NO EXCUSE!
March 19, 2016 | By KNews | Filed Under Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom, http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....016/03/19/no-excuse/
The IMF report on Guyana indicates clearly that the APNU+AFC government inherited a very strong economy. It also confirms that the Budget deficit has been reduced.
The IMF which is very rigorous in its examination of the economy has not disputed the growth rates of the economy but it has questioned whether the 4.4% increase in GDP this year is realistic.
It has also, cautioned, as it has always done, for the government not to increase the wages bill. It has not said that significant increases cannot be paid. It has voiced its usual philosophical position that the growth in wages should be constrained.
Guyana is not in a fund programme and is not likely to be in one ever again and therefore the IMF report is merely of academic interest. The government is not bound to follow any of that advice. It is however morally committed to honouring its campaign promises to the electorate.
The IMF report presents a good report on the health of the economy.
Therefore, why cannot the government honour its promises to pay ‘‘significant” salary increases to public sector workers? The state of the economy cannot be the excuse why these increases cannot be paid because the economy is on a firm footing.
Yet the government continues to insist that large increases cannot be paid. How come it did not know this when it was campaigning for the elections and promised workers a significant increase in salaries and a reduction in VAT, none of which has happened?
The top officials of the government demonstrated their near perfect understanding of democracy when they gave themselves a fat increase of 50% but asked the rest of the public service to wait until a commission of inquiry has completed its work before making a decision on how much will be paid.
The report of that Commission of Inquiry has not yet been made public.
Yet, the government is about to enter into negotiations with the unions that represent public workers. Why the rush now? Why not await the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry and use that as the basis for determining what the various categories of workers will be paid.
The answer to where the monies will come from to fund massive salary increases needs to be provided. The money can be found easily.
Firstly, there is nothing wrong with running a higher deficit. The deficit is now extremely low and the government can easily increase that to finance increased wages. The money can be found.
Secondly, GPL each year absorbed a huge chunk in subventions to subsidize electricity. With the huge reductions in the acquisition cost of fuel, GPL should no longer have any need for the billions in subventions it receives each year.
The government should plough these resources back into the Budget to pay workers the significant increases promised.
Thirdly, the government indicated that it was going to withdraw in phased manner more than sixty billion dollars that government has tied up in the banking system. The government can use some of this money to pay workers their increases.
Fourthly, the government can find the resources from within the Budget to finance increases. The money is there. If the fat is cut out of government, if some of the perquisites of office are reduced, if the waste of public expenditure is reduced, the the money can be found. The school uniform programme, for example, benefits both rich and poor students. If that programme is more selective, then a huge fortune can be saved to plough back into increased wages.
The time for making excuses is over. The government has been in power for three quarters of a year. It is time to deliver on promises not make excuses.