By Vishani Ragobeer
Vishani@newsroom.gy
Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh will present the 2024 National Budget to the National Assembly on Monday and he is expected to detail how the government will gradually approach free university education by 2025.
The governing People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C), in its 2020 election campaign, said it would make university education free by 2025.
In December, President Dr Irfaan Ali said the government will deliver on its promise to make university education free and will undertake a step-by-step approach from 2024.
During a year-end interview with the News Room, President Ali said the government would deal with students paying loans first.
“We will be implementing and I will be making some announcements in relation to this phased approach that the President alluded to.
“Suffice it to say that if it is in our manifesto, if we committed to doing it, we will be doing it and you will be hearing a little bit more about that on Monday,” Dr. Singh said during a pre-budget interview with the News Room on Friday.
The Finance Minister emphasised that free university education was a promise made by the PPP/C in its manifesto- a document he describes as the party’s social contract with Guyanese- ahead of the 2020 General and Regional Elections.
And according to him, the PPP/C government intends on fulfilling every promise made.
However, Dr. Singh noted that free university education is just part of a “broader agenda” that will see the government investing in several sectors to guarantee support for households and to ensure that Guyana enjoys continued economic growth.
Come next week, the Finance Minister also said people can expect announcements that will allow households to get more money even as the government spends more on advancing big, infrastructural projects be it roads, schools or hospitals.
He also confirmed that there will be no new taxes in the budget, as has been the case in the last four budget presented since the PPP/C returned to office in 2020.
It was a great blessing that Guyana restore a democratic process and the PPP was elected. Imagine if the PNC was in power, what would have happened with the 3.1 billion of oil revenue ? They had 18 million dollars from the signing bonus and that disappeared. Since then the new laws came into effect quickly and all monies are now accountable so no politician can steal the monies anymore and we will never end up with a ‘Dutch Disease Scenario’ thanks to the wise head of the PPP government .
The diversification of the economy and the investment in non – oil sector guarantee that when the oil is no longer viable we will still have a sustainable economy.
Infrastructure, health , education , alternative energy mix, including solar and hydro, and agriculture, tourism, food security not only to Guyana , but the rest of the Caribbean and beyond will give Guyana an edge and will sustain one of the best economy in the americas.
But this will continue if we only have all the democratic institutions working in harmony including the judicial system, right now this judiciary is broken and is based on inherent racism . An example is the rigging of the 2020 election and the matter is still outstanding for 3 years , this is because of the judiciary is made up of people who rather that see the delivery of justice instead practise racism, this is where we are failing. For 60 years Guyana retrogress because of rampant racism , if this is not stop we will again slide into underdevelopment practise by the PNC.
Norton policy of giving people $5000 us dollars to everyone will be suecide for Guyana . What the PPP is doing to the economy is commendable by all institutions the world over.