Last October’s ‘Exercise Greenheart,’ which was aimed at testing the preparedness of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), saw the expenditure of an additional $410M for which approval from the National Assembly is being sought.
The exercise was launched in the wake of sabre-rattling by Venezuela on the western frontier and in the aftermath of heightened tensions over Caracas’ renewed claims to the Essequibo.
Finance Minister Winston Jordan on Wednesday tabled Financial Paper Three in the National Assembly seeking approval of almost $800M in supplementary provisions for various government agencies for the period September 1 to December 31, 2015. More than half of this is for the GDF exercise.
According to Financial Paper No. 3/2015, the Supplementary Estimates (Current and Capital) total $799,897,637. The current estimates total $720,680,983, while the capital estimates accounted for the remaining amount.
Under the GDF, the Financial Paper sought $120M for the purchase of kit and equipment for soldiers participating in the exercise and payment of medical services for officers and ranks. Another $120M was sought for the hiring of aircraft as the Y12 and Skyvan aircraft were “down due to maintenance issues.” This figure also covered land and sea transport. A figure of $100M is also being sought to “offset shortfall due to additional dietary supplies” required for the exercise. A further $60M is being sought as this was used to “ensure maximum serviceability for operational readiness” of the GDF’s fleet of vehicles. Another $10M has been applied for to offset expenses for security lighting at the training area and maintenance of a swimming pool for the training of officers and ranks.
For the Ministry of Agriculture, an additional $49M to assist coconut farmers faced by the Red Palm Mite infestation is being applied for along with $24,469,680 for the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority for the maintenance of equipment, increased labour cost, monitoring and operation of pumps, pontoons, excavators and dragline. The Ministry of Agriculture is also seeking an additional $8.1M for more security guards because of break and enter incidents.
For the Ministry of Education, the financial paper, details a $77M supplementary provision for salary increases and a one-off tax free payment for the two University of Guyana campuses.
There is also a supplementary provision for $13.6M for the Prison Service to offset the shortfall due to increased prices for items such as milk, meat and vegetables. In addition, the paper said that the prison population had increased from 1994 inmates at January 1st , 2015 to 2113 inmates as at December 20th 2015. Further, there are also special dietary needs of inmates who have chronic diseases and HIV/AIDS.
Various sums were sought for regions 2, 3 and 8 for the maintenance of drainage and irrigation works, security services and other expenses.
According to the Current Estimates, an $11M supplementary provision for the Prime Minister’s Secretariat is being sought to offset partial liabilities to the Guyana National Newspapers Limited which was incurred by the Government Information Agency.
With regards to Capital Estimates, just over $19M is being sought by the Ministry of Presidency – Citizenship and Immigration Services for equipping the department and upgrading of the Border Management System.
Just over $60M is being sought for various expenses incurred by the Ministry’s Policy Development and Administration Department. These included the rehabilitation of the female barrack room, installation of 6000 solar systems and the purchase of furniture and equipment.
