$5B set aside for cost of living assistance yet to be spent – Jagdeo

The $5 billion set aside in Budget 2023 for the alleviation of the high cost of living affecting citizens is yet to be spent, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo revealed on Thursday.
“We’ve not spent the $5 billion that we’ve set aside this year for assistance on cost of living measure as yet,” he told a press conference.
However, he highlighted that Government has already made a number of interventions aimed at addressing the burdens faced by locals since 2020 to date.
“Electricity is a huge component of the high cost of living; electricity prices. We kept water and electricity prices constant. We then reduced in the period when freight had gone from $3500 to $20,000 per container to ship from China. We still use the $3500 for the purpose of calculating the taxes,” he stated.
The excise tax on fuel was also reduced on several occasions in light of the rampant rise in fuel prices.
He also pointed to the steel and cement subsidy programme for persons building their houses. Thousands of persons have also gained employment through the Government’s part-time job initiative.
The “Because We Care” cash grant has also been increased to $40,000.
In fact, the Vice President highlighted that other countries have had worse spikes in their cost of living, and less governmental interventions when compared to Guyana.
“The cost of living has skyrocketed in Trinidad and Tobago, it has skyrocketed in Venezuela; in Suriname, it’s unbelievably, in the US, etc. So, cost of living increases has been observed throughout the world, higher than in Guyana,” he asserted.
Meanwhile, Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh told the National Assembly on Thursday last that the spending of the $5 billion will be done before the fiscal year ends.
“Interventions will be implemented during the course of the current fiscal year and certain before the end of the fiscal year,” he said, noting that once Government determines what interventions to make, it will be announced to the public through traditional methods.
Minister Singh was at the time responding to questions asked by Opposition Parliamentarian Annette Ferguson.
He explained that during Budget 2023, Government stated very clearly that the “utilisation and application of this sum of $5 billion provided for in the budget will emerge from ongoing community engagements given in particular our recognition that the impact of global developments on the domestic economy as it relates to the cost of items is an ongoing and evolving situation.”
He reminded that, “every day…our President and our Ministers are engaged in consultations in communities throughout the length and breadth of this country, and we said very clearly at the time of the budget that the application of these resources will emerge from ongoing community engagements and from our assessment of the evolving global and domestic economic situation.”
Meanwhile, some $5.5 billion was also set aside in 2022 for interventions aimed at easing the burden of the rising cost of living. (G11)