VP Jagdeo highlights keys areas for Budget 2021

– to build on incentives of last budget
– to support small businesses
provide infrastructure needed for development

Vice President Hon. Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo says Budget 2021 will cater to the needs of Guyanese while at the same time stimulating the economy. 

At a press conference today, Vice President Jagdeo said the Budget is a continuation of the framework established by the Government in its manifesto.

Budget 2021 will be read on Friday and will build on the foundation set by the 2020 emergency budget to advance Guyana’s development trajectory.

Dr. Jagdeo said the Coalition had an economic policy which was “neither pro-poor nor pro-private sector and instituted a number of measures that caused major deterioration in the welfare of our people.” He said their approach deteriorated job creation and private sector growth.

Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo

“We made it clear from the beginning that we will dismantle all of those policies that affected poor people that they put in place. In the last Budget, you saw an effective dismantling of many of the tax measures that affected poor people,” the VP stated.

He pointed out that the emergency budget saw the removal of value-added tax from a range of items and reversed land rental charges, to name a few. Dr. Jagdeo said if the measures were to be annualised, it exceeds $40 billion.

“We are starting a second budget now less than five months after the last budget was passed and we have to build on those incentives that we gave in the last budget,” Dr. Jagdeo stated.

The Budget will also focus on reviving the country’s productive sector. He said the Coalition policies saw a decline in all the productive sectors except for oil and gas in the pre-COVID-19 era.

“We recognise that if we allow the oil sector to dominate our economy, we will suffer the same fate as many oil economies around the world which is the lack of diversification with the Dutch disease killing off every other sector of the economy,” he said.

Budget 2021 will foster an enabling environment for not only job-creating activities but also one to allow small businesses to flourish. 

“It will directly support many initiatives, not just in the organised private sector, but also in small business, hoping to incubate new entrepreneur and assisting them directly through Government grants or soft loans,” the VP stated.

He added that the new Budget would provide a supportive infrastructure for massive development which will benefit the productive sectors and facilitate easy travel.

The Vice President highlighted the road link to Bartica, the by-pass road from Eccles on the East Bank to Ogle on the East Coast, and the four-lane highway connecting Mandela to Eccles which will allow for the massive growth of industries and housing development.

“A lot of those things you will see reflected in the Budget. There is a philosophy behind all of this, they all fit together as part of a holistic plan for the development of various sectors and not only for industry but also for ease of travel and settlement patterns,” the VP said. Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Hon. Dr. Ashni Singh and team are finalising the Budget to be read on Friday.

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