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What is necessary in Guyana and is critical for the development of the country is the creation of an entrepreneurial class that will seek to invest in Guyana and explore niche markets, thereby creating wealth in the country.This is according to Chairman of the Alliance for Change, Khemraj Ramjattan, in his presentation on the opening day of the 2009 budget debates.The AFC chairman told the House that the resources to fund such an undertaking could be found by scaling down the size of the government, which would see billions of dollars being made available.This, according to Ramjattan, was one of the goals of the People’s Progressive Party Civic when it came to office in 1992, but since then an additional seven ministers were appointed, as well as some eight advisors.Ramjattan said that, with the elimination of some of those posts and the baggage entailed, such as vehicles and drivers among other items, billions of dollars could be freed up to be used in a way that would benefit the country in the long term.The two sides of the House differed on the issue of consultation prior to the preparation of the Budget as Ramjattan told the house that, based on enquiries that he has made, no one was consulted.This was denied by Minister of Trade Industry and Commerce, Manniram Prashad, who said that there were consultations.Ramjattan, continuing on the premise that there were no consultations, told the House that it illustrated the ‘control freakism’ nature of the government.According to Ramjattan it was obvious, given the prevailing circumstances locally and internationally,Cheap Jerseys, that the preparation of the 2009 budget would have been a challenge that begged the question of whom did the Minister not consult.“Imagine the theme of the budget is working together and nobody was consulted. They are sending the wrong signal. They talk of consultative democracy but are not living up to it.”He said that the government by its actions seemingly loves to provoke labour and business people.The AFC chairman sought to offer an explanation as to why the government did not want consultations, given that they would have had to answer difficult questions as it pertains to statistics and projections offered by the government.On the question of the large sums budgeted for infrastructural projects, Ramjattan said that he was quite surprised to see that there was no announcement on the procurement commission which he said would curb corruption.He said that, according to a World Bank report, some 15 per cent of large spending usually finds its way into the pockets of corrupt officials.Ramjattan also questioned whether any evaluation surveys were conducted as to the quality of what was built or to be built. |
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