There is no dispute that much poverty still exists in Guyana. Its existence and alleged absence of solutions to relieve it were among the highlights of the Budget Debate last week, uninspiring as many of the speeches were.
Tag Archives: budget
GUYANA ON THE MOVE
The budget outlining the Government’s plans, programmes and expenditures for 2023 reflects Guyana’s increasing income from its rapidly expanding petroleum industry. At $781.9 billion, as against $552.9 billion for 2022, this budget is 41 percent larger than 2022. The 2022 budget was in turn larger that the 2021 budget by 44.3 percent. This budget was […]
FOOD AND BOOZE IN PARLIAMENT
A report on the cost of food for each sitting of Parliament, being $700,000, has triggered a particularly sharp debate about the cost and the alleged supply of alcohol. The Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, confessed that he consumes the food. He said: “I eat the food. What do you suggest? I don’t […]
FALTERING BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE
Guyana’s economy is declining. The growth rate fell this year and the projection for next year is modest. This means that the income of the Government has declined significantly and so has its ability to spend. Public expenditure is one of the two main props that keeps the economy ticking over and sustains employment, income […]
GO HIGH, MR. PRESIDENT
The President’s address to the National Assembly was disappointing. The expectation was that he would use the occasion to announce the Government’s legislative agenda wrapped around policy initiatives for the next parliamentary year. There was a modicum of this. But on the whole it was a political speech, long on political partisanship and short on […]