On Monday last, Finance Minister Winston Jordan present the Government’s 2018 National Budget under the theme “the journey to the good life continues”. As expected, Minister Jordan was convinced that the budget he presented would significantly improve the lives of all Guyanese since it was big on measures which his Government felt were necessary to keep the economy from going under, whilst expending revenue in core areas that will no doubt affect the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals. Jordan and his colleagues in Parliament and Government felt they had done a very good job. They no doubt believed that a majority of the citizenry and the country’s key stakeholders, including the Private Sector, were motivated and inspired by the ‘people centred and business friendly budget’ the PNC/APNU and AFC had presented. Soon after they jumped into their multimillion-dollar vehicles in order to return to fancy offices paid for by the State and their exquisitely styled homes to enjoy the “good life” they have secured for themselves since assuming office in May 2015.
But if Mr Jordan is interested in a more truthful and realistic assessment of the job he did on Monday, then he must either read this column or listen to the very just criticisms put forward by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and his colleagues following his presentation of the budget. It would also be helpful for the Minister to pay keen attention to the statements made by the Private Sector, independent media houses – Guyana Chronicle aside – and the ordinary man in the street.
Here are my two cents. The budget, as presented, is uninspiring and unimaginative to say the least. It is anti-poor, anti-working class and anti-people. One would have thought that the Minister would have done his homework and research on what should be contained in a people and business centred budget in order to strike a balance. Instead, the Minister went to Parliament to present a hastily put together document which simply is incoherent at certain points and unrealistic at others.
The 2018 Budget is as broad in its scope in areas where it should have had specific figures and clearly outlined policy and legislative attainable outcomes. It is minute and detailed on other matters which did not require focus or the added attention. Also, Minister Jordan’s budget thrives on a plethora of projects, initiatives and programmes conceptualised and initiated by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) while it was in office. But he continues to tout them as if they were designed by the thinkers – how ever few – in the coalition Government.
If one looks closer and past the Minister’s rhetoric, one would notice that the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition is suffering from a bankruptcy of ideas about how to turn the fortunes of the economy around in order to accelerate growth and development – and this is clear as day when one looks at the micro and macroeconomic figures in Budget 2018. None of the GDP targets were achieved; sugar continues to decline at an unprecedented pace while the rice industry has lost its buoyancy; inflation is projected to increase to 2.5 per cent while direct foreign investment is on the decline; billions more are to be used to fund the work of various commissions, committees and similar groupings to conduct inquires, research and studies without ensuring value for money and in some other cases failing to act on the findings; and the budget fails to address how the Government plans to tackle the notion of constitutional reform.
None of the measures outlined by Minister Jordan will bring immediate relief to the poor and struggling families in every administrative region of this country. Aside from his announcement that the Value Added Tax on private education would be removed after they were forced to do so by the masses and lobbyists, the budget has thrown bones to the pensioners and Guyanese living on public assistance by way of a $500 increase. While this in itself is shameful considering that promises made by the APNU/AFC coalition to ensure that pensioners live comfortably, it does not beat the removal of all of the other water and housing subsidies they once enjoyed under the PPP.
Interestingly, there is no serious proposal contained in Budget 2018 that is dedicated to the direct reduction of unemployment in Guyana, despite the last census pegged the figure at 12.5 per cent. It appears that Guyanese will have to be content with seasonal employment and the spin off effects of construction projects here and there. Interestingly, however, is the Minister’s decision to restrain himself from announcing any new taxes. While that is a good move, he also failed to withdraw some of the most controversial ones introduced in the last two years.
Guyanese expected a ‘bread and butter budget’ that would tackle the real issues affecting their livelihoods. That budget would contain measures that could see a massive decline in the gap between the rich and the poor because it would also reduce the inequity in wealth distribution and severe poverty. Such a budget would also see the money garnered from the school of taxes introduced by the Government spent to fund threshold increases. It would see the further adjustment of the minimum wage and a strong legislative agenda aimed at improving the justice sector. It would be youth friendly.
Today, Guyana is further than it ever was in the last two decades from securing the ‘good life’ for its citizenry. And so, Minister Jordan was correct when he said the journey continues. Perhaps he should consider the “voyage on a slow boat to progress continues” for next year’s theme.
