President Dr. Irfaan Ali visited the Ministry of Finance on Saturday and engaged some of the staff involved in the final preparation of the 2024 National Budget which will be presented by Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh on Monday.
Dr. Singh will present the budget to the National Assembly at 14:00 hrs Monday.
Though tight-lipped on some of the interventions that will be rolled out this year, the Finance Minister sought to assure Guyanese that this budget is one that will help the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) government guarantee Guyanese prosperous lives.
“Everything in the budget has to be structured in that frame to show how prosperity can be delivered to,” Dr. Singh said during a live Facebook broadcast when the President visited.
He added, “What we want to do is to harness and capture this moment of realising potential national prosperity… But we want that national prosperity to translate into community, household and individual prosperity.”
According to the Finance Minister, every investment- be it in roads, schools, hospitals or housing schemes- directly benefits people. Some investments mean people have improved or first-time access to much-needed services, other investments allow people to live more comfortable lives and generate more wealth.
Then there are direct interventions, like cash grants, public assistance, pension and other payments that provide people with more disposable income.
Dr. Singh believes that the four PPP/C budgets passed since 2020 and this 2024 budget all demonstrate the government’s solid plan for enriching people’s lives.
Meanwhile, President Ali said it is important for people to understand how the budget is prepared and implemented so they can appreciate how much work goes into the government financial planning process.
He also explained that the Finance Ministry has the herculean task of distilling ideas and policies into measurable line items.
