Parliament last week approved funds to meet various budgetary gaps including $185M for shortfalls in university student loans.

Financial Papers No. 6, 7 and 8 were considered in the Committee of Supply in the National Assembly after Minister of Finance Saisnarine Kowlessar gave the consent of Cabinet for the supplementary estimates and moved the three motions in his name.

The sole Current Estimate listed in Financial Paper No. 7/2003 was a supplementary provision of $5.847B to the Ministry of Finance pertaining to Rice Levy 'A', under the rubric of 'subsidies and contributions to local organisations.'

An official explained that the levy is paid to the government by exporters of rice to Europe and is then paid over to the Guyana Rice Development Board as part of an accounting procedure.

The Capital Estimates in this paper were amounts totalling $448.3M to facilitate additional inflows for the building of bridges and for the studies, rehabilitation and construction of roads.

Approval was given for $185M to the Ministry of Finance to meet a budgetary shortfall for the University of Guyana (UG) Student Loan Fund for the academic year 2003/2004.

Among the Current Estimates for Financial Paper No. 8 was $16M to the Office of the President to defray expenses resulting from the printing of Gazettes, Acts and Bills for 2003 and $300M for the Ministry of Finance for the payment of arrears to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL).

Also for the Current Estimates in that financial paper was a total of $18.6M to meet a budgetary shortfall for security services for the Region Four Administration.

Under Current Estimates in Financial Paper No. 8/2003, Region Ten was approved for $35.3M to meet a budgetary shortfall for security services while the Ministry of Finance also was approved for $420M for on-lending of Caribbean Development Bank funds to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) for drainage and irrigation.

For Capital Estimates the Ministry of Public Works and Communication was cleared for a supplementary provision of $659,335 to meet a retroactive salary increase for 2003, while Region Ten was approved for $951,000 to meet the cost of emergency repairs to the generator during 2003 at the Upper Demerara Hospital at Wismar, Linden.

To meet Linmine's payment for community power for December 2003, the Ministry of Finance was approved for $30.6M, while $41M was granted to the ministry to meet a budgetary shortfall for the Youth Choice Initiative Programme.

Financial Paper no. 6/2003 gives Current and Supplementary estimates for a total of $130M for the period between November 18, 2003 and December 31, 2003.

Among the supplementary current estimates in this paper was $74M to meet hold-over rent for the former accommodation of the permanent mission and consulate in New York as well as increased rental for overseas accommodation, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Also in the current estimates $2.5M was voted for Region One for the purchase of fuel for power generators at Port Kaituma, Mabaruma and Moruca. In addition, $1.5M was approved for meeting the cost of transporting fuel from Guyoil's outlet at Morawhanna to the regional stores at Mabaruma. For the Guyana Defence Force, current estimates were approved to execute emergency equipment maintenance to the tune of $6.7M.