The government half-heartedly announced to the nation that Monday, 15th January 2024 is Budget Day. Not unexpectedly, this announcement stirred no anticipation or excitement among an exhausted and struggling Guyanese citizenry. While we expect the Minister with Responsibility for Finance to label the budget “the biggest-ever”, most ordinary Guyanese already know that it will not improve the living conditions of our people.
As proof, we give you last year’s budget of G$900 billion which, although three times the 2019 budget, has failed to lift the lives of ordinary people. We expect the 2024 budget to be more of the same: infrastructure over people to enrich PPP elite, family, friends and favorites over the middle and lower classes.
Again we will be fed ad-hoc projects rather than an integrated national development plan. Again, the focus will be quantity of expenditure over quality of life. One-off measures over structured and sustained social programs and symbolic economic growth over real human development.
The Minister with Responsibility for Finance will tell us that Budget 2024 will increase disposable income, but he will not tell us how high cost of living and inflation will continue to shrink real income and spending power. He will tell us about increases in pension, public assistance, and school grants, for instance. But he will not tell us that people find these allocations to be woefully inadequate. The Minister will tell us about higher oil production and larger government withdrawals from the NRF. But he will not explain to the people why they see no real improvements in their living standards from this oil wealth. Minister Singh will boast about the several infrastructure projects being planned. But he will not inform the nation how the PPP government intends to complete the many stalled projects and to reduce corruption, financial waste, and discrimination in contract awards.
We wish the Minister tell will us:
- That a cost of living allowance will be given to all workers,
- That they will raise the Income Tax Threshold to $150,00
- That there will be a reduction in VAT
- That there will be a removal of VAT from all locally manufactured food items,
- That there will be rationalization of electricity and water rates;
- That there will be an increase in the minimum wage by at least 50%
- That they will remove personal income tax for low-wage earners
- That they will provide a generous risk allowance for frontline workers, and
- That they will guarantee all households a minimum livable income.
We know they would not!
In the Budget Debate, we, in the Opposition, will again not only to identify defects and deficiencies in the 2024 budget, but to present an alternative vision and development plan for Guyana. Our vision is based on a different way of thinking about Guyana and its people. As we have repeatedly declared, our people-centred vision puts people first because (i) we see it as the moral obligation of any serious government to raise the quality of life of all citizens. In fact, it is the fundamental reason why a government exists, (ii) we see it as respecting and honoring the people’s human and constitutional rights to a good life, and (iii) we see it as good economic policy, as direct investments in people’s well-being can further energize and boost the economy.
As we present our case to the people during the debate, we are confident Guyanese will see that we, in the Opposition, care more for them and their families. We will stand with Guyanese in rejecting the existence of two Guyana’s – one for the PPP friends, family and favorites and another for everyone else. We will demonstrate to Guyanese that we stand for equity and shared prosperity.
The 2024 Budget presentation, therefore, will be the same old PPP demonstration of crony capitalism, bricks and mortar projects, and political gimmickry. If the PPP was bad pre-2015, they are even worse now. Luckily, with elections on the horizon this is either the PPP’s last or second-to-last government budget.
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Statement by Leader of the Opposition Mr. Aubrey Norton delivered on Thursday, January 11, 2024
