Irfaan..firing away.

Irfaan Ali schools Minister Jordan on economics 

Budget debate 2015

– asserts APNU/AFC Govt’s “corruption”, “dishonesty”

By Michael Younge

Former Housing and Water Minister Irfaan Ali delivered what can be described as a ‘masterful if not fiery’ presentation on Monday while schooling newly-appointed Finance Minister Winston Jordan on economics and basic mathematics as the 2015 Budget debate got underway.

Ali, representing the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and speaking first during the debate at theseventh sitting, exposed what appeared to be “dishonesty” and recent corrupt undertakings of the new A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition Government which came to power back in May this year.

He started his presentation on a high note by expressing the PPP/C’s appreciation of the hard work, dedication and support shown by the country’s public servants and scores of young professionals during the Party’s tenure in office which aided in fast tacking Guyana’s overall development and growth.

Ali said the PPP/C wanted to record its concern during the Budget debate over the mass firings and dismissals that have been taking place across the country, as it was shocked that following the recent election, a new Government could undertake such partisan, politically motivated and ethnically-biased actions.

“The recent elections remind us how fragile democracy is,” he noted, explaining that his presentation on Budget 2015 was being made even as the PPP/C is holding out that it was cheated at the polls. Ali contended that if indeed democracy held sway, there would have been no objections to calls for recounts of ballots cast as this would further validate the results of the elections and inspire higher levels of confidence in the election machinery and the right of the new Government to govern.

 “The foundation on which you stand is questionable, confidence in you and trust in you is difficult,” Ali told the Government as he warned that the PPP/C will nonetheless continue to represent the people of the country.

 Taking his first jab at the Finance Minister during his presentation, Ali said he was shocked by the Minister’s post-electoral rhetoric on the State of the economy arguing that he has inherited a vastly developed Guyana which recorded nine years of continuous economic growth made possible by the PPP/C.

 “Winston Jordan must have learnt something under the leadership of Dr Ashni Singh,” he offered before questioning the current posture and actions of the Minister. Ali told Parliament that shockingly in just two months, the new Government has taken away over $1 billion of development from the Amerindian villages across the country, thousands of jobs and some basic aspirations of Guyanese people.

He said the new Budget, presented under the theme, “A fresh start to a good life in a green economy”, failed to address the issues of Private Sector confidence and the need for more domestic and foreign inflows and investments if any good life is to be achieved.

 He said a “good life” could not be achieved as the Budget was presented against the backdrop of workers in the bauxite industry being retrenched, a decreasing oil price without savings being passed on to consumers or any reduction in the tariffs, the absence of specialised health care, and a reduction of investments in almost every single administrative region except for Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).

Government Members of Parliament (MPs) started heckling immediately, but Ali skewered the actions of the new Government as he pointed out its subtle move to reduce capital estimates and spending in all of the regions that the PPP/C chaired which it won at the last elections by at least $800 million. He said the new Government had reduced the agricultural allocations in the Budget, cutting some $81 million of spending on this area primarily in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) which were won by the PPP/C.

He was concerned that the move now deprived these regions of important resources to keep them moving along the development trajectory and lambasted the new Government over its treatment of the country’s hallmark Low Carbon Development Strategy which he claimed was “laid aside”.

Ali added that there was “a lot of fluff in 2015 budget”, but no policy formulation to “give meat” to the statements made by the new Government. He urged it to continue to consult the PPP/C’s manifesto if it was interested in crafting a proper plan to take Guyana forward.

“Use this document and serve the people of Guyana,” he said as his colleagues nodded their heads in agreement.

Bankruptcy claims

At this point, the Government members burst into heckling and interrupted Ali until his presentation was completed.

The PPP/C MP also rebutted allegations made by the Finance Minister that the country was bankrupt as he contended that the statistics and financial figures presented by the Minister contradicted his own rhetoric.

 “The Minister is a visionary…..By the time he is finished, I am sure the economy will be bankrupt…he is a good visionary,” Ali said to smirks from both sides of the House. He contended that the economy grew by 300 per cent over the last couple of years under the PPP/C.

He said that it was not surprising that the Government may want to mislead the country as monies could be “earmarked for questionable projects or they have no idea of the financial status of the economy”.

Rice, investments

The former Housing Minister also called on the new Government to honour the pledge it made to deliver $9000 per bag of paddy along with the $23 billion in subsidies. Ali hinted that the PPP/C was aware that there was no real subsidy for rice farmers and attempts were being made by the Government to source the money through another mechanism.

“Where is the $23 billion … should the negotiations fall through … we will hold the Government responsible,” he warned.

He also called for the immediate establishment of a national paddy price system, while urging the Government to ensure that it maintained rice production above 600, 000 tonnes as well as continue to improve paddy yields and value-added processes.

The PPP/C Executive said that there were no new projects in Budget 2015 except for those initiated by the previous Government. He said the PPP/C wanted the Government to return the subsidies to the pensioners which amounted to $500 million, while immediately ensuring that the sugar industry received $20 billion to assist it in making a rebound.

He called on the coalition to also double the monies received by Old Age Pensioners as it had promised to do while on the campaign trail.

Additionally, the former Minister said that something was wrong with the new Finance Minister’s math ability as he did not give out increases that would benefit the poor in a big way as he said he did, but rather public servants who earn more will make 300 per cent more than other lower paid public servants.

Audits

Ali also waded in to condemn the new Government for the manner in which it went about conducting and recruiting auditors and forensic audits explaining that contracts were awarded without any levels of transparency or accountability.

“The illegal transfers to the auditors …no advertisement…no tender process…no examination of the qualifications,” he said, was something that would not sit well with the new Opposition in Parliament.

Young Ramson challenges Gov’t on youth involvement in Cabinet, Budget

http://guyanachronicle.com/der...t-in-cabinet-budget/

August 18, 2015

NEWLY sworn parliamentarian for the Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Charles Ramson Jr, has come out to blaze the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition Government for what he calls the side-lining of youth after the party won the May 11 election. Ramson, a young lawyer and son of former Attorney General Charles Ramson Sr, in his debut address to the National Assembly yesterday, said the now Government “rode the wave of youth to the seat of power”, but he questioned their actions toward youth in the coalition Government’s Cabinet and the budget currently being debated in the National Assembly

Ramson challenged the decision of the David Granger Administration to absorb what was formerly the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport into what is now the Ministry of Education with a Department of Culture, Youth and Sport.
The Ministries of Education, and Culture, Youth, and Sport were treated separately, but have now been merged into one with Education Minister Dr Rupert Roopnaraine at the helm.
“First the APNU+AFC Government relegated and demoted the Ministry of Youth into a subsumed, subordinate positon and a programme of the Ministry of Education,” Ramson said, adding that his party believes there should be a Youth Minister and that young people “should occupy the seats of power in all spheres of the state.”
“The absence of youth representation from the coalition Government MPs and the Cabinet is unconstitutional,” Ramson said before the House as the Government side erupted in laughter. “You laugh at the youth but the next election, the youth will be laughing at you because they will be saying good-bye and good riddance,” Ramson charged.
Ramson believes the budget should have been guided by and focused on youth. He went on to cite Article 28 of the Constitution which speaks to the right of young people to “responsible participation” in Guyana’s development. “Leaving us out of Government and Cabinet does exactly the opposite.”
The young MP went on to challenge the idea of a draft youth policy mentioned vaguely in Finance Minister Winston Jordan’s budget speech recently. “We deserve more than two measly paragraphs in your budget presentation, and more than just platitudinal statements about a draft youth policy.”
Citing allocations in the 2015 budget, Ramson said only some $100M had been allocated for youth, compared to the then PPP/C Government in 2014 which budgeted $535M for current expenditure and $961M for capital expenditure.
Ramson’s remarks did not sit well with Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings. Dr Cummings, who spoke directly after Ramson, challenged that in 23 years of Government, there was an increase in youth unemployment by some 40 percent under the former PPP/C.
Cummings was challenged to produce the report where the information could be found. She cited the presentation of the Finance Minister.
A study from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) titled “Youth are our future: The Imperative of Youth Employment for Sustainable Development” placed Guyana’s youth unemployment as hovering around the 40 percent mark.
Cummings went on to challenge the lack of the former PPP/C Government to implement a national youth policy, and she said a draft of such a policy was done in less than 100 days of the APNU+AFC Government.
Former Culture, Youth and Sport Minister under the PPP/C Government, Dr Frank Anthony, attempted to challenge Cummings on the floor but was barred by the Speaker for not having grounds for interrupting Dr Cummings’ presentation.
Another PPP MP, Vishwa Mahadeo, speaking during his debut address to the National Assembly, corrected Dr Cummings that the country’s first youth policy was completed in 1993, and that the youth policy now referred to in Cumming’s address was commenced under the PPP/C Administration.
The APNU+AFC coalition Government has taken criticism for the lack of youth representation in their list of representatives for the 11th Parliament. The only youth in the 33 seats of the APNU+AFC is Member of Parliament Jermaine Figueira.
Notables youth MPs from the 10th Parliament between 2011 to 2015 like Vanessa Kissoon, Christopher Jones, and James Bond from the APNU, as well as Trevor Williams from the AFC were not given place in the 11th Parliament.

(Derwayne Wills )

Young Ramson challenges Gov’t 

Where does the PPP find these dunces from? The man can't even pronounce battalions and he's representing them in parliament. What did he just say?

"When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions". 

https://www.facebook.com/muffm...s/10206150182545620/

sounds like bantilions,

i have a software can record streaming,will record some clips.

bump

dem on again

jagdeo on

dem people sitting down there all day does look so bored. I have been looking at this stream on and off several times a day, it is boring rass and many of the ministers are not there

Nothing to do and the entire day to do it.