David Granger on the 2014 Budget

This Budget is dangerously dividing Guyana into two nations Granger It is not for workers, it is not for the young, it is not for the aged, it is anti-poor, antipeople and anti-progress, it is driven by politics, not economics, Granger. Kaieteur News, April 9, 2014 The Budget, despite its promise A better Guyana for all Guyanese is more likely to degenerate into a bitter Guyana for most GuyaneseThis Budget is dangerously dividing Guyana into two nations. It is creating an East-West divide that separates everything West of the Essequibo River from what lies to the East. Those were the words of Leader of the Political Opposition, Brigadier (rtd) David Granger, who was the final speaker at the western end of the chambers to make a presentation to the 2014 Budget debates. Granger in expanding on his charge that the Budget seeks to divide the nation used as examples the allocations for physical infrastructure. The roads to be repaired are mainly in the East Bank, West Coast, East Coast not in the rich gold and diamond mining areas. This Budget perpetuates the divergences, disparities and divisions which have hindered development in our country. The Opposition Leader was adamant that the hinterland underdevelopment crisis adumbrated by APNU Members of Parliament, will not correct itself. Granger charged that the Potaro-Siparuni Region, the Barima-Waini and Cuyuni-Mazaruni Regions to the north and the Rupununi Region to the South, might be the most picturesque parts of the country, but they are the poorest. He told the House that the hinterland communities do not need
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baubles, beads, toys and trinkets. The hinterland, like everywhere else, needs reliable services such as community-based solar and wind, water and electricity generation. According to Granger, the national budget must provide for regional administrative centres for places like Bartica, Mahdia, Mabaruma and Lethem and called for them to be quickly upgraded to township status with their own mayors and town councils. We must stop treating the hinterland as bush. Financial plan The Opposition leader in his presentation said that budget 2014 did nothing to inspire hope, and added that a bold budget was needed to move the country forward at a faster pace. Every budget is a plan, an economic plan, a financial plan It must be forward, not backward looking if it is to be of any value. He was adamant that a budget must have a clear vision, a projection of what needs to be done tomorrow to solve todays problems and the resources to achieve those objectivesIt is not a recapitulation of previous administrations. The Minister said that what the Budget did do is throw a few crumbs to schoolchildren and pensioners that might please some of the people some of the time. According to Granger, the Budget continues the neglect of youth education, employment and enterprise. The PPP spends like a drunken sailor on a lot of little projects like the Presidents Youth Choice Initiative and the Presidents Youth Award Republic of Guyana, Youth Enterprise and Apprenticeship Programme; National Training Programme for Youth Empowerment but it does not measure the impact of these schemes on careers and jobs for young graduates. What young people want are permanent institutions not ad hoc programmes. The Budget, according to Granger, must include real measures that provide work for more young people. The basic fact that all parties acknowledge about Budget 2014 is that there is little that it will, or can, change, for the mass of the young peopleYoung school leavers simply do not have the skills to equip many of them for the world of workThe economy simply is not providing employment opportunities for them, said Granger. Poverty The Opposition Leader conceded that Guyana, arguably, has never been wealthy, but the appearance of hordes of extremely poor, destitute, homeless persons and street children over the PPPCs two decades is a man-made catastrophe. Poverty is not an act of GodPoverty can be reduced and, perhaps, eventually eradicated, with good governance and sensible public policies. The Opposition Leader said that Budget 2014 will be measured by its public impact and APNU reserves its right to disagree with provisions which are not in the national interest. He said that there is no way the country can move forward with such a budget that continues to disregard the needs of the most important factor in national development, the people. Granger was adamant that the budget must be amended if the people are to enjoy a good life. APNU signals that it disagrees with certain measures which have been proposedWhen the questions are put, we shall exercise our constitutional right to express an agreement or disagreement, Granger asserted.

Anti-poor The House will from today and over the course of the next seven working days, resolve into a Committee of Supply and scrutinize each estimate line by line and the voting will begin. The Opposition Leader in his presentation to the 2014 debates was adamant that Budget 2014 is not a budget for the poor. It is not for workers, it is not for the young, it is not for the aged, it is anti-poor, anti-people and anti-progress, it is driven by politics, not economics, argued Granger. He said that the 2014 Budget re-emphasises the need to establish, as early as possible, a parliamentary Office of the Budget. We need to build a permanent institutionWe need to ensure that all sides of this National Assembly could comprehensively propose national measures needed for national development. According to the Opposition Leader, with the presentation of the 2014 Budget it is clear that the Minister of Finance must be given the information and insights that are so desperately deficient in Main Street (Finance Ministry). Granger maintained that the budget does not provide the resources to transform the beautiful rhetoric of the Finance Minister, when he spoke, into reality. Budget 2014 must be amended if people are to enjoy a good lifesays Opposition Leader David Granger Guyana Chronicle, April 8, 2014 LEADER of the Opposition in Parliament Mr. David Granger said last night that the 2014 Budget must be amended if the ordinary Guyanese is to ever enjoy a good life. Speaking at the end of the general debate on the 2014 Budget, Granger said that A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) disagreed with certain measures which have been proposed. He said, When the questions are put, we shall exercise our constitutional right to express agreement or disagreement. He called on the government to reduce the Value Added Tax, reduce income tax and generate jobs for school leavers. He said, We now have a new dispensation in which the APNU and Alliance For Change (AFC) can combine to save this budget. We must now work towards giving our people a good life. During a forty-five minute presentation, Granger observed that the National Assembly had met and deliberated upon a budget that avoided even one mention of the word poverty; or unemployment or emigration. He asked rhetorically: For which country has this budget been written? Whose budget is this? He maintained that no single person or party knows everything. He said, Budget 2014 re-emphasises the need to establish, as early as possible, a parliamentary Office of the Budget. We need to build a permanent institution. We need to ensure that all sides of this National Assembly could comprehensively propose national measures needed for national development. He said that government cannot exclude the majority side from contributing to the preparation of such an important measure as the budget. He said that APNU knows the micro-economic fundamentals such as stagnant wages, rampant cost-of-living increases and rising child-care costs by which people live every day.
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He said that it is only through the contribution of the majority side that the Executive can be made aware of the real situation on the ground affecting all of the people. He said that people want a budget that goes to the heart of the everyday issues that confront them one that does the greatest good for the greatest number. He maintained that the 2014 Budget, despite its promise A better Guyana for all Guyanese is more likely to degenerate into a bitter Guyana for most Guyanese. He said that there is no way the country can move forward with such a budget that continues to disregard the needs of the most important factor in national development the people! The National Assembly, he said has an obligation to provide the leadership to provide a better budget. It has a duty to design plans and strategies to overcome the economic, political and social challenges. It must forestall any folly that might prolong the nightmare of poverty that can lead us down the path of deeper destitution, he said. He said that the PPPCs Budget 2014 will be measured by its public impact, adding that a bold budget is needed to move the country forward at a faster pace. He reiterated: This Budget must be amended if the people are to enjoy a good life. By Clifford Stanley Granger says national interest to guide cuts Stabroek News, April 9, 2014 By Oluatoyin Alleyne APNU leader David Granger last evening gave notice of the main oppositions intention to withhold support for proposed spending that is not in the nations interest, while saying governments estimates in its $220B national budget do not cater for the poor, the workers, the young, the aged and is driven by politics and not economics. The PPP/Cs Budget 2014 will be measured by its public impact. APNU reserves its right to disagree with provisions which are not in the national interest, Granger, who is Leader of the Opposition, told the National Assembly last evening as he made the oppositions final presentation in the budget debates. However, Finance Minister Ashni Singh, who brought down the curtains on this years budget debates, expressed the hope that when the estimates are being considered we could rise above the business of brandishing these scissors just for the purpose. He said the government would approach the estimates in good faith and has no problem answering questions as it can withstand scrutiny and has never shied away from a question asked in the National Assembly. He said he was trusting that once all questions are answered, the opposition will see merit in the proposals contained in the estimates for 2014 and will vote resoundingly in the favour of the budget. Both APNU and AFC speakers have signalled their intention to cut proposed allocations throughout the debates despite a ruling by acting Chief Justice Ian Chang that the National Assembly may approve or disapprove the Finance Ministers estimates of expenditure, but has no power to change them by either reducing or increasing them. The power to amend may involve the power to approve. But a power to approve does not imply a power to amend, he wrote in his decision on a challenge to the cuts that was brought to the court by Attorney General Anil Nandlall over the 2012 cuts.

In the decision, which has since been appealed, Chang said it is the executive Ministers estimates and it is he who must amend them to obtain the Assemblys approval so that the Cabinet may recommend or consent to the presentation of an Appropriation Bill to the Assembly for passing for the purpose of charging those estimates to the Consolidated Fund. Granger last evening was adamant that there is no way the country can move forward with such a budget that continues to disregard the needs of the most important factor in national development the people. He also said that the National Assembly has an obligation to provide the leadership and a better budget. It has a duty to design plans and strategies to overcome the economic, political and social challenges. It most forestall any folly that might prolong the nightmare of poverty that can lead us down the path of deeper destitution, he argued. The opposition leader said that budget will be measured by its public impact and that it must be amended if the people are to enjoy a good life. A Partnership for National Unity signals that it disagrees with certain measures which have been proposed. When the questions are put, we shall exercise our constitutional right to express and agreement or disagreement, Granger warned. Granger and Singh were the last two speakers and they traded the terms same old PPP/C and same old PNC during their presentations, which saw the members from the two sides of the House joining in with chants of their own in support of their respective speaker. Singh said the PPP/C is happy to be its same old self as it has been providing a good life for Guyanese, but Granger pointed out that although the country has the same old PPP/C government, it now has a new dispensation in which the APNU and AFC can combine to save the budget. Granger highlighted the fact that the budget avoids mentioning the words poverty, unemployment of emigration, and he argued that it re-emphasises the need to establish a parliamentary office of budget as early as possible so as to ensure that all sides in the House could comprehensively propose measures needed for national development. No single person or party knows everything, he said, before listing all that partnership members have seen wrong during their visits to various communities around the country. Serious challenges The budget, according to Granger, does not furnish the funds to confront the serious challenges facing families, such as the unavailability of jobs for young school-leavers; the quality of education at the primary and secondary levels along the coastland and in the hinterland and at the university of Guyana; and the daily threat to citizens from crimes and diseases. He said the budget must be the means to stimulate, not frustrate growth and that in actual fact the budget before the National Assembly has evinced no inspiration, no imagination and no innovation. It does not, he argued, provide the resources to transform rhetoric into reality. Among the things he listed as requirements under the budget was the provision of resources to stop the contraband trade which distorts the countrys economy. It was this same trade, he said, which obliterated Port Kaituma last week when an illegal fuel boat exploded. In this regard, Granger pointed out that the Cabinet commissioned an inquiry in 2003 to investigate fuel smuggling as the then president would have announced that the state was losing $6B a year in unpaid duties alone. However, 11 years later, he noted, the country still has an explosive fuel-smuggling situation. On the issue of public security, Granger, a retired Brigadier and former national security adviser, said it would not correct itself. Narco-trafficking is the engine of growth that is driving this countrys high
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rates of money-laundering, gun-running, execution-murders and armed robberies. Violent crime is scaring foreign investors, driving away the educated lite, undermining economic growth and impeding social development, he argued. He also said that the lucrative narco-trade has spawned armed gangs which use their wealth to purchase political influence and suborn the security forces in order to protect their interests. And money-launderers associated with narcotics-traffickers, Granger said, also distort the domestic economy by pricing their goods and services below the market rates which undermine legitimate businesses. He further said that the hinterland could be a very lawless and dangerous place as banditry is rampant; contraband smuggling is commonplace; disease is prevalent; poverty is pervasive and education standards are lower than the rest of the country. Granger noted that the budget does not mention Guyanas Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, which was meant to be a mechanism through which the country could have crafted its own plan for poverty reduction and he suggested that it was indicative of the lack of government commitment to the disadvantaged. The budget seems to have abandoned the poor, he commented. The opposition leader said instead of fulfilling its themeA better Guyana for all Guyanesethe budget would disintegrate into a bitter Guyana for most Guyanese. He further warned of dangerously dividing Guyana into two nations; creating an east-west divide that separates everything west of the Essequibo River from what is to the east. An example of this, he said, is that the estimates are providing funds to repair roads mainly in the east bank, west coast, east coast and not in the rich gold and diamond mining areas. This budget perpetuates the divergences, disparities and divisions which have hindered development in our country, Granger said, while questioning whether it was deliberate or rather an acute case of Main Street myopia (a reference to the Finance Ministrys Main Street offices). He added that the hinterland communities do not need baubles, beads, toys and trinkets since handouts smother human initiative and extinguish enterprise. It needs, like every other part of the country, reliable services such as community-based solar and wind water and electricity-generation, he said. Granger also pointed out that the hinterlands mining, logging and tourism resources have been exploited for over a century and continue to enrich the national treasury, but its physical infrastructure is inadequate for such vast territory. Its small, scattered population is vulnerable to criminal violence, human trafficking and environmental hazard, Granger said. He added that while the country arguably has never been wealthy, the appearance of hordes of extremely poor, destitute, homeless persons and street children over the PPP/Cs two decades in office is a man-made catastrophe. Responsible policy Meanwhile, Minister Singh, in his presentation, said that the budget represents the latest installment of responsible policy by the PPP/C government. Whether it is the purchase of uniform for children of schools or the payment of a cash grant to parents; whether it is the construction of a new hospital; whether it is the construction of a fibre optic cable to attract investors to create new jobsthis government, sir, has demonstrated a track record of taking Guyana in the right direction, Singh said.
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He suggested that the proposed 2014 budget would continue to take the country in the right direction. Singh spent a significant portion of his presentation comparing the reality today with what came before the PPP/C assumed office in 1992. His focus on the past was so pronounced that it prompted the intervention of House Speaker Raphael Trotman at one point. But Dr Singh you have been dwelling for some time on the past. I believe we are dealing with the 2014 budget. So, at some time, we would expect you to go into the budget of 2014, Trotman was forced to remind the finance minister. Responding to Grangers statement that there are no jobs, Singh challenged that the Amaila Falls Hydropower Station should be built to provide jobs. Give us Amaila, he told the opposition leader, while noting that it would not only provide jobs but also make electricity cheaper. You cannot say you want to create jobs, sir, and you are deferring hydro power in this country for another fifteen years, Singh charged. He added that the opposition cannot say they want to create jobs and continue to frustrate the passing of the anti-money laundering legislation and try to use it as a political bargaining chip. No responsible political leader can claim to be serving the interest of its people if he would place his country at risk of being blacklisted by the international community, Singh said. He called on the opposition members to use the next few hours and look at their manifestos and what they would have promised to people and remind themselves that there is much in the 2014 budget that they would have promised to do. Singh said that the government would not make grand promises to the people of Guyana and create in their minds that the state would solve all of their problems. He pointed out that citizens have an individual responsibility of their own future and prosperity. He said the government would never bankrupt Guyana at the altar of political expediency. So every indicator that we look at, whether it is life expectancy, whether it is expected years of schooling, whether it is mean year of schooling, whether it is our GDPwhether it is human development index, Mr Speaker, a whole digest of statistics could be produced to demonstrate sir that we have made tremendous progress in improving the quality of life of all Guyanese people, Singh said. Narco trade driving Guyanas economy Granger tells House Guyana Times, April 9, 2014 Former Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Commander and Opposition Leader, Retired Brigadier David Granger said the country is faced with a public security crisis where narco-trafficking is the engine of growth that is driving the countrys economy. Granger a former National Security Adviser under the late Desmond Hoyte Administration said this crisis has helped fuel high rates of money-laundering, gun-running, execution murders and armed robberies. Violent crime is scaring foreign investors, driving away the educated elite, undermining economic growth, and impeding social development, the Opposition Leader told the House during his budget debate contribution. He noted that the lucrative narco-trade has spawned armed gangs which use their wealth to purchase political influence and suborn the security forces in order to protect their interests. Money
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launderers associated with narcotics traffickers also distort the domestic economy by pricing their goods and services below market rates which undermine legitimate businesses, Granger said. Lawless He told the House that revelations in the international media of a Guyana-Italy cocaine conspiracy are ominous. Evidence that Guyanese narco-traffickers are working hand-in-hand with Italian Mafiosi linked to the Gambino and Bonanno crime families and the Italian crime syndicate known as Ndrangheta confirms fears that Guyana is sleepwalking, step by step, into narco-statehood. Some people diligently keep newspaper clippings of 20 years ago, but cannot remember what happened two months ago. Jackass ears long, old people say, but e nah hear e own story. Turning his attention to the hinterland, Granger said Guyana west of Fort Island on the Essequibo River could be a very lawless and dangerous place. Banditry is rampant; contraband smuggling is commonplace; disease is prevalent; poverty is pervasive; and educational standards are lower than the rest of the country. The hinterland comprises over three-quarters of this countrys territory. Long unwatched land borders with Brazil, Venezuela and Suriname; vast unpatrolled open spaces; unmonitored airstrips and numberless rivers have become corridors for illegal narcotics and firearms to be carried to commit crimes on the coastland. He said the truth is that the nation wakes up every morning to the dreary reality of shoddy road repairs, broken schools, an underfunded university, shaky institutions, and a brigade of jobless dropouts. The problem, of course, is that this budget simply does not furnish the funds to confront the most serious challenges facing families, Granger said. These are: the unavailability of jobs for young school-leavers everywhere; the quality of education at the primary and secondary levels along the coastland and in the hinterland and at the University of Guyana; the daily threats to human safety while there are three armed robberies every day, two murders every week and 12 fatal accidents every month and the threats of disease dengue, gastroenteritis, malaria to public health. Same old PPP Granger charged the Administration must not presume that it can ignore the public will. It cannot exclude the majority side from contributing to the preparation of such an important measure as the budget. It has only been through the contribution of the majority side that the Executive can be made aware of the real situation on the ground affecting all of the people. The Opposition Leader said the view from Main Street (State House) is limited. It is difficult to comprehend fully the complexity of the demographic, economic, social and political changes taking place throughout this country. All politics is local. We are on the ground living among the people, listening to the ordinary people and learning from the people. When we speak, we speak with the voice of the people; that is why we must be heard. Granger said the budget, despite its promise A better Guyana for all Guyanese is more likely to degenerate into a bitter Guyana for most Guyanese. This budget is dangerously dividing Guyana into two nations. It is creating an East-West divide that separates everything West of the Essequibo River from what lies to the East. Examine, for example, the section entitled Physical Infrastructure for Transformation (pp. 32-33). The roads to be repaired are mainly in the East Bank, West Coast, East Coast, not in the rich gold and diamond mining areas. This budget perpetuates the divergences, disparities and divisions which have hindered development in our country. Is this deliberate or is it an acute case of Main Street myopia?
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Granger said the hinterland underdevelopment crisis so ably articulated by Members of Parliament Sydney Allicock, Dawn Hastings, Valerie Garrido-Lowe, Eula Marcello, George Norton and Renitta Williams will not correct itself. The Potaro-Siparuni Region, the Barima-Waini and CuyuniMazaruni Regions to the north and the Rupununi Region to the South might be most picturesque parts of the country but they are the poorest. Hinterland communities do not need baubles, beads, toys and trinkets. Handouts smother human initiative and extinguish enterprise. The hinterland, like everywhere else, needs reliable services such as community-based solar and wind water and electricity-generation. He noted that some mined-out parts have degenerated into a mosquito-infested wasteland. He said its evergreen forests and pristine waterways are under threat. Its people are poor. Exploiting the economic resources, sustaining the livelihood of the residents and protecting the environment demand a new approach to hinterland administration. The national budget must provide for regional administrative centres Bartica, Mahdia, Mabaruma and Lethem to be quickly upgraded to township status with their own mayors and town councils. We must stop treating the hinterland as bush. The hinterlands mining, logging and tourism resources have been exploited for over a century and continue to enrich the national treasury, but its physical infrastructure is inadequate for such vast territory. Its small, scattered population is vulnerable to criminal violence, human trafficking and environmental hazard.