Ramotar fires back on Budget cuts … says callous Opposition refused Govt. proposals
President Donald Ramotar
Heartless, irresponsible and poisonous were among Head of State Donald Ramotar’s choice words as he delivered his address to the nation last evening in reaction to the $21B slashed out of the 2012 Budget.
Ramotar, in his address to the nation, which was broadcast live on NCN said bluntly, “I want to assure all Guyana that the steps and decisions my Government takes in the coming period will be guided by the national interest and commitment to the well-being of the people of this country…I am confident that we will overcome the present setback.”
Some saw this statement as a hint that general elections are not too far off.
Firing back at the Opposition and speaking directly to the cuts Ramotar said that the $192.8B budget presented by the administration was carefully crafted to lift the quality of life in Guyana and that these cuts appear to be motivated to undermine progress in our country.
“The implications of the cuts are wide ranging,” according to Ramotar who said that in the first instance the cuts could result in many people losing their jobs.
“This (the cut) will place new burdens on these persons, many of whom are the breadwinners of their families… In this regard the cuts are heartless.”
He said, too, that the cuts threaten the financing of the many transformative projects which were intended to boost economic growth.
The president said, “Through these poisonous acts, the Opposition seems determined to slow down and eventually halt the impressive growth taking place under the PPP/Civic Government.”
He said that using the dictatorship of one which they have in Parliament they want to stymie further progress obviously in the hope that if they can stop the development of our country they would advance their political mission which is to take power, even if it is at the expense of ordinary Guyanese well-being…
“This is most reckless and irresponsible and reflects the undemocratic nature of APNU, a creature of the PNCR, and the AFC which is led by bitter men obsessed with achieving personal power.”
Ramotar said, “They have done this foul deed after we had several meetings over six days during which the government provided exhaustive answers to all their concerns and offered reasonable responses to their demands.”
Speaking directly to the demands of the opposition which its leaders have been saying were ignored by the President, he said, “We demonstrated goodwill from the beginning in increasing the old age pension to $10,000 per month… That alone would cost the treasury more than one billion dollars…
“We agreed on a package of measures to assist the citizens of Linden where we agreed to implement a phased reduction in subsidies which would see the citizens of that mining community paying only a half of the tariff which the rest of the country is paying.”
Ramotar commented on the Value Added Tax (VAT) which the Combined Opposition suggested should be reduced by at least two per cent.
“We told them that we believed that a study was needed before any action was taken.”
The President said that the administration indicated “that we were willing to sit with them to agree on extending the list of zero- rated items….This we believe is a more targeted way to assist persons considered to be low income earners.”
Reducing the toll for the Berbice Bridge was another on the list of demands for the Opposition Ramotar said, “We pointed out that the company, BBCI running that entity was a private company….We pointed out that some very important public institutions had invested in the bridge, including the NIS and New Building Society.”
The president said that the Office of the President delegation deliberated with the opposition on how the fees were arrived at. “They were advised also that we were putting back a ferry to cross the river to correct the disadvantage that school children and workers in the Rosignol and West Bank Berbice may experience since the bridge became operational…
“Moreover, we asked them to consider the implications for investors in our country were we to do what they demanded -to nationalize the Bridge and make it a state company. We told them that that would put us in a bad position since we had agreed with the investors on a rate of return and that the bridge will become government owned after twenty years of operation.
“This too they rejected.”
The President for the first time broke silence on an agreement to the creation of a Depressed Community Fund and proposed its funding of over $2B dollars for 2012 through an allocation of 1 per cent of VAT revenue collections in 2011.
“We have been open and frank at all times with the Opposition….the combined Opposition has conspired and ended up retarding the development taking place…By putting workers on the breadline, they have demonstrated a callous and mean-spirited attitude.”
He said that the inexplicable and unfathomable cuts instituted by the opposition to “our National Budget constitute an ominous threat to the livelihood of Guyanese and to future generations.” Ramotar was adamant that reductions in the Budgeted provisions “assail not just workers rights but also threaten to reverse the gains which our people, through hard work and sacrifice, have earned over the years.”
The President did however assure that the door to dialogue has not been closed. “My faith in dialogue remains undiminished.”
He said that he still holds the view that dialogue with all Guyanese, including the political parties, is the best way to narrow differences and find consensus but warned that “dialogue cannot be constructive or productive when the other side is intransigent or adopt an all or nothing posture.”
They don't need to rig!!
