Budget 2018 is a product of consultation with stakeholders- Minister Allicock
DPI, Guyana, Thursday, December 7, 2017
Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock said that Budget 2018 is the product of a series of consultations with various stakeholders. This, he noted, was missing from the national budgets, for too many years.
Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock.
“The forest producers spoke; government listened. The result is that VAT (Value Added Tax) on local timber has been removed and VAT has now been imposed on imported pine wood. The providers of private education spoke; government listened. VAT has been removed from education services. The small miners spoke; government listened. The tributers tax has been slashed in half,” Minister Allicock explained in his Budget 2018 presentation in the National Assembly, on Thursday.
The Minister stated that the measures presented in the budget and the allocation of resources contained are all progressive.
He noted that projects to be undertaken in 2018 will lead to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals, and advance Guyana’s movement along the Green Pathway moving Guyanese closer to the Good Life.
Further, he said the budget continues the development of capital towns in the hinterland regions and seeks to further the decentralization of government thereby ensuring that the local democratic organs assume their rightful roles in the grand scheme of governance.
It is a certainty, the Minister stated, that the Government will not be assisted by the Opposition in developing a vision to move the country forward because “possessing a vision appears to be outside of their scope.”
Despite this, Minister Allicock still invited the Opposition to join the government, in supporting the free and safe passage of Budget 2018.
By: Synieka Thorne
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