Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh will present his sixth National Budget as Minister on Friday March 30, 2012 even as consultative talks between the Government and Opposition appear dead and buried.
Prime Minister Sam Hinds yesterday announced the date for the budget while declaring that same date as the date on which the House would consider three Opposition Motions seeking to amend the Standing Orders with a view to reflecting an Opposition majority.
So far, Government has failed to honour a commitment that President Donald Ramotar gave to the Opposi-tion that there would have been talks between Govern-ment and the Opposition with a view to consulting on the budget.
The Opposition had wanted a bigger role than just being told what was in the budget but this the President resisted, saying that the budget is Government’s responsibility.
Even such a reduced scope for engagement does not seem likely at this point, with Minister Singh indicating to Carl Greenidge that it is unlikely that there would be a meeting on the budget before the end of the month.
