Another early budget and its dire consequences

Dear Editor,
If one should take an in-depth look at the history and development of Guyana, one must take into consideration the economic conduct of its Finance Minister. It is the heart of the solution and success of any country if the work of its Finance Minister is economically sound and futuristic in orientation. It is the only way any Third World country – Guyana in particular – can grow or develop. Conversely, if that Finance Minister is slothful and indolent, the entire nation would suffer; such is the situation here at home in our South American Republic.
Guyana has so far had 31 years of PNC Government management here, and a period of “total control” of our economic affairs. Those years have seen a decimation of everything progressive, and an accentuation of things regressive, thanks to the workings of its Finance Ministry. A name that readily comes to mind when you enter into a discussion of this nature is Carl Greenidge. He held that office for ten (10) long years. Greenidge presented several budgets during his tenure, with no auditor’s report. We are talking about at least ten times of national budgetary performances with no public accountability whatsoever.
The current Finance Minister is the worst we have seen in a long time.
Since taking office in 2015, the country has seen economic slide wherein this country is on a downward trend with no point of return. It is a backwardness that is beyond comprehension.
Finance Minister Jordan has announced plans to present an early budget. This is no new phenomenon when it comes to this Finance Minister; he is known to have presented early budgets as well as several supplementary budgets, all leading up to the backward trajectory of this country. For this reason, successful former Finance Minister and President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, has raised the red flag of caution to this nation. He rightfully asserts that presenting an early budget is fraught with danger, because it creates two major problems. The first problem is that monies that are received or monies that will be spent between that time and the time of the new financial year cannot be accounted for. In this instance, the intervening period can be as much as seven (7) months.
The first point to note is that whatever budget Jordan would be presenting would not be authentic or based on real figures, because there cannot be any comparison between what was earned or spent and what exists at the current time.
Then there is the added aggravation of the Opposition not being given enough time, or none at all, to discuss the income and expenditure processes. I make mention of the last Parliament, when the elected members of the Opposition were shamefully barred from questioning any spending of the Government. Looking at the present scenario, I see this Parliament being a repeat performance of the last.
I must hasten to a close, but let me say this: what we will see in Jordan’s early budget is another empty, high sounding, superfluous fluff of oil and its alleged contribution to this economy; and of course the “good life”, which is supposedly out there in his elusive dream world.

Sincerely,
Neil Adams