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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday May 30, 2015
Changes, additions to budget agencies to be gazetted
– Finance Minister assures budget preparation continues apace By Vanessa Narine WORK on Budget 2015 will accelerate once the names of new ministries and the renaming of old ministries, as well as their responsibilities, are entered into the Official Gazette, according to Finance Minister Winston Jordan. “Some preliminary work has already been done. We will have to make a few adjustments in keeping with our [the new Administration’s] priorities,” he said, in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle yesterday. The minister had previously indicated that he inherited some of the groundwork which was already laid out by the previous sector minister, Dr. Ashni Singh. Jordan added that once the legal stipulations are complied with, staffers from the Finance Ministry will assist the management of the budget agencies to “put together their programmes [budgets].” “The naming of new min-
istries and changes will not delay the presentation of the budget,” he said, when asked. Relative to the budget agencies that remain unaffected by the change of Government, the newly appointed Finance Minister explained that the ministry is currently engaged in updating the budget information for these bodies. “We are working on getting the latest figures, up to the end of May,” he said. Jordan disclosed that a meeting of budget agencies head and other officials is expected to be called soon to have the revenue and expenditure profiles revised for inclusion in Budget 2015. “We will meet to see what is possible for the remaining months of 2015 and we will have to revise their budget profiles,” he said. CHANGES Asked about expected changes, the Finance Minister noted that there will be some changes to reflect the
Winston Jordan
commitments made in the 100-day plan of the A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Administration. “We have other work to be done in line with the 100- day plan, which will see revenues affected in terms of the plan for VAT (Valued Added Tax),” he said. APNU+AFC had promised a reduction in the tax on
certain items. The tax currently stands at 16 per cent. Jordan noted too that apart from changes to VAT, discussions are to be held on other matters that may affect Government’s revenue stream. The same, he stated, applies to expenditures.“The 2015 Budget will reflect increases in pensions and the 10 per cent salary increases for the public service, at a minimum,” the subject minister said. He added, “Everything will not be done in 2015. Currently, everything is a consideration, but we don’t want to raise people’s expectations so I will not make pronouncements on what else may be done.” However, Jordan highlighted that after the 2015 Budget is presented and approved by the National Assembly, the 2016 Budget will be a few months away from being presented to the Parliament and could include other incentives to bolster the quality of life for the Guya-
nese people. BEFORE SEPTEMBER Assuming that the 11th Parliament is convened in June, as indicated by President David Granger, Jordan has three months to table the 2015 Estimates of Revenues and Expenditures in the National Assembly. “I expect to be able to do that before then, before September [the three months]” he assured. Last July, a budget call circular was issued to various Government ministries and agencies requesting the commencement of compilation of their budget submissions. When submissions were received, they were reviewed through several rounds of meetings, after which analyses were done and they were consolidated into the national budget. Submissions from ministries and agencies routinely include information on policy recommendations, detailed articulations of various programmes and proj-
ects the ministries would like to implement in 2015, and some articulation of the expected impacts and outcomes that would arise from the implementation of these programmes and projects. Additionally, there was a meeting between the Director of Budget and all Permanent Secretaries to facilitate discussion of requirements articulated in the budget circular in August. Cuts to the 2014 national budget totalled a whopping $37.4B, reducing the $220B National Budget to $182.6B – which represented the largest national budget to date. The cuts to the budget totalled $31B in 2013 and $21B in 2014. The ministry’s Budget Office facilitates the preparation of the country’s annual revenues and expenditure estimates, effective and efficient management and monitoring of resource allocation and utilisation, combined with the formulation of constructive and effective economic policy.
Naming of new townships likely before Guyana turns 50 By Ravin Singh ATTEMPTS to upgrade Bartica, Charity, Parika, Supenaam, Rosignol and possibly Lethem into towns are likely to take effect before Guyana celebrates its 50th independence anniversary, next year. This was according to Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, who explained that this is a mere “outside date,” given that his ministry will be working assiduously to fulfil the promises made by President David Granger during their campaign in the lead- up to the recently concluded general and regional elections. The initiative of having several secondary towns upgraded to township status has been in the pipeline for several years, and had seemed to be coming closer to fruition when the former
Government had placed advertisements in the local newspapers inviting tenders to provide consultancy services for the revaluing of properties and the strengthening of urban management and administration in these four communities. The advertisement detailed that funding for these projects was provided by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) through a Technical Assistance Grant to the country. H o w e v e r, f o l l o w i n g this report, articles appeared coming from the then minister that while the “soft” part of this project – including the training of officials – was currently ongoing, there were significant implications in commissioning new towns before local government elections were held. Additional reports on February 8, 2008 indicated
that the Government of Guyana and the CDB had signed a contract amounting to US$16.1 million to have these four communities – Bartica, Charity, Parika and Supenaam converted to towns as part of the Community Services Enhancement Project (CSEP). It was further disclosed that the CDB had provided the sum of US$200,000 as a grant for the project, while the balance was in the form of a loan. The timeline given for the completion of this project was three years. This agreement was intended to allow for the provision of technical assistance for services provided in the targeted communities, particularly the infrastructure and the Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs), with the intention that this would lead to their eventual elevation
to towns. Since this development, attempts have been made to enhance infrastructure in the regions, including repairing roads in the communities, improving administrative buildings and constructing new markets. Additionally, resources were also allocated for designing programmes to address issues such as solid waste management, community awareness and participation, strengthening urban management and a town-transition plan to enhance financial and infrastructural management. In January 2007, a contract to the tune of $29M was inked with the Jamaican company Trevor Hamilton Associates for them to engage in work to bring institutional strengthening to the four towns. Plans to increase the number of Guyanese towns
was said to be on the Government’s agenda for several years. Presently, six towns exist in Guyana: Anna Regina, New Amsterdam, Rose Hall, Corriverton, Linden and Georgetown. During the 2003 budget debate, then Local Government Minister Clinton Collymore had announced that $1 billion of that year’s $72.9 billion budget had been set aside for upgrading Parika, Bartica, Lethem and Rosignol to townships during the course of the year, but these plans never materialised. Against this eventful backdrop and inconsistent developments, the Communities Minister assured this publication that the current Administration will do everything in its will to ensure that these promises are transformed into reality. However, Bulkan posited that an “outside date”
Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan
for the Guyanese people to expect these towns to attain township status will be before Guyana celebrates its 50th Independence anniversary next year. These six towns currently existing in Guyana are all incorporated, with each having a Mayor and Town Council which is responsible for maintenance of the municipality.