| -Is playing political games and we are no longer interested – APNUA Partnership for National Unity (APNU)’s Shadow Minister of Finance Minister Carl Greenidge has firmly stated that he will not accept the proposal by the Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh to now have discussions on the 2014 budget.Carl Greenidge, APNU’s Shadow Minister of FinanceDr. Singh had informed this publication that he had sent an email to Greenidge on January 13 requesting of him to inform of a date and time when he would be available to have discussions on the budget.However Greenidge has refused to respond to the email stating that the Minister of Finance has failed to honour his commitments in relation to not only discussing the 2014 budget, but also the process for discussions of future budgets.In light of Greenidge’s position, Dr. Singh is of the firm opinion that there is still time for there to be meaningful discussions. “We have an abundance of time considering that we are still in mid January and the budget is not expected to be laid in the National Assembly until the end of March. I am saying now, let us have the necessary discussions so that we can note any suggestions but the Opposition is not saying anything. We are available to meet now to talk about the budget.”However, in the face of Singh’s request, Greenidge firmly asserts that any discussion at this point in time would be futile. “It simply makes no sense to engage in talks about the 2014 budget, especially taking into account that the Minister has failed to honour certain arrangements. The Leader of the Opposition, David Granger has made clear the status of the discussions between government and the Opposition and that is; we have not been properly consulted.”“Khemraj Ramjattan, Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), President Donald Ramotar and myself,http://www.airmaxfantasy.us.com/574-New-Balance/, had agreed that beginning June 1,Deion Jones Falcons Jersey, 2013, Mr. Singh and I would discuss a process for discussions on future budgets so that the confusion and misrepresentation that surrounded the 2012 and 2013 budgets would be avoided. But we have nothing thus far from the Minister of Finance. I then sent to him a proposal which was agreed on by APNU’s side to be appropriate. The proposal was based on the notion that such a complicated document could be discussed properly if it were not one-off. A timetable was then put together which included the subject of discussions and it was submitted to Dr. Singh.”Greenidge said, “Having submitted it on September 9, 2013, Dr. Singh did not send me a single note with his comments. Instead,Andre Branch Dolphins Jersey, he suggested a meeting be held the next day but it was short notice and the members of the coalition were not able to meet with him. We suggested another date for a meeting but nothing was done about it. It was not until we were asked by members of the media on the meetings on the budget that Mr. Singh hurriedly called a meeting.”Dr. Ashni Singh, Minister of FinanceHe added, “At that meeting he told us that he had little difficulty with the proposals sent to him but his comments by way of refinement were ready and we would receive it within a week,Kyle Korver Hawks Jersey, which was supposed to be by November15, 2013 but we received nothing. I then wrote him drawing to his attention that neither had we received the comments on the process or the specific information that had been agreed on in the presence of the Prime Minister, Samuel Hinds and Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon.”“I then indicated to him that I was unable to recommend any further discussions with him and that the three leaders of the parties should now decide the way forward. I am not aware that they have met on this. The letter I received from Dr. Singh suggesting that we should have a meeting now, in my view is rather out of place. He should understand that since he has failed to provide certain information to achieve the goals initially set,Fernando Rodney Jersey, we are no longer interested in having any discussion with him at this point.”The Former Minister of Finance also expressed that he views Dr. Singh’s actions as a “lack of seriousness.”He said, “I will be advising the APNU and AFC that there is no point in meeting with the Minister for the purposes that were originally envisaged. I wish to remind that apart from discussing the 2014 budget,Cheap Jerseys From China, the purpose was to agree on a process which would have enabled us to; look at the objectives that the three parties have in mind, primary economic concerns and problems being encountered by the citizens and then issues of funding, criteria for selecting projects, income problems and problems of economic governance.”Greenidge stressed that such discussions take time. He noted too that the discussions on the budget should have started on July 1 and “It is only when discussions have started by that time that a meaningful discussion can be made from then to now. I even find it contradictory that the Minister can say that there is an abundance of time to now discuss the budget when in 2012 he made it very clear to us that the month prior to the budget being laid before the National Assembly he would not have time to discuss the budget.”“I now find it rather unfortunate that he would now try to say that we have an abundance of time now so as to justify the last eight months he wasted.” |
