Following a two month recess, the National Assembly will resume sitting on Thursday, when government is expected to table a financial paper for a supplementary of more than $7.5 billion, which is expected to cater for outstanding severance payments to laid off sugar workers, among other things.
The sitting, which is scheduled to be opened with an address from President David Granger, will also see the tabling of the 2017 Auditor General’s Report.
According to the Order Paper disseminated by the Parliament Office, Financial Paper No. 3/2018 will request Supplementary Estimates, totalling $7,584,274,488, for the period January 1st, 2018 to December 31st, 2018.
President Granger has already announced to residents of Rose Hall that at least part of this provision is allocated for the payment of severance to sugar workers.
Government previously approved the release of a $1.931 billion in supplementary funds on January 19th to facilitate full severance payouts for a little more than 1,600 of the 4,763 sugar workers that were made redundant by GuySuCo. These workers represent those sent home by GuySuCo who were entitled to severance payouts of $500,000 or less. The remainder received 50% of their severance as previously promised by the APNU+AFC government. A total of $2.431 billion was set to be paid by January 31st, with an additional $2 billion set to be paid by December 31st.
Also set to be circulated at the sitting are the 2019 budget proposals of various constitutional agencies, including Parliament Office, the Office of the Auditor General and the Guyana Elections Commission.
Parliament has for 2019 requested a budget of $1,845,416,000, a $300,000 increase from the $1,578,100 received in 2018 and $100,000 more than the $1,739,832 requested in that same year.
The Audit Office has requested $894,241,000, slightly more than the $844,422,000 requested in 2018 and $100,000 more than the $783,876,000 allocated.
Meanwhile the Guyana Elections Com-mission has requested $6,368,100,000, a significant increase over the $3.7 billion requested in 2018 and the $2.9 billion allocated. The increase is expected to cover a new national house-to-house registration exercise to produce a new national electoral register ahead of the 2020 general elections.
Each budget proposal will be accompanied the recommendations and comments of the Minister of Finance Winston Jordan in accordance with section 3B (2) of the Fiscal Management and Accountability (Amendment) Act.
These comments have over the last three years been the subject of debate initiated by opposition parliamentarians.
