Jordan announces $25,000 bonus for lowest paid public servants only

…berates Private Sector, Chris Ram, Jagdeo over 2017 Budget criticism

Public servants earning less than $500,000 per month will be receiving a tax free $25,000 — the equivalent of US$117 (using current exchange rates) — this December as their Christmas bonus.

This announcement was made by Finance Minister Winston Jordan as he closed his rebuttal arguments to the debates on the 2017 National Estimates in the National Assembly on Friday.

According to Minister Jordan, the $25,000 is meant to ease the transition into the good life to be had, as a result of the way being paved in part through the Budget for 2017.

This means that the lowest paid category of Government workers alone will benefit from the bonus being paid out by Government for 2017, less than half of what was

demanded by the political Opposition in keeping with the annual tradition.

Jordan wrapped up his debate following presentations by the penultimate speaker, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, who was followed by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo. Nagamootoo in his presentation also launched an attack against the Opposition Leader, saying Jagdeo’s contribution was simply a ‘cuss out’ and ‘buse down’ before he ‘cut and run’ after preaching gloom and doom.

Berates Private Sector

In his two-hour rebuttal to the one week of debates in the National Assembly, the Finance Minister launched in an almost vitriolic tirade against those levelling criticisms against the 2017 Budget.

He singled out the Private Sector Commission (PSC) — the umbrella body for businesses in Guyana — the political Opposition and its leader, former President Bharrat Jagdeo, and eminent Chartered Accountant and member of the Government’s Tax Reform Committee, Christopher Ram, among others.

The PSC had been vociferous in its public outcries against many of the budgetary measures announced by Minster Jordan.

Signalling to his colleagues ahead of his rebuttal in the House that the proverbial ‘gloves are coming off’, Minister Jordan firstly lashed out at those who had criticised the early presentation of the 2017 Budget and the Private Sector, which he accused of picking up the mantle to criticise what was termed the haste in presenting the estimates.

On the matter of consultations ahead of the Budget, the Minister insisted that his policy is that of an open door, and that interested parties did not have to wait until budget time to present a wish list.

Don’t come to me

He referred to the Budget demands as a wish list, since according to Jordan many of the stakeholders will not present their proposals with accompanying analysis.

According to Jordan, all and sundry are seemingly only interested in what concessions can be had, something he is not in favour of.

“Everybody wants concession but they never tell you how much more jobs will be

created,” or taxes to be paid, according to Jordan, saying the process is “not a numbers game, this is serious business and everybody knows like prices, concessions are sticky, once you give them it is difficult to take it back.”

It was at this point during his presentation to the Government members in the House — since the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) members had left the proceedings — the Finance Minister recalled, “I told the Private Sector since last year don’t come to me for concessions… Don’t come to me for concessions, I don’t believe in concessions.”

According to Jordan, concessions are sought by those only with sectional interest. Instead, he insisted on a “tax code that is uniformed and uniformly applied.”

Repeatedly singling out the PSC for criticism, the Minister said there were already provisions in the laws for concessions and still there are demands so “how can you take such people seriously?”

The Minister continued his tirade against the Private Sector Commission and recalled that during a recent function hosted by the Guyana Manufacturers and Services Association (GMSA), he was forced to use as example a foreign investor.

Concessions

He drew reference to Barbadian… Simpson, and his investment in the Rupununi on the Santa Fe Mega Farm.

Jordan said to the House that the Barbadian investor is not a member of the PSC and “he don’t come bother us for concession, he want more land.”

He told the House that the investor was actively engaged in the planting of rice and is looking to move into large-scale cattle rearing. He suggested the PSC should take a proverbial page from the book of the Barbadian investor.

According to the Minister, while those on the local front are complaining, there are many overseas interest actively lining up to sink investments in Guyana, before bellowing “What is wrong with our local Private Sector… Every day you open the (news)paper is something about Jordan, something about the Government.”

Other people are interested in Guyana, Jordan signalled to the private sector, warning that persons could very well come to wake up “five years from now, (and) other people would have taken over the country, while the private sector would be complaining to Government.”

The Minister told the House that the reality is that Government is in fact trying to tell the private sector, “We want to work with you.”

Jordan acknowledged the private sector as an important partner in the development of Guyana but cautioned that the partnership can’t be one-sided, “show me your card and I will show you mine… it can’t be sleight-of-hand.”

The Finance Minister, in what can be perceived as a direct plea to the Guyanese populace listening to the presentations and debates said: “These aren’t people to be trusted, just as how you didn’t trust them in May 2015, they still up to their own ways, they are not to be trusted.”

According to Jordan, the arguments were in fact just a litany of feeble attempts.

Dismissing as ‘cult-like manner,’ Jordan recalled the persistent calls by the Opposition to withdraw the Budget.

He dismissed the pleas as “nonsense” and accused the Opposition of seeking to wield power through the backdoor, in their calls to have the executive withdraw its budget.

Isolation

The Finance Minister in defending the budgetary measures proposed, said that they cannot be taken into isolation. Jordan in fact insisted that Government is projecting losses in the vicinity of $10 billion as a result of the measures.

According to Jordan, the tax measures are an important sacrifice to make in the paradigm shift contemplated by Government.

He pointed to measures such as the further empowering of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) to go after tax cheats and ensure laws of the country are enforced

According to Jordan, Government would have been able to do more to alleviate the plight of Guyanese, such as further decreasing in the income tax rates: “We would have loved to do more,” Jordan said, but lamented the state of the world economy along with that of Guyana’s and told the House, “at least we show intent.” (Gary Eleazar)