With the main APNU+AFC opposition boycotting the National Assembly in protest at the decision to suspend eight of its members, the government yesterday went ahead and approved $44,794,011,175 in supplementary financing.
The move to the National Assembly seeking the huge sum came just about six months after the Irfaan Ali government presented a $552.9 billion “historic” and “transformational” 2022 budget in January.
Financial Paper No 1 of 2022, seeking $12,239,279,235 under current programmes and $32,554,731,940 for capital works, was tabled in the House by Senior Minister with Responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh at the July 21 sitting.
Earlier last week, Leader of the Opposition Aubrey Norton stated that APNU+AFC would be boycotting the sitting in protest at both the suspension of eight of its members as well as the government’s request for additional finances.
At the last sitting of the House, a report of the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges was adopted. The report recommended the suspension of Christopher Jones, Ganesh Mahipaul, Sherod Duncan, Natasha Singh-Lewis, Annette Ferguson, Vinceroy Jordan, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley and Maureen Philadelphia as a result of their failed bid on December 29, 2021, to obstruct the passage of the Natural Resource Fund bill. The House voted to suspend Jones, Mahipaul, Duncan and Singh-Lewis for four consecutive sittings while Ferguson, Jordan, Sarabo-Halley and Philadelphia were suspended for six consecutive sittings.
The suspended MPs have since approached the courts seeking redress.
At yesterday’s sitting, when the financial paper came up for consideration and in the absence of the APNU+AFC, the government MPs led the questioning of their colleagues in an aim to place on the record what the monies would be expended on.
The embattled Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) received an additional $3.4 billion to cover operational expenses and provide additional resources to support the sugar industry. That amount formed part of the additional $5,490,366,235 that the Ministry of Agriculture had sought.
In the 2022 budget, GuySuCo received $6 billion to support its operations. Since taking office in August 2020, the PPP/C government has injected over $17 billion into GuySuCo after campaigning heavily on resuscitating the sugar industry following the closure of several estates by the APNU+AFC government. Despite the constant injection of finances into the operations of the sugar corporation, there continue to be issues with the latest being a shortage of sugar on the local market. Despite denying such a shortage, the government recently offered sugar through the Guyana Marketing Corporation and that too in rationed quantities.
Leading the questioning on the monies requested for GuySuCo, junior Public Works Minister Deodat Indar asked Minister Zulfikar Mustapha to explain how the monies would be spent.
Recapitalization
Mustapha said that the money would be expended to continue the recapitalization of the sugar corporation in keeping with the government’s commitment to revive the sugar industry. He added that at the commencement of the government’s term, estates were operating at 49% capacity and now they have been rehabilitated and are working optimally.
“We will continue to ensure that we make these factories more efficient, modernised and at the same time reduce the cost of production,” he said.
Head of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) Seepaul Narine, who is also a government MP, sought an update on the move to reopen the Rose Hall Estate which was closed by the APNU+AFC government.
The Agriculture Minister disclosed that they have been able to reemploy 692 of the 1038 retrenched workers. He added that over 500 hectares of land was tilled and 527 hectares planted while other infrastructural work has been ongoing.
“I am glad that we are having the question coming from the head of a union where now the workers realize that Rose Hall Estate will be reopened. That’s a commitment of this PPP/Civic government…the factory rehabilitation programme is 58% completed and it have a number of works that have already been done,” Mustapha said.
Additionally, $300 million was approved to provide additional resources to “promote agriculture development initiatives including support to the fisherfolks.”
When questioned on that provision, Mustapha said that every “bona fide” fisher in Guyana will be receiving the approved $150,000 from the government. He said that, thus far, there are approximately 8,000 persons on the list and it is being verified. He added that the Ministry is hoping that the verified list will be completed by the end of this week after which it would be forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for the disbursement of the cash.
“Also here, this $300 million will also go to do a number of works in the landing sites. We have 72 landing sites in the country and many of those landing sites need a lot of work to be done for example lights, proper wharfage and other infrastructure,” he said.
The lone Opposition MP, Lenox Shuman of the three-party list joinder, questioned whether the indigenous fisherfolk would also benefit. In response, Mustapha said that indigenous fisherfolk are already on the list and reiterated that the grant would be extended to them as well.
Ministry of Public Works
The sum of $4.439 billion was approved for the Ministry of Public Works to further its work programme. Of the sum, $233 million is for fixing identified defects during the ongoing project to rehabilitate 28 pontoons; $525 million for the advancement of preliminary works to support the East Bank-East Coast road linkage project; $3 billion for the upgrading of miscellaneous roads and drains; $550 million for the completion of the critical sea and river defence works along with new works to address areas of erosion along the Mahaicony shoreline; and $131.5 million for the acquisition of spare parts to complete the rehabilitation of various ferry vessels.
Explaining how the money would be used, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill charged that the Demerara Harbour Bridge has been neglected for the past six years. He said that the maintenance schedule for the pontoons had not been observed.
“Apart from pontoons we have had major problems with span nine and span ten and we came to this National Assembly and we sought sums to ensure that we keep that bridge afloat. So the sums we are asking here for the pontoons is basically to allow us to do a proper job and not just a ‘patch job’ because once those pontoons get back into the water, they must be able to remain there for the prescribed period,” he said.
He added, “the Government of Guyana and the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation is doing everything in its power to carry out adequate maintenance to ensure that the structural integrity of that bridge is not compromised and that while we await the completion of the new four-lane high span crossing, this bridge will continue to serve the people of Guyana.”
He further stated that a new span nine has already been built and is waiting to be installed pending discussions.
In relation to the Ministry’s road programme, Edghill assured that every community road will be addressed under the PPP/C government. He said that the ministry is constantly surveying and mapping roads and coming up with designs to ensure that they are properly done.
Asphalt concrete road
“It cost about $80 million per kilometre of road, so this is what we call asphalt concrete road. With the help of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development and all local authorities, we have engaged in a countrywide exercise where we basically measured, mapped, and designed and costed what it will take to fix every road in every village,” he told the House in defence of the $3 billion that was approved for miscellaneous road works.
Meanwhile, the sum of $4 billion was approved for the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) to improve its operations. Finance Minister Singh contended that when the government took office, the power company was bankrupt. He added that GPL is owed in excess of $12 billion from other government agencies.
“The challenges at GPL have been compounded by the fact that the fuel prices on the market have increased tremendously moving from just about US$40 a barrel when we assumed office to more than US$100 a barrel. We have as a matter of policy given a commitment that we will absorb this fuel price increase and not pass it on to the consumer…
“This $4 billion represents, Sir, a further effort to liquidate the longstanding liabilities that are owed to GPL and ease the cash flow challenges the company is currently facing,” Singh said.
Additionally, in keeping with the President’s commitment to making $3 billion available to improve the lives of indigenous people, the sum of $3.1 billion was approved for the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs. Minister Pauline Sukhai told the House that the monies would be used to enhance food security and development for indigenous communities. She added that it would be expended based on the proposals made by the individual communities noting that they all listed their priorities during the recently concluded National Toshaos Conference.
Some $332.6 million was approved for the Ministry of Health to further its collaboration with the health care group Mount Sinai International while $2 billion was approved for the census.
A number of other agencies also received supplementary provisions for various projects.
