Introduction
The four hour long Budget Speech 2020 presented by Bishop Juan Edghill was one of many firsts: the latest Budget in the history of this country, the first budget of the Irfaan Ali Administration, the first presented outside of the Public Buildings and significantly the first presented by an Administration of which no substantive the Minister of Finance has been appointed. Remarkably, it was prepared and presented within thirty-eight days of the swearing in of President Ali compared with a normal budget cycle of a minimum of 180 days, initiated by the Budget Circular.
The delay in the presentation was entirely due to the unwillingness of the APNU+AFC Coalition to concede defeat after the March 2 elections, aided by operatives in the Guyana Elections Commission to rig the vote count in favour of the then ruling Coalition. The threat to democracy was real and imminent and Guyana was finally spared the worst as a result of a combination of court rulings and the action of political parties and civil society as well as the regional, hemispheric and international community, all separately resolute to defend democracy. It is the first occasion in which persons suspected of undermining democracy in Guyana were publicly threatened with visa restrictions and other sanctions.
Describing the Government as illegitimate, the now opposition APNU+AFC Coaltion carried out its earlier threat not to participate in the sitting of the Budget Speech.
On the day itself, the Budget Speech was read against the backdrop of the gruesome murders in West Coast Berbice of two youths Isaiah and Joel Henry whose mutilated bodies had been found three days earlier, in some private farmlands three villages away. The deaths sparked protests by relatives and villagers of the youths and these soon turned violent and criminal as roads were blocked, travellers beaten and robbed and vehicles and other property destroyed. Indeed, it was ironic that even as the Minister referred to the Government’s duty to keep citizens safe, the retaliatory death of another youth and damage to property and injuries to innocent passersby were being reported.
Apart from the short turnaround time for receiving and processing requests from Budget Agencies, the Budget Team had the additional challenge of catering for the renaming of a number of Ministries including the Ministry of the Presidency, the merging of others and, yet again, the abolition of a few. This has made understanding the numbers extremely difficult, and no doubt impossible for the average parliamentarian and the public. Further, while the nomenclature and functions of some Ministries have changed, they remain the lawful spending authority until the 2020 Estimates are approved.
Ram & McRae believes that the Ministries should be constitutionalised and that no Administration should be able at its whim and fancy to initiate, re-designate or abolish ministries at their will.
While Vice-President Jagdeo sought to explain some challeges regarding the budget of G$329 billion and what is available for the new Administration, the format of the Estimates did not allow for the determination of what is available to be spent for the rest of the year. Unfortunately, the Budget Speech did not offer any clarity on this dimension, which would be in its own interest and would offer a more informed understanding by the public. The debate on the Speech and the Estimates will hopefully fill this gap.