Georgetown: The projects that have been cut from the 2013 National Budget have denied thousands of Guyanese employment, directly and indirectly, and as a result, government will not sit idly by and watch people suffer, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall underscored.
“The PPP has always stood with the Guyanese people as it faced every form of adversity, from colonialism to independence, and then, when confronted with the brutal PNC dictatorship, we stood with them and led them to democracy, and we will not desert them, we will stand with them against this tyranny of one,” the Attorney General stated. “We have to go with what we have and then see how we can get what we have been denied. We still have a lot of work to do unlike the… pure callousness that has been displayed by the opposition and the disregard for the people’s interest and the people’s welfare. We have to lead this country, we are the government, we are a mature political organisation, and we have to behave that way, we have to behave responsibly and lead the country out of this tragedy.”
The end of the 2013 Budgetary estimates and debate resulted in cuts to several transformational programmes such as the Specialty Hospital, the Amaila Falls Project, the Low Carbon Development Strategy Programmes and the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Expansion Project. These were as a result of the political opposition voting to bar or significantly reduce the funding for these and several other programmes.
The $208.8B budget which was aimed at maintaining the nation’s economic growth, and providing opportunities for every segment of society, should be examined holistically, the Attorney General noted.
Speaking during recent interview the Attorney General said, “One must look at the 2013 budget in a contextual whole, having regard to what is going on globally.” He said that what happens in one part of the world affects what happens in other parts.
Citing the Caribbean, he explained that traditionally strong economies like Barbados are now experiencing the worst economic times in 40 years since Independence. “Trinidad and Tobago, probably the strongest economy in the region, recorded negative growth again in the year 2012. Jamaica currently is still awaiting the green light from the IMF to present their budget. Just recently they devaluated their dollar close to $100 for one US$1”.
He pointed out that smaller islands such as St. Vincent, Antigua, Dominica and St. Lucia have been heavily hit with a decline in tourism, “So much so that they have been forced to borrow money from International Financial Institutions to even pay their public servants, and the public sector wages, and they of course have been recording negative growth for the last three to four years. That is the state of the Caribbean economy and the world economy, and it is in that context that one must look at the 2013 budge
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