In his opening remarks before presenting the 2020 budget, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill lambasted the former government for the time wasted that could have been spent catering to the needs of the people.
According to Edghill, the budget is being presented after one of the most trying times in Guyana’s post-independence history.
Edghill noted that the period in which APNU/AFC held on to power even after being defeated at the March 2 polls did immeasurable damage to the country.
He noted that Guyana is already feeling the effects of an economic decline.
According to Edghill, the PPP/C administration, which emerged victorious at the elections, could have presented budget since April, had the will of the people not been subverted by attempts to rig.
He went on to point out that the budget cycle was completed in a record 22 days. He lauded the efforts of ministers and a highly motivated budget team for this, since the process usually takes over 100 days.
A $330B budget is expected to be presented. It promises to be a budget that caters to some of the immediate needs of Guyanese amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Edghill, “this budget embodies a no nonsense, no frill, no fluff, people centered, pro-poor, results-oriented approach to launch this nation back on the its positive development trajectory.”
The budgets of constitutional agencies were presented and passed at the first sitting of the Twelfth Parliament last week.
