The Ministry of Finance will be presenting a draft 2015 budget to Cabinet within the next 10 days, according to Minister of Governance, Raphael Trotman who also stated that there are no immediate plans for any government-initiated stimulus package aimed at pushing economic activity.
At a post-Cabinet press briefing held at the Ministry of the Presidency today, Trotman said that “what government is prepared to do is sit with the business community and work out how the economy can be stimulated. We don’t think that we should just come out and say this is what we believe you need. We believe that of course some of what we are hearing is really just that it is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. If I say that things are slow they become slow.”
Stabroek News had asked the minister about a stimulus plan given the concerns raised by business practitioners that there has been a slowing of the economy. Trotman responded that “we are not accepting that we are in a recession or anywhere near there so we don’t want to scare anyone and we will continue to meet with the private sector to see how we can get business or keep business going.”
The minister admitted that “prior to elections there was the normal electoral jitters, these continued afterward to some extent and of course we had some rattling from Venezuela which did not necessarily help”. He added that the government would not be feeding into any accusations that Guyana was heading into a recession.
“The Minister of Business and Minister of Finance, and in fact indeed all ministers including the President have been meeting with different stakeholders to see how we can get things back on a faster track … but we will not offer prescription without first hearing from them where they feel things have slowed down and why,” Trotman said. He noted that once this process was discussed “we are prepared to work out any stimulus packages where we believe they are warranted.”
The APNU+AFC Coalition had promised a substantial wage increase to public servants within its first 100 days in office. Trotman stated that an immediate increase in wages was a known way to act as a stimulus. The minister stated however that this decision would not be made until the presentation of the budget which he stated was on track for August to the National Assembly. A number of other financial measures were promised within the first 100 days. The 100-day mark would be on August 24.
Trotman said that as of now the budget was being fine-tuned while stating that there will be limitations, “not everything you ask for will be granted.”
“Certainly when we get to cabinet some members will urge that we give a significant wage increase to public sector employees in particular and hopefully the private sector will follow suit by raising salaries,” Trotman said.
He said that most recently the Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan met with the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association to hear some of their concerns with security in the sector which has caused a slowing in the industry. He said that it was the hope of the government to address their concerns which would allow for them to get back to mining with a greater sense of security.
Additionally, Trotman revealed that Guyana has been approached by other oil and gas exploration companies which would ultimately lead to job creation.
