APNU+AFC Member of Parlia-ment (MP) Coretta McDonald has said that she cannot support the government’s proposed budget, which she says feeds crumbs to the people of the country.
Speaking last Friday during the debate of the national budget, McDonald said that the budget favours the already wealthy and doesn’t support the “small men and women”.
She said the budget shows no oneness. According to McDonald, there is no explanation of equity for all in the budget and therefore, “Budget 2021 demonstrated that there is no interest in leveling Guyana’s economic playing field. Mr. Speaker for this reason, I cannot lend support to an exercise that seems to feed crumbs to our people,” the MP said.
McDonald, who told the PPP/C administration to remember that “you are installed and you should be very conscious of your installment,” stated that workers cannot sleep well at night with this regime in place. “I will not betray the working class people by endorsing this document that displays a slap in their faces,” she said.
Addressing the minimum wage for private sector workers, she acknowledged that “the debate is immense — some argue it will place businesses under pressure and others argue it will increase productivity and increase employment. The coalition is not too interested in these complexities. We were clear in government and are now still clear. Workers at the bottom end of the pay scale must receive decent pay.”
Additionally, McDonald said that the government has started sharing out $25,000 cash grants to homes but noted that these grants are not sufficient to support families considering the many expenses these households face.
