DEBATE on the 2001 Budget opened in the National Assembly yesterday with the main Opposition People's National Congress Reform (PNC/R) stating that focussed attention was needed for the economy which was in crisis.

But Prime Minister Sam Hinds blamed the PNC/R for the loss in growth and urged the Opposition party not to try to make the country ungovernable and not to make a reality of its "slow fire, moh fire" slogan.

The PNC/R has adopted the slogan to describe its approach to the governing People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) since the March 19 elections.

Opening the debate on the $67.4bln Budget, PNC/R Shadow Minister of Finance, Mr. Winston Murray said the Government needs to restore confidence to the private sector and to private initiative to show they are truly the bedrock for future economic development.

In addition, international investors need to be convinced that they are truly welcome, not by words but by actions and young people need to be assured that there is a bright economic future here for them, as too many are leaving or contemplating leaving for greener pastures, he said.

Murray argued that the hour is late as there is much to put right and the question is whether the Government can provide the imagination, vision, leadership, hope and industriousness to rescue this nation.

He congratulated Finance Minister, Mr. Saisnarine Kowlessar on the presentation of the 2001 Budget and advised the Government side that all comments by the PNC/R during the debate will be in a genuine effort to contribute to the shaping, adoption and execution of policies, programmes and even projects, which will move Guyana forward towards economic growth and development.

He said his party feels that in the present circumstances of the economy and of economic development in the country, the budget should have a sharper focus on policies and measures designed to get the economy moving again.

Responding to Murray's contribution, Prime Minister Hinds said while it was contended that the contents of this year's budget are the same as for last year, the budget is not controversial.

Noting that enough controversies abound in the country, he said changes instead should be contemplated, efforts made for agreements to be reached and a common success sought.

He too congratulated the Minister of Finance for his presentation, pointing out that in the prevailing circumstances the loss in growth could have been more significant.

Mr. Hinds laid the blame on the problems on PNC/R supporters and told the House the Government would need the PNC/R to reduce tensions in the country.

The budget is about discipline and choices and while it may be painful, it nevertheless calls for specific understanding, he said.

The Prime Minister who also addressed issues of rice, sugar, minerals, mining and telecommunication, pleaded with members of the Opposition not to make Guyana ungovernable and their slogan of "slow fire, moh fire" a reality.

Murray argued that the Finance Minister, in an effort to convince the citizens that much progress is being made, used some 45% of the presentation reviewing achievements in 2000 and what is proposed this year.

While that may appear to serve short-term potential ends, it "masks very, very deep and troubling problems", he contended.

The PNC/R parliamentarian pointed out that while the party supports the Government in trying to persuade the international community to render assistance, there are some objective conditions which need to be addressed.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to extract resources grants/loans from donors, he said, noting that under the new dispensation for international trade, preferential trading arrangements for countries such as Guyana which previously enjoyed preferential access for certain products at preferential prices, are destined to become history in the not too distant future. To this end, he said that while there may be legitimate differences of interests between funding agencies and Guyana, the old adage "he who pays the piper calls the tune" may mean that "we sometimes subordinate our interests to the agenda of others."

He noted that the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPIC) Initiative was designed to relieve the debt burden and augment resources for the reduction of poverty and referred to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PSRP) to be developed and adopted.

But according to him, whether by default or consent, it appears that the PRSP was being devised as the short to medium term development framework.

And while the PNC/R can accept that a Poverty Reduction Strategy may be part of a more comprehensive framework for economic prosperity, he questioned what has become of the once much proclaimed National Development Strategy.

Nothing that nothing is said or proposed about the fate of the document, Murray added that in the present difficult economic conditions, the country cannot afford either inertia or ambivalence.

"Such a condition demands a special type of response, imagination, vision, energy and enterprise, and the Government is challenged to demonstrate to the citizens of this land that it possesses the requisite qualities

", he said. Murray said too that the PNC/R had warned the Government shortly after it took office, that the gains in economic growth in the years immediately after the Hoyte administration demitted office, could not be sustained unless there was an open door policy towards foreign investment and a climate of confidence in which the private sector, both local and foreign, can boldly invest.

He claimed that in relation to sugar and rice, the same things have been repeated year after year and called on the Government to stop talking and start acting.

The Government should define the ground rules and criteria clearly and let all incentives be automatic once the criteria are satisfied, he said.

The exercise of discretion by the Finance Minister in granting incentives carries the perception of political considerations in decision making, something which should be minimised and allow for greater efficiency and relevance to the institutions that directly impinge on the success of economic transformation, he said.

On this note, Murray questioned the relevance of a seminar on the Caribbean Basin Initiative sponsored at this time by the Guyana Office for Investment (GOINVEST). He felt that a more relevant seminar with focus on the prospects and problems of the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) would have been apt.

And noting that GOINVEST was into its fourth Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Murray said such a revolving door for CEOs hardly inspires confidence.

This organisation must be a true one-stop shop, which can expeditiously provide information, analyse and assess applications and take decisions, he said.

The entire system, including institutions, must be geared to facilitate competition and service and not hinder them, he said.

Murray said that for the institutions to facilitate economic activities, they must be adequately funded and staffed by the best possible professionals and must use the resources voted for the purposes intended. (WENDELLA DAVIDSON)