President Dr Irfaan Ali said Tuesday that Budget 2022 will set aside “resources” to directly deal with the global surge in the cost of living.
The Head of State gave a brief virtual address hours before the country’s national fiscal plan is read in the National Assembly.
In his address, the President acknowledged the economic burden facing Guyanese and the rest of the world, due to massive global shortages and issues of logistics. He said the government has taken note of the issue and will implement measures to frontally address it.
“I am aware of the impact that cost of living is having. While we cannot address all the issues surrounding cost of living, I’ve instructed that resources be set aside to address this issue,” President Ali told the nation.
Since the onset of the pandemic, international manufacturers have been operating at a limited capacity. Additionally, many countries have seen massive increases in freight/shipping costs.
Notwithstanding this, the President said the government remains committed to alleviating the “burdens” that many Guyanese are faced with due to the increased cost of living.
In this year’s fiscal package, this alleviation will come in the form of a “sizeable allocation”.
“This government has a commitment to do all it can within its budgetary constraint and framework to help the population of this country…I’ve asked the Minister of Finance to set aside a sizeable allocation to address issues of cost of living,” the President said.
He explained that the allocations will not just be given away for random use, but will follow community consultations which will be held to point out specific issues that are faced by citizens.
“This sizeable allocation will be used through consultation with communities across the country to identify specific ways and initiatives in which we can deploy this budgeted allocation to ease the burden on the population,” the President highlighted.
Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh will present the national budget on Wednesday, January 26.
