Minister within the Ministry of Communities Dawn Hastings accepted the opposition’s tag of a ‘vampire’ budget and raised them one by asserting that it will suck the blood of corruption that was inherited from the past administration.
To applause from the government side, she added, at the 2016 budget debates on Wednesday night, “If you want to say it’s a bulldozer; we are going to bulldoze the soul of corruption that we inherited so that we can have a budget… that is a people’s budget.”
Refuting claims made by opposition members that the budget was a repackaged one, Hastings said, “When the opposition members speak of a repackaged budget I am sure that they are speaking of a budget that is transparent, one that has a clear vision and is free form pork barrel politics.”
She said the current administration stands firm on their commitment to rid the society of corruption and improve transparency. She added that when the administration initiated the recovery of the country’s assets they were accused of witch hunting. “Are we supposed to concede to corruption? No,” Hastings said.
“I was amazed yesterday when budget debate began to take sides on colours. The yellow and green colours, look how beautiful my colleague looks in her green and yellow and look how handsome my brother looks over there in his red shirt, the colours of the national flag.”
She stated that is it a fundamental and democratic right to wear whatever colour you want. “You can come to his house red and dread and we on this side will come to this house green and clean,” she added, as cheers and laughter filled the house.
She stated that persons who are convicted in the public sector of doing wrong should face the full brunt of the law and condemned the PPP/C administration for claiming they were advocates of pluralism but when the offer was placed on the table to occupy the position of deputy speaker, it was refused. “Are they against their own mantra of pluralism or is it they can’t come to grips to deal with the fact that when the Guyanese people said that they wanted change, they meant it?”
Stating that the opposition often refer to the government as incompetent, she added that the Guyanese people knew differently and this was reflected in their votes. This spurred loud exchanges between the two sides of the house. “Let we hold elections tomorrow and see if you get votes,” one of the opposition members said.
Addressing her ministry’s mandate, she said government is representing not just 51% of Guyanese, but the entire population “along the length and breadth of this blessed land, even the members of the opposition,” and remains steadfast and committed to providing potable water to every Guyanese. “…I will say it every year until we get there,” she said, adding that the protection of watersheds, expanding coverage, water treatment and the reducing of non-revenue water remains the administration’s top priority. “Entrenched on this objective, the National Water Council along with the National Water Agency will be resuscitated and together these two initiatives will seek to provide policy level advice to the ministry…,” Hastings announced. There will also be a review of the legal mandate for the integration of water resource management. “The Dakoura Creek watershed management plan will serve as the first real pilot of a water resources management plan for Guyana,” Hastings added. She noted that it was proposed that $4 billion be expended in 2016 to expand the access to water in all of Guyana.
Under the coastal programme, $585 million was allocated to construct wells, water treatment plants and distribution mains at Jacoba, Port Mourant, Timehri and other places which include the installation of water supply systems, distribution networks and rehabilitation and upgrading of the Cotton Tree and Bartica Water Treatment plants, set to benefit about 128,000 residents. “With respect to the hinterland water supply, $195 million will be expended as this administration stands firm on its words to bridge the gap between the coast and hinterland regions and we believe that potable water is essential and access to it is a fundamental right for every Guyanese,” she said. The completion of water supply systems at Mahdia, Port Kaituma, Mabaruma and Paramakatoi is set to benefit some 14,000 residents, while $229 million are proposed to complete the interconnection at the Mackenzie bridge crossing and the East and West bank of Linden, in addition to the completion of water treatment plants at Wisroc and Amaila’s Ward, and the reduction of non-revenue water which will see some 27,200 residents benefiting.
In Georgetown, $226 million are proposed to complete the distribution and transmission of mains, wells and storage reservoirs at Albouystown, West La Penitence, Meadow Bank, and others which will directly benefit around 135,000 residents. Another $2 billion are to be expended for the commencement of construction of new water treatment plants at Uitvlugt and Diamond to benefit some 31,500 residents.
She said the construction of six new potable wells, three new water treatment plants, installation of 5,000 new water connections and 25KM of transmission and distribution mains will increase the coverage of water on the coast and hinterland regions.
