Budget down to $182B from $220B

Prime Minister, Samuel Hinds and other Government ministers brief the media following the approval of the amended Budget Estimates Wednesday night

BY VAHNU MANIKCHAND

The National Assembly Wednesday evening approved a $182.5 billion budget for this year after disapproving over $37 billion of it. Government has since said that it will be guided by the Constitution and two previous rulings by the High Court as it seeks to carry out its mandate.

The final blow dealt to the estimates presented by Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh back on March 24 was the disapproval of a $22.2 billion allocated under line item Policy and Administration of the Finance Ministry’s budget. The line item had contained monies for the controversial Amaila Falls Project.

At the end of the last item up for consideration, Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh was asked how he intends to approach the situation. Dr Singh then informed the Committee of Supply that he has approved of the budget as amended. Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman then put the motion to the National Assembly for it to approve the sum as amended and it was carried.

The Finance Minister then presented the Appropriation Bill 2014, Bill Number Six of 2014, to the House for it to be read for the first time. He subsequently moved for the Bill to be read a second and third time and for it to be passed as amended. After the Bill was read for the last time, as constitutionally required, the National Assembly passed the amended $182.5 billion budget.

Amendments

The Speaker then informed the House that the combined parliamentary Opposition refused to give its approval to five agencies, causing the amendments to be made to the tune of $37,461,340,000.

This cover funds for the Health Ministry, the Amerindian Affairs Ministry, the Public Works and Transport Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Office of the President.

The amendments were made in accordance with the final ruling of the acting Chief Justice Ian Chang in January last on the 2012 budget cuts case. The acting Chief Justice stated that the cuts made by the Opposition in the 2012 and 2013 budgets are unlawful since the National Assembly does not possess the power to cut the National Budget presented by the Finance Minister. He noted that they can only approve or disapprove of the budget in its entirety or sections within.

Respects ruling

However, at the beginning of the consideration of the estimates last Wednesday, Trotman had said that while he respects the ruling of the acting Chief Justice, he maintained that the House can cut the budget. “Despite the views and opinions of the High Court, the decision does not, and indeed cannot, do harm to the National Assembly’s procedures for treating with the Estimates of Expenditure,” Trotman had stated.

The combined Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance For Change (AFC) made their first move on the budget with its disapproval for the Specialty Hospital Project presented under the Health Ministry. Some $109 million allocated for the Capital Expenditures of the line item Regional and Clinical Services was voted down.

A few hours later, $1.5 billion for the Amerindian Affairs Ministry was also disapproved. The Opposition said the funds were being used for political purposes. The Opposition then disapproved of $6.7 billion allocated to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) Expansion Project under the Public Works and Communications Ministry’s budget.

The monies disapproved were presented under the Capital Expenditure, the transport line item which contained other works.  Meanwhile, the Office of the President was also not spared with over $5 billion voted down by the combined Opposition. This included funds for the National Communications Network (NCN) and the Government Information Agency (GINA).