Opposition budget presentations lack content- Dr. V. Persaud
Georgetown, GINA, April 11, 2012
As the 2012 National budget debate continued today, Member of Parliament from the government’s side Dr. Vindya Persaud during her debut presentation in the National Assembly expressed her disappointment with the presentations made thus far by the opposition as their speeches were bereft of content.
Dr. Persaud in quoting Moses Nagamootoo’s 1995 speech, said ‘ let not your words be empty but your hearts be filled with compassion for the people of Guyana and work together to make the debate meaningful that will work for the welfare and prosperity of the people’.
PPP/C Member of Parliament Dr. Vindya Persaud during her presentation on day two of the 2012 Budget debate
“This Budget is not empty words but a rational review of the development of the country and where we are going,” Dr. Persaud said.
In her rebuttal of remarks made by opposition spokesman on finance, former Finance Minister under the PNC, Carl Greenidge on accountability, she said that he has a dismal record in that area.
“I feel tall that the PPP/C government changed that trend…this government ensured that the country’s finances were subjected to auditing and presenting within the statutory limits of the constitution…the crafting of this budget amidst international and domestic vicissitudes to reflect a decrease in international debt and a growth in key sectors is a reflection of judicious management of the finances of this country by the current administration,” Dr. Persaud said.
In addressing remarks penned in Greenidge’s 1988 budget presentation which read “one of the most glaring consequences of our prolonged physical crisis has been our inability to maintain social and economic infrastructure’, she said that under the PNC regime which Greenidge served as Finance Minister, Guyana was dubbed as the poorest country of the hemisphere, however today, the PPP/C government has reversed this trend and has moved Guyana forward.
A section of the House on Day Two of the 2012 Budget debate
“I have no intention on harping on the past but move you forward to the current level of development…young people are now given every opportunity to give expression to their talent and skill in any field of human endeavour…the world is travelling at a fast past in the evolution of technology, youth are definitely being encouraged to move with the times…the government’s visionary Information Communication Technology sector was not derived in isolation…one can see the link between the sector and the provision of resources, training and the provision of jobs,” the MP said.
She added that government’s ICT Technology has outstripped that in the Caribbean as it understands the need for young people to be technically aufait as such its One Laptop Per Family initiative, provides young people with the opportunity of acquiring the necessary skills to face the fast paced global world changes. Young people are being trained by the opposition to depend on handouts but rather the current administration will be equipping them with skills through programmes such as the Youth Entrepreneurial Skills Training Programme which would cause them to de independent.
Responding to MP John Adams’ claim that government has turned a blind eye to the development of education for Region Three, Dr. Persaud said that the wise investments made by government have realised decentralized access to quality education which now allows students admittance to education in their communities.
“The multi-pronged approach and thrust to carve out young minds in and out of school, improving their academic credentials and providing them with the tools to access education at every level is now available to every Guyanese be it from the rural, urban or the hinterland communities…more schools populate Guyana…there is obvious rehabilitation going on in schools, there is development of facilities conducive to learning, there is improvement in scientific equipment necessary for academic prowess…in the hinterland there are a number of schools which have increased along with the number of students…the Paramakatoi secondary now holds more than 700 students, Santa Rosa now holds more than 300 students and a new Secondary school will be built in Kato,” she said.
Region Three recently benefitted from two new investments which will serve to tremendously boost the education sector, as a secondary school was opened in Leonora along with a Technical and Vocational Training Centre.
“That is what the government is all about, universal access and opportunity and catering for the wellbeing of every single Guyanese…the generous allocation of $26.5B is not only an investment in our youth but a legacy that will not be forgotten,” Dr. Persaud said.
She added that the previous debaters made presentations that give one the impression that things were done when this is not so.
“I am not going to say that everything has been done…if you were true to yourself you would admit that things have been done…things continue to happen and will continue to happen if we can work together for the future of Guyana and our people,” Dr. Persaud said.
Rebutting APNU’s Dr. George Norton’s presentation where he discredited the HPV vaccine, Dr. Persaud said that the doctor has presented the country with half truths and distortions.
“I want to let him know that as a female and a doctor I disagree with his standpoint on the HPC Vaccine. I would hate to tell my daughter and countless of young women in the future when they reach in their 30s that they are having cervical cancer because this has been stopped, if you look at the authoritative website and literature you will see the Council for Disease Centre, PAHO and WHO listing the benefits of the HPV Vaccine and the one currently being administered in Guyana…cervical cancer is the leading cause of death for women in Guyana…in the future I would hope that Dr. Norton be fully equipped with information to present the people of this country with responsible dissemination,” Dr. Persaud said.
With respect to APNU’s Vanessa Kissoon’s statement that nurses in Linden are forced to work in deplorable conditions and long hours, moreso the hospital is a white elephant and ill equipped, Dr. Persaud said ,“don’t ‘diss’ those people who work at the hospital”.
“They told me this morning that they provide as many services in that hospital as the Georgetown Hospital…they are proud of what they do,” she said.
