Senior Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh today presented a $25.9 Billion Appropriation Bill in Parliament. It comprised of Financial Paper No. 4 of 2023 relating to Contingency Fund advances for the period October 1, 2023 to December 8, 2023 and Financial Paper No. 5 of 2023 for supplementary funding for expanded work programmes for the period ending December 31, 2023.
Financial Paper 4 catered for over $1.9 Billion in Contingency Fund advances for various agencies, including the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Home Affairs, Agriculture and Education. Guyana Standard understands that $643 Million out of the $1.9 Billion sum is expected to support operational costs of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) and additional costs with respect to the provision of security for a number of regions
Financial Paper No. 5 caters for over $12.3 Billion for the agriculture sector including provisions for subsidies and contributions in local organizations and additional resources for the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) to execute drainage and irrigation works. These drainage and irrigation interventions are aimed at mitigating the effects El Nino has had on Guyana’s agricultural sector.
Further, over $1Billion was sought under the Ministry of Public Works for maintenance of roads, procurement of equipment and for the Transport and Harbours Department.
In terms of the health sector, $3.9 Billion was sought largely to support the rollout of infrastructure projects with $3.3 Billion provided for the construction of the New Amsterdam Regional Hospital. This adds to the suite of several new hospitals being pursued as part of Government’s broader agenda to modernize the health care system.
For the education sector, over $530.6 Million was sought for additional inflows under the Caribbean Development Bank loan for the skills development and employability project.
Under the Ministry of Home Affairs, over $2.8 Billion was sought for various initiatives including $2.8 Billion to boost the firefighting capabilities of the Guyana Fire Service, including their operations in hinterland and outlying areas.
The Financial paper also sought nearly $1.3 Billion for the Guyana Defence Force for defence and security support while under the Regional Development programme, more than $527Million was catered for a number of development programmes in Regions 1, 6, 7, 8 and 9.
