Dear Editor,
1) There has been much debate at the level of the National Assembly and much public discourse and comment on the second budget presented by the APNU+AFC government since it took office in May 2015.
Indeed, recent views expressed by the public on the 2016 Budget suggest that a significant number of the Guyanese people are not confident that it can deliver the good life. It seems to me that if the government’s present policies, programmes, plans and trends continue, the good life will continue to be an elusive dream for most, but a reality for the fortunate ones at the top and their associates.
I ask: (a) Do people see themselves being better off by the end of 2016 as a result of the measures the government plans to take to improve living conditions during 2016?
- b) Are they confident that the measures set out in the 2016 Budget can stimulate growth, restore confidence and take us in the direction of the good life?
- c) Are they confident that the shortcomings, inefficiencies, slothfulness and mistakes of the APNU+AFC government in the post-May 2015 period can be corrected through Budget 2016?
2) The citizens of Guyana, whether they are pensioners, public servants, businesspeople, housewives, farmers, the unemployed, etc, are the ones to determine whether this budget addresses the welfare needs of the citizens, and they should let their views be placed in the public domain for as many as would listen.
3) The $1,200 per pensioner per month increase could certainly not replace what they will have to pay for electricity and water rates. They would much prefer that the government supplements the small increase they propose by restoring the annual subsidy of $10,000 for water rates and $30,000 for electricity per pensioner.
Pensioners are also not enthused by the no payment for the renewal of a driver’s licence and for airport tax, as very few of them own a vehicle or can afford to travel overseas. Pensioners demand more in order to enjoy the good life.
Public servants, teachers, nurses, doctors, health workers, policemen and women bemoan the fact that they must wait to enjoy the good life. For how long is anybody’s guess. You could ask Messrs Joseph Harmon and Moses Nagamootoo. But I wish to ask President David Granger and these two Ministers how they will motivate workers with no salary increases when they are aware that they have paid themselves huge increases? Recall that Mr Harmon, in seeking to justify the extravagant salary increases paid to government ministers and specific government officers said: “Such increases motivate performance and prevent thieving”. By that kind of logic, will such increases not also prevent ‘thieving’ among public servants, health workers, teachers, etc?
Or perhaps we have our priorities wrong. Do I understand him to say, nothing for workers now; they will have to wait until we have celebrated the 50th Anniversary of our Independence? And so the $300M allocated for this purpose must take priority over the needs of the ordinary working class people.
4) And what about the public servants whose services were terminated? Does Budget 2016 make any provision for them?
5) What about our Amerindian brothers and sisters? Some 1972 jobs were taken away from them. Is it because they voted strongly for the PPP/C at general and regional elections in May 2015? Is it that they enjoyed such significant benefits under the PPP/C government that it was felt they had had enough? All the PPP/C did was put significant resources into interior development which the PNC government had denied hinterland inhabitants (mostly Amerindians) for 28 years. What was wrong with the PPP/C government working with our Indigenous people to allow them to enjoy some of the good life? We are proud of what we did: access to quality education and health care; improved infrastructure ‒ roads, bridges, airstrips, water, solar electricity, etc.
6) The 2016 Budget shows a clear absence of focus on areas to create jobs and wealth, especially for our young
people. What about the promised new job creating projects? What about the promised entrepreneurial programmes?
7) Work in the housing schemes has virtually stopped. Construction works provide jobs for lots of people. And why is the rest of the 100 day plan which has not been delivered thus far not in the budget? The government has had almost 300 days to deliver the 100 day plan and has failed.
On the issue of resource allocation to local authorities the budget fails to provide for the transfer of adequate funds to local authorities under the Fiscal Transfers Act 2013. Under the PPP/C budgetary allocations were made for the provision of central government subventions to the NDCs and municipalities. This year a meagre $21.7M was allocated to be divided among the 71 local authorities, which is woefully inadequate. But who among the APNU+AFC cares? Under the PPP/C the allocation was $282M. The Minister of Communities speaks of raising the taxes paid by ratepayers. How inhumane some of us can be. As one of the government’s senior ministers said after it had been decided to pay members of cabinet a huge salary increase from ‘an empty Treasury,’ he had no apologies to make.
Everyone should vote on election day, March 18th. They should let the government know that they are already fed up with their incompetence, discrimination and non-performance. We are not stupid.
Yours faithfully,
Norman Whittaker
