The process of budget preparation, presentation, debate and passage
- A GINA release
Guyana Chronicle
April 19, 2004
The budget preparation
Over the last few weeks, Guyana's National Budget for 2004 has been prepared, presented, debated and passed in the National Assembly.
The budget outlines anticipated Government spending for the fiscal year January to December, 2004. The Budget Officer of the Ministry of Finance prepares this document and the Minister of Finance presents it to the National Assembly before the end of the first quarter of each year.
It may seem a simple task, but the work done by technical experts, politicians and auxiliary public servants is never ending. In addition to the budget speech that is read by the Minister of Finance, three volumes of Current and Capital Expenditures are prepared. These documents outline projected spending for the fiscal year.
Presentation
Works start months before with presentation for expenditure of all government ministries, departments and agencies. Budget experts spend long sleeplessness nights budgeting and allocating specific sums to different entities. Each entity is grouped under different agency numbers.
Before the budget is completed, financial officers from each Government entity sit with officials from the Finance Ministry and a specific sum for annual spending is proposed. These projections make up the large volumes of Estimates of the Public Sector - Current and Capital Revenue and Expenditure.
Top technical experts within the Ministry of Finance and Government officials prepare the speech, which is delivered during the Budget presentation.
Debate
The Budget debate started in the National Assembly on April 13, 2004 and noticeably absent was the main opposition party - the People's National Congress Reform (PNC/R).
The National Assembly consists of 68 elected members with 37 members from the ruling party, 27 members for the main opposition, PNC/R, two members from Guyana Action Party/Working People's Alliance and one member from Rise, Organise and Rebuild.
Since the PNC/R decided to withdraw from the Budget debate, their members lost the right to represent their constituencies by questioning budgetary allocations.
The Speaker, Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the National are the officers who form part of every Sitting of the National Assembly.
Debate sessions, which lasted from Tuesday, April 13 to Friday, April 16, 2004, started at 14:00 hours each day and lasted until around 21:00 hours. Budget debate lasted for a total almost 28 hours.
During debate sessions, each Member of Parliament, from Government and the Opposition, was given the opportunity to present a case for or against a specific sector or area of interest.
After which, opposing members were given the opportunity to respond to statements made.
Passage
On the day of the Budget presentation, the motion for the approval for the estimates of expenditures for 2004 is proposed and after debates have ended, the Speaker goes through the estimates of all expenditures.
During the process, on calling out each agency number, the Speaker ask that the House approve or disapprove the spending by indicating with an 'aye' or 'nay'. A motion is passed by a majority voice in the House.
In order for the Budget estimates of income and expenditure to be passed in the House, all objections had to be clarified by the respective sectorial Government officials.
The National Assembly goes into Committee in order for the Estimates to be passed. During the Committee session, the Speaker is now referred to as the Chairman.
After the all speakers would have presented their cases in the National Assembly and the Estimates would have been read, the Speaker of the National Assembly dictates that the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs pass a motion for the sitting to be adjourned.