Senior Minister at the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, says the Government is still setting a date for the introduction of the 2021 Budget.
The statement of Dr. Singh in an interview by the Department of Public Information (DPI) following a newspaper article published on Tuesday, December 22, which stated that the Budget would be presented on February 5.
He said that while the Government was aiming to be ready for submission by February 5, 2021, “The actual specific date for submitting the 2021 budget has yet to be finalized.”
The Minister added: “I suspect the speculation about 5th February is probably the result of the budget newsletter that you know, many of your viewers know, which we issued about two weeks ago.”
Dr. Singh that the Government intends to introduce the Budget in February 2021.
“The real decision on the exact date we will present the Budget is that decision will be made much nearer the time. It’s a fact that we’re targeting in early February, so I don’t think it’s wildly different from the exact date it will happen. ”
Meanwhile, Dr Singh highlighted that Guyanese will benefit tremendously from the 2021 Budget.
“The Budget will outline the medium and long-term vision for the country; our Government’s long-term vision for the country and then many of these programs and policies and projects will be initiated by the Budget. Many of the big projects that we have been talking about, you will see them started in the 2021 Budget, setting the stage for realizing our medium-term vision for the country. ”
The 2021 budget will be the first full-year budget presented by the PPP / C government after agreeing to its post in August 2020.
On September 9, the Government introduced an Emergency Budget at the National Assembly. That Budget provided funding for four months and also covered the expenditure of the former APNU-AFC Government.
The Emergency Budget eliminated many additional fees and taxes that citizens had been incurring for the past five years. (Public Information Department)