‘There is something in this budget for every single Guyanese’ – MP Seeraj

As day one of the budget 2024 debates continues, Member of Parliament Dharamkumar Seeraj has added his voice in support of an ‘inspiring’ and ‘progressive’ fiscal plan.

“There is something in this budget for every single Guyanese. This budget is positioning this government for the upward thrust into the future where all will benefit. In the years to come, lives of all Guyanese will be placed on solid footing. The investments are being made now to create a solid foundation for the future,” he told the National Assembly on Monday evening.

Responding to criticisms from Opposition Member of Parliament, Roysdale Forde regarding an alleged lack of consultations in crafting the budget, MP Seeraj reminded that budget 2024 was lauded by several private and civil society organisations, including the Guyana Manufacturing Services Association (GMSA), the Golf Association, and the Berbice Chamber of Commerce.

Based on the government’s track record of strategic investments to push rapid development, the MP said that this year will no doubt see even more being poured into the country’s economy to stimulate accelerated growth.

To further solidify his point, the government parliamentarian highlighted the island of Wakenaam, in Region Three, which has seen immense upliftment through several interventions by the PPP/C Government.

“In 2015, this island cultivated 2,455 hectares of rice. By the time we reached to 2020, under the APNU+AFC, that amount of hectares came down to 754. I am happy to announce that by last year, it has gone up to 1,045 hectares, and this year, it will reach the vicinity of 2,500 hectares,”he said.

The MP also pointed to the recently constructed Arthurville Primary School in Wakenaam, which was able to accommodate over 60 students.

Further, he defended the significant allocations in the budget for infrastructural development, stressing that improved infrastructure addresses a suite of elements, including food security, accessibility, and connectivity.

“With proper roads in place, people will be able to cultivate more, they will have access to all the services, they will have access to different centres and life will become easier,”  MP Seeraj pointed out.

Reference was also made to the multitude of training programmes made available through the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour, as well as ongoing efforts to build a world-class healthcare system.