Gov’t committed to Budget talks with Opposition; Opposition using meeting for political grandstanding -Finance Minister Singh
Minister of Finance Dr. Ashini Singh, said that while Government is and remains committed to having open discussions with the Parliamentary Opposition on the budget; the Opposition instead, seems to be more interested in derailing the talks and prejudicing the public perception about the tone of the meetings.
Minister Singh was referring to the position taken by the Opposition to make detailed and negative pronouncements about the ongoing 2013 Budget consultations with the Government, even before the conclusion of these talks.
Minister Singh said that this has been the behaviour of the Opposition since the beginning of such exercise in 2012. He said that such negative pronouncement in the media about the Budget talks does nothing to aid the process.
Speaking at a press conference held at the National Communications Network (NCN) studio on February 9, Minister Singh highlighted the Opposition’s negative comment.
“I have noted in particular, a story carried in Stabroek News today(February 9) on page 10 and it reminded me of a story carried in November (2012.) If I may go back, we had convened a meeting with Parliamentary Parties on November 22 and I said at the end of that meeting I was pleased with the tone of the engagement, I thought that I was speaking in an environment that is mutually respectful, where useful suggestions were made, I think useful and informative responses were offered. I was careful at the time and the public records will reflect this, I was careful at the time not to run to the media and make any pronouncement, I do not believe anybody in government did, about that first meeting,” he said.
The Finance Minister said, “one week later, on the 29th November 2012, I saw an article carried in Stabroek News with the headline ‘Opposition making Budget proposal; doubtful about inclusion.” He said that this was puzzling that this headline came one week after a meeting that reflects a positive tone.
“At the last meeting yesterday (Friday) I pointed out that such a pronouncement…pre-empting the outcome of the discussion, casting a negative shadow …such an approach is not helpful to the discussion,” he said. The Minister said in light of having pointed out to the Opposition how unhelpful such negativity in the media would be, he was astonished to pick up the Stabroek News and again read an article in the same tone. The article was headlined ‘Opposition lukewarm on budget meeting with Government’ and cited A Partnership for Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament (MP) Carl Greenidge as the source.
“I do not believe that such public pronouncement, trying to prejudice the public perception of the nature of the discussions; I do not believe that such an attempt by the Opposition is helpful to an open and frank discussion that is built around trust and mutual confidence,” Minister Singh said.
The Minister said that such behaviour by the Opposition leads him inevitably to the conclusion that the Opposition is not really interested in a mutual engagement on issues of importance, but instead are interested in political gimmickry.
“If one was interested in an open and frank discussion then one will not attempt to prejudice the discussion by introducing such negativity. Instead what we see is the Opposition immediately after every meeting is political grandstanding with photo opportunities and an attempt to score cheap political points,” he said.
Minister Singh did however, reiterate Government’s commitment to engaging all stakeholders on the Budget. “I would say publicly now that the PPP Government…we are committed to being open-minded in these discussions. We are committed to listening to every suggestion made,” he said.
“We are under no illusion that we necessarily agree on every detail …but this government is willing to listen to every priority identified by the Opposition …notwithstanding the Opposition’s evident negativity about the discussions and their evident attempt to derail these discussions and to prejudice the public perception of the tome of the meeting,” he said.
Minister Singh said that he can hardly imagine why the Opposition are claiming that the Budget talk meetings are lukewarm when they were anxious to know when the next meeting will be and have asked several questions, which government has undertook to reply. “This reeks of a lack of insincerity on the part of the opposition,” he said.
He also offered some idea of how the nature of the talks are proceeding. He said that the Opposition made a lot of suggestions, some specific, some extremely vague. “We have said to them that we will require an opportunity to discuss each of those suggestions in details and if the discussions are to be useful, a willingness to add more details to some of the vague suggestions,” he said.
Minister Singh said that government has also been advising the Opposition, with the objective of ensuring that the country does not make any dramatic deviation from the fiscal path in 2013; that for every major initiative that they suggest or introduce, that they accompany these with some discourse on how the initiatives will be financed.
“It is easy to suggest all sorts of things that require additional expenditure…but when one has the responsibility of considering the overall macro implication, one has to be more creative and ensure that they are accompanied by measures that will make them practicable,” Minister Singh said.
Budget 2013 to reflect continuity
Meanwhile, Minister Singh disclosed that Budget 2013 will continue to see Government operating in an environment of policy continuity and predictability. He said that there will be no major shocks, dislocation or deviation in what is to be presented.
Minister Singh said that Budget 2013 will continue emphasis on the preservation of macro-economic stability, one that will see continued real growth in Real Domestic Product (RDP). There will also be containment of inflation within acceptable norms, continued stability in exchange and interest rate, continuity in keeping the country’s indebtedness within sustained levels and preservation of external balances.
The country will also witness continuing emphasis on investment in physical infrastructure, social services, education, health, water, sanitation, and institution reform, diversifying and modernising the economy and implementing initiatives aimed at improving the competitive business environment and Guyana’s attractiveness as a destination for investment.
“Taken together, we anticipate the Budget will see continued strength in the Guyanese economy, and continued gains as it relates to quality of lives,” Minister Singh added.
