted the building and construction sector, the contraction of one project alone in the housing sector has seen the loss of close to 350 jobs, Budget 2015 has failed to address the issue of confidence,” he said while adding that the Budget is silent on approach to dealing with persons laid off from the bauxite industry.
Tumbled
“Budget 2015 is presented when the price of oil has tumbled yet we hear of no reduction in the electricity tariff for the ordinary Guyanese. Budget 2015 has formally shut out the opportunity of our people having access to specialized health care,” Ally declared.
“If you are to look at the capital estimates, you will see that Budget 2015 has reduced investment in almost every region except Region 4,” he charged.
Earlier he had asserted that the PPP/C left the economy in good shape and it has always put the people and the country first and as such, was present in the National Assembly to defend, protect and promote the rights, privileges and aspirations of the Guyanese people. “We are not a party of false hope and promises. Our track record would show that we have delivered consistently to the people of Guyana,” Ali declared.
One of his first comments in reference to the PPP/C coming into power in 1992, was that most governments go into power with “things sliding downwards.” This was met with an immediate riposte from Vice-President Khemraj Ramjattan who, to laughter, said that this was the case with the PPP who lost the May 11 general elections. As the ruckus continued, Teixeira complained to the Speaker who cautioned against the “heated expressions.”
Ali said that the APNU+AFC government was providing a lesson in the fastest way to destroy a good economy and said that he was disappointed in Minister of Finance Winston Jordan “who must have learnt something under the astute leadership of Dr. Ashni Singh.”
“Where is Ashni now?” Ramjattan heckled.
According to Ali, the only positive out of Budget 2015 is that “one of the most critical thinker” in transforming Guyana – in reference to Jagdeo – was present in the House. Ali said that the government left a significant amount of foreign reserves and at a minimum, the Minister should credit the PPP/C for growing the reserves. He rejected the claim that the PPP/C had bankrupted the economy. He said that the statistics would show that there are substantial savings in the commercial banks and Consolidated Fund.
“It leaves one to wonder and I think either monies are earmarked for questionable expenditures or the administration have no idea of the current financial status of the economy,” he said. According to Ali, the administration now has to fulfill all the promises made in its campaign but it is clear that this is not the priority for the government.
“We have seen what is the priority of this new administration: extravagance,” he declared to heckles from Minister of Cohesion Amna Ally who asked him about opening multi-million dollars accounts. “Which bank?” she heckled while Ramjattan pointed to the exclusive Pradoville housing schemes where top officials from the former PPP/C administration live.
According to Ali, there were projections that Guyana’s economy would grow significantly but the outlook for Guyana suddenly changed. “Based on all the indicators, the economy is contracting and the growth targets would have to be adjusted,” he said laying the blame on the government who he said has not come off its rhetoric two months after elections. “Investors are losing confidence…understand Mr. Speaker the government needs to understand that confidence plays an important and critical role in attracting investors and people,” he declared.
Paddy price support
Speaking on rice, Ali said that the PPP/C always told the truth to the rice farmers. This statement was greeted by laughter. He noted that $23 billion has been allocated for rice farmers in the Budget and called on the government to deliver this. He questioned where the sum is coming from and said that Jordan believes that the PPP/C do not know where the money is coming from “but we will call him out…we are putting him on guard, should the negotiations for the avenue through which they are expecting this deal, fall through, we are going to hold the government accountable.” Consequently, he said, the money may have to be taken out of the Consolidated Fund.
Ally also asked the government to establish a national paddy price support system and was heckled that he had had years to establish such a system.
He said that many of the projects in the Budget were PPP/C projects and there was nothing fresh or new in the Budget. He urged that the APNU+AFC coalition government complete projects such as the Amaila Falls Hydropower project, among others. “When you gon bring back the money,” government members heckled. “Why didn’t you do it?” one asked. “You did that in 23 years?” another jeered, almost drowning out Ali.
As he declared that the PPP/C would support a $100,000 minimum to be paid to public workers and asked about nurses and teachers, the House erupted in laughter. When in power, the PPP/C government did not have favourable relations with the unions and imposed arbitrary salary increases.
With his time up, Teixeira asked the Speaker for five more minutes for Ali to wrap up his presentation but Scotland noted that Ali had already resumed his seat and completed his presentation. Ali, who had begun to rise to continue his presentation, sat down, a stunned look on his face.
Leading off the debate for the government side was Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin who commended the fresh start as laid out in the Budget. Teixeira objected to the first-time parliamentarian reading his speech but he was allowed to by the Speaker. “Budget 2015 is yet another manifestation of our government’s commitment to good governance and the rule of law,” he said. “There can be no doubt that this represents a fresh start,” he asserted.
Gaskin said that government recognizes that the private sector has a critical role to play as the driver of a green growth economy. He highlighted the role of small and medium enterprises and said that these have to play a significant role in developing a green economy and government would encourage this by designing appropriate policies. “Mr Speaker, Guyana means business and our government means business and this is why we now have a Ministry of Business,” he said.
He was heckled by Ali who yelled “nepotism” but was met by an immediate rejoinder of “look who talking.”
Gaskin highlighted the “half projects” left by the previous administration and said that in many cases there was no documentation of what was the expected outcome. He highlighted the plantain chip factories left incomplete by the previous PPP administration and said that because of the state of the projects, he has lost his appetite for plantain chips.
Gaskin said that during this year, the ministry will target the creation of over 400 new jobs, training hundreds of businesses and releasing tens of millions of dollars to improve loan financing. He also said that next year, plans include a small business development centre and ensuring a presence to support the development of small businesses in all regions. He spoke of a 20% procurement initiative to ensure that small and medium enterprises have a fair chance of being awarded government contracts. He also spoke of computerizing several processes including the licensing process and a single window system for trade transactions.
Also speaking during the first session of the debate yesterday was new PPP/C MP Charles Ramson Jr who lamented the lack of youth policies and youth representation on the government side in the National Assembly and in Cabinet. He described the budget as a “no good, useless budget,” and the government as “yesterday’s men with yesterday’s ideas.”
In response, junior Minister of Public Health Dr. Karen Cummings said that under the PPP/C, youth employment was at 40 percent and in 23 years of governance, there was no youth policy but the APNU+AFC coalition produced a draft policy in 100 days. She said that the David Granger administration inherited lots of problems from the former PPP government including high suicide rates and questionable procurement practices and asserted that the issues will be tackled.
According to Cummings, Guyana can become the mecca of health in the Caribbean.
