Budget 2024 positive, will benefit Guyanese; but has “room for improvements” – Dr Asha Kissoon

In throwing her support behind Government’s $1.146 trillion fiscal plan for this year, Dr Asha Kissoon has said the 2024 Budget has a lot of positives and benefits for Guyanese, but she believes there is room for improvements.
Dr Kissoon, representative of the one-seat Joinder Parties on the Opposition side, and also the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, on Friday delivered her presentation during the Budget Debates.
She commended the work of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic Government in bringing benefits to Guyana and its people in several sectors, and pointed to the Housing and Water sector in saying, “I am proud of Ministers [Susan] Rodrigues and [Collin] Croal for what they have done and demonstrated for the people of Guyana. Thousands of persons have homes, thousands of persons have access to financing for housing; it is a basic need that is met for the people of Guyana: shelter, water, potable water…
“The tremendous work that is being done must be acknowledged, and politics (ought to be) put aside,” she posited. Moreover, she lauded Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha for hitting the ground running from the inception in his quest to make Guyana the breadbasket of the Caribbean; something which she says Guyanese should also be proud of.
However, while she acknowledged the gains made by the Government and lauded some measures outlined in Budget 2024, Dr Kissoon contended that more could have been done, especially in relation to the national tax threshold and pension payments.
According to the Deputy Speaker, the increase of the threshold to $100,000 would benefit 13,000 Guyanese workers, but a significant number of public and private sector workers still would not reap the benefit this measure brings, and would still be subjected to paying 40 per cent of their income as PAYE (Pay As You Earn) tax.
“I do believe that, as a young person standing here, that there is room for improvement…because, as Guyana progresses, 40 per cent is still very high for us,” the MP stated.
While she went on to commend Government’s interventions to support elderly Guyanese, such as subsidized water and electricity, Dr Kissoon noted that the proposed $36,000 Old Age Pension in this year’s budget is not enough for pensioners.
“While there have been improvements (from the Opposition’s $17,000), there is still more room for improvement for our elderly. These are people who have worked their entire lives, and we must thank them. We must acknowledge also that not all pensioners have been Government workers. Not all of them will benefit from NIS (National Insurance Scheme) pension or Government pension. Most of them only collect the Old Age Pension,” she stressed.

GOAL scholarships
Dr Kissoon also commended Government’s efforts to grant more than 21,000 GOAL scholarships to Guyanese over the past three years. She noted that this is a tremendous initiative for the country in fostering academic growth, especially among young people.
“I sincerely love the fact that more is being invested into education, more is being done for young people, more is being done for the Guyanese people. Now the question comes, Mr Speaker: with these scholarships and education being offered, who is the backbone behind it? Our teachers!
“There are now more people to be taught. Our teachers have been compensated, with the senior teachers getting duty-free concessions, allowances, salary scale increases; but we must acknowledge, Mr Speaker, that majority of the teachers in the system are junior teachers – that is the largest percentage of our educators, who on average take home $90,000 per month. While I appreciate everything that is being done for our teachers, I’m suggesting that this be revised and our teachers be given more consideration, especially the junior teachers,” Dr Kissoon proposed.

Medical professionals
Similarly, in the health sector, she noted that more can be done for doctors. Currently serving in the public health system, Dr Kissoon welcomed the hefty investment in the sector as a “tremendous positive”, but pinpointed some of the challenges facing the public health system, including the loss of medical professionals.
“Let us not be ignorant of the fact that most of our medical professionals are leaving: our nurses, our doctors… As a doctor with colleagues who have left,(I know) it is not simply because there is better opportunity outside. Most of the times, Mr Speaker, it is because when they make a plea for the minimum to be done for them, it is met (with) deaf ears,” she contended.
“Doctors in the healthcare system, they work 16-hour shifts, 24-hour shifts, 26-hour shifts. Could this Honourable House even fathom that a doctor is being paid $4000 for working 16, 24 or 26 hours, which is taxed…?” she questioned.
“I am a doctor in the system; there is no overtime paid, and that is the rate. In the public health system, our salaries are not competitive on a level with the Caribbean. The doctors have made continuous pleas for this to be met. Mr Speaker, we acknowledge that there is much to be done…and consideration should be made for the points that I have raised,” Dr Kissoon implored.

Support
Despite these pleas, however, the Deputy Speaker threw her support behind Budget 2024, which she says will benefit the Guyanese populace.
“I am truly feeling positive about the 2024 Budget. It is well put together; it is comprehensive; it does cover all the crucial sectors. Is there room for improvements, Mr Speaker? Yes…I believe that we can stand united again in ensuring that the Guyanese people, all their needs are met with this 2024 Budget. I cannot reject the 2024 Budget, because the truth is that it does benefit the Guyanese people,” Dr Kissoon declared.