Senior Minister within the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, yesterday (Wednesday 26 January 2022) presented the nation’s largest ever budget before the National Assembly. Some $552.9 billion dollars has been set aside for spending in 2022, representing a 44% increase from 2021’s Budget (of $383.1 billion) and being the third budget to be presented by the PPP/C administration.
The budget was presented under the theme, ‘Steadfast against all challenges, Resolute in building our One Guyana,’ and purports to create wealth for all Guyanese.
In presenting the budget, Dr Singh was keen to note that this budget would be the most transformative for Guyana as it focuses on building key infrastructure and creating job opportunities whilst dramatically improving Guyanese’s standard of living amid rising cost of living concerns. Minister Singh noted that Budget 2022 is “building on the foundation laid by the previous two budgets, Budget 2022 launches the most rapid period of transformation and modernisation ever witnessed in Guyana’s entire history…It provides for massive investment in infrastructure…opening vast new tracts of land for productive purposes, establishing entire new communities while connecting others and making thousands of Guyanese homeowners for the very first time.”
The slew of measures to cushion the rising cost of living in Guyana include increases in the ‘Because we Care’ cash grant which has been increased from $15,000 to $25,000 for every child that is enrolled in nursery, primary, and secondary schools, catering to both private and public school students.
Additionally, the school uniform cash grant has also been increased, Dr Singh stated that, “I am pleased to announce that we will increase that grant this year from $4,000 to $5,000 per child. This will place $200 million of disposable income in the homes of 200,150 children attending both public and private schools.”
Government has continued to increase the Old Age Pension, starting in 2021 when it was moved from $20,500 to $25,000 and now to $28,000 following Budget 2022.
Public Assistance has been increased from $12,000 to $14,000 per month.
Government went on to announce that measures are not in place to boost the manufacturing sector with government lowering the excise tax rate further on gasoline and diesel, from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, respectively.
Budget 2022 will see a massive injection of cash into various agricultural agencies as the government continues its mission to make Guyana the Caribbean’s breadbasket. According to Dr Singh “our focus is on ramping up domestic production as well agro-processing capabilities, working with the region to remove all historic barriers and impediments to intra-regional trade, and promoting more widely agri-business and complete transformation of regional food systems”.
The Ministry of Public Works will also receive huge injections of cash as the government earmarks several mega projects including the Sherriff Street – Mandela Avenue expansion programme, Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Linden-Mabura Hill highway, New Demerara River Crossing, and the Corentyne River Crossing.
The Minister went on to state that, “our government is committed to implementing an integrated national infrastructural development programme comprising: improving international, hemispheric and regional connectivity; creating, re-establishing and improving communication linkages between and among our major urban, rural, hinterland and inland centres; and prioritising farm to market access to promote increased production and reduce the cost of production, as well as improve trade and competitiveness.”
For the nation’s workers, Dr. Singh announced that the monthly income tax threshold will be increased from $65,000 to $75,000 whilst low income loans obtained through commercial banks under the government’s low income housing scheme has been increased from $12,000 to $15,000.
Dr Singh noted that “this will make housing loans from commercial banks more affordable to borrowers within that range, and help encourage persons who now have a houselot to proceed to borrow and build.”
