The National Assembly in the wee hours of Friday, approved more than $9.5 billion in supplemental budgetary spending including an additional $2 billion subsidy for the Guyana Sugar Corporation and hundreds of millions aimed at hinterland road works under the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI).
Minister of Finance Winston Jordan last Thursday presented Financial Paper 3/2016 in the National Assembly seeking approval for $9,518,122,347 in supplementary spending from January 1st to December 31st this year. The highest single sum approved is for GuySuCo and it is for 2 billion which Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder told the house would be used to meet routine expenditure related to the second sugar crop.
Holder explained that the drying effects of El Nino had caused a 23,000-tonne shortfall in the first crop so the government would be providing additional funding for the second crop.
Asked by opposition Member of Parliament Neil Kumar to provide the specifics of how the requested sums would be spent, Holder said that $1.2 billion will pay wages, $160 million would be spent on fuel, 464 million dollars on fertiliser and $176 million for the organisation’s creditors.
Altogether for the year, GuySuCo had requested $12 billion and government had approved a subvention of $9 billion for the heavily-indebted corporation for 2016 in the budget. This sum was later augmented by a $72 million supplementary requested in financial paper 2/2016. At the time of this request Holder had referenced the impact of El Nino on the company’s operations.
The Ministry of Agriculture also requested $34,006,000 for other current expenditures including $8 million in employment costs for 27 staff members of the Guyana School of Agriculture who had chosen not to enter the fixed establishment and were therefore being paid a gratuity. $22 million was approved for the provision of feed supplies and replacement of stock for the livestock farm; $753,000 for fuel and lubricants to facilitate increased field visits and outreach programmes and $1.9 million for utility charges.
Under capital expenditure the Ministry has been granted a $207,914, 000 supplementary for the completion of farm access roads in Parika and Ruby, East Bank Essequibo. According to the Minister the construction of these roads is presently ahead of schedule and his ministry is looking to draw down on sums available in 2017 so as to facilitate the completion of the project before the end of 2016.
Under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Development of Foreign Policy Programme, $156,397,338 was approved for subsidies and contributions to international organisations. This sum included the payment of Guyana’s outstanding contribution to the CARICOM Implementing Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) for the period 2009-2016 to the tune of $114,397,338.
It also catered for a contribution of $42 million to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) which will be used for that organisation’s relief efforts in Haiti and The Bahamas, two CARICOM countries recently affected by Hurricane Matthew.
Additionally the ministry was granted a capital estimates supplementary of $33.6 million to facilitate the purchase of three vehicles to be used at the Brazilian, Chinese and South African Missions.
Statistical Bureau
The Ministry of Finance was granted a capital estimates supplementary of $125,380,000 and $50 million respectively for maintenance and upgrading work at the Statistical Bureau and the replenishment of the Linden Enterprise Network revolving fund.
The Guyana Defence Force sought and received a current estimates supplementary of $195 million for various maintenance and infrastructure works including the repairs to the roof of the pavilion at the GDF playfield and the arm’s store roof at Camp Seweyo on the East Bank Demerara. Of the allocation, $45m is for vehicle repairs to the GDF fleet “to ensure maximum operational effectiveness with minimal response time to any situation”. Another $75m will offset expenditure for flights to border locations and for the hire of land transportation for the resupply and changeover of troops on deployment. The other $45m of the allocation is to offset expenses for “funerals, surgeries and Christmas activities to include children Christmas parties and Christmas lunches at the various Bases and interior locations”, the financial paper said. The amount will also offset “increased expenditure on parades for aspirants, Independence, Republic Anniversary and Change of Command parades whereby 600 officers participated versus the budgeted amount of 100 officers due to a change in mandate”.
The Ministry of Public Security also sought a further $22 million to allow the prison service to provide for increased rations being offered prisoners since the March 2016 riots. This will see an increase in the amount of white flour, whole wheat flour, butter, reduced fat butter and lard purchased. There was also an increase in the number of inmates from 2,011 in January, 2016 to 2, 189 at the end of September, 2016.
Region 3 has been granted pursuant to the approval of the financial paper $17.4 million for the maintenance of buildings within their education delivery and health services programmes while Region 8 has been granted $3.4 million to facilitate the hosting of the final Regional Democratic Council meeting of the year. This meeting is expected to last four days and the provision includes costs associated with travel, accommodation and food for councillors.
The Ministry of Public Infrastructure’s public works capital budget has also been supplemented by more than $1.3 billion for projects such as the rehabilitation of dredging vehicles, provision for the final payment and retention for the rehabilitation of bridges and culvert on the Corentyne River Bridge Access Road, additional inflows into the IDB for the East Bank Demerara Four Lane Highway. This $77 million inflow according to the government is expected to facilitate the completion of the highway. A sum of $400m has also been set aside for the purchase of equipment to build capacity of its Special Projects Unit to enable infrastructure development with emphasis on hinterland roads.
The public works sum also covers the removal of wrecks which are impeding safe navigation of vessels in the Georgetown Harbour.
Simulator
Meanwhile the Ministry’s transport programme has received $758,603,722 for the CJIA modernization project and the purchase of an air traffic control simulator.
$411 million has been provided to the University of Guyana Science and Technology Support Programme for the completion of buildings and acquisition of lab equipment.
The Ministry of Communities received $108, 974, 321 for the Water Supply Rehabilitation in Linden and the Georgetown Sanitation Improvement Programme. The $88.5 million approved for the city’s sanitation is expected to facilitate completion of project activities, procurement of equipment and institutional strengthening.
The Ministry of Public Health’s HIV/TB/Malaria programmes have received $35,747,345 to facilitate the procurement of drugs and equipment while the Ministry of Legal Affairs’ Strengthening the Criminal Justice Service programme has received $40,319,000 and $2,905,000 has been allocated for the installation of a surveillance system at the Ministry.
