Opposition Chief Whip Christopher Jones on Monday said that while budget 2022 is the first to include oil revenues, it is full with “big bold promises” and spending but caters “very little” for the working and poor people of the country.
“It is very obvious my good Sir that this is another budget for the boys. How can it be that the fastest growing country in the world, the tax threshold has only increased from 65,000 to 75,000 which is only 2800 more in the hands of the some of the lowest income workers in this country? It is disrespectful…. This budget is full with big bold promises and spending but it is very obvious how very little it caters for the working and very poor people of this country,” Jones told the National Assembly during his presentation on the budget.
Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh last Wednesday presented the $552.9 billion budget in the National Assembly.
Throughout his twenty-minute presentation, Jones described the budget as “disrespectful”. “…..Sir, budget 2022 before this house is the largest budget totaling 552 billion under the questionable theme ‘Steadfast against all challenges, resolute in building our One Guyana.’ Whatever our One Guyana means. But Sir, in actual retrospect this means steadfast against all who are not PPP. Resolutely in building Pradoville number 4 and giving to our friends contracts while the average Guyanese suffer aka a disrespectful budget,” Jones said.
In fact, he said the APNU+AFC is “deeply disappointed”. “Deeply disappointed in how these self-proclaimed builders of Guyana have once again showed utter disregard for the average Guyanese…..The nation Sir is getting richer but the people are getting poor”,” he stated.
However, Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy, who spoke after Jones, dismissed his assertions by stating that the budget was put together with the welfare and hardships of every citizen in mind.
“We have given from 2020 the cash grant for every household. We have given back to our pensioners restoring the water subsidy and the electricity subsidy. We have made monies available. If you forgot that… the public servants at the end of the year, we had given monies too,” McCoy said.
“We love people. We love every single Guyanese in this country. We have demonstrated that since coming in 2020….Every single measure that you see in this budget that we have put so far is about people. It’s not about making anyone of us on this end rich. It is about making our people’s lives better,” he added.
McCoy highlighted that during Monday’s debate, the opposition members harped on the “oil money” during their arguments. He said it would have been a “tragedy” to the people of the country if they were handling the oil funds.
“I heard all morning we have oil money …..and I know that is what bothers you a lot. The fact that you can’t put your hands on the oil money…..God knows if you mistook (the) 18 million signing bonus as a gift… Oh lord what would happen with the oil money. I can imagine. It would be a tragedy for the people of Guyana,” McCoy said.
He said the Government understands the needs of the people and therefore implemented programmes, policies and measures to address those needs. “…..The group tends to play on these words…Oh the budget is disrespectful to the people, oh the budget didn’t do this and the budget didn’t do that but monies that were budgeted for people’s welfare and development of this country, the very honourable member under the SLED (Sustainable Livelihood Entrepreneurial Development) programme ended up with portions of that money for himself like many others on that side and that is what is disrespectful,” McCoy further stated.
Public servants
Among the provisions in the budget are an increase in the monthly income tax threshold; a lowered tax on pick-ups and trucks; a hike in old age pension, public assistance and cash grants for school children; support for dialysis patients; an increase in the mortgage loan ceiling; incentivizing savings in the banking sector; and reductions in the cost of medical and life insurance.
Jones argued that the budget is “most disrespectful” to the intelligence of the public servants. He said there was no allocation for public servants in three successive budgets. “Once is an accident. Twice is a coincidence but three-times Sir is downright disrespect,” he said.
“Sir one would feel there would be adequate compensation but year after year, budget after budget nothing (is) in there for them…Three successive budgets sir and no allocations to the public servants of this country. What have they done?” Jones questioned.
“…What the People’s Progressive Party/Civic is saying to public servants of this country? I give you 7 percent last year. This year yuh good enough. Tek whatever you get and shut up,” he added.
In direct response, McCoy stressed that every single measure catered for in budget 2022 “adds up” to more money for the people in their pockets. “It is disrespectful and one must wonder what did the soldiers and police to APNU+AFC that you withdraw from them the one-month tax free bonus that they were getting for so many years under the People Progressive Party Civic Government,” he asked.
“It is not about just a tax threshold increase. It is also about all the other measures……It is about what we have done in the first place…remove those burdensome taxes that you over there placed on the backs of poor people of this country. We have removed it,” McCoy further stated.
