$1.382t budget presented – Stabroek News

-growth projected at 10.6%

-US$2.5b in oil revenue to be spent this year

By Milton Grannum

Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh yesterday presented a $1.382t budget, 20.6% bigger than last year, and a whopping US$2.5b in oil money will be injected into the Consolidated Fund this year but GDP growth will be around 10.6% compared to the stratospheric 43.6% last year.

“A secure prosperous and sustainable Guyana” was the theme of the presentation.

Starting at 2:52 pm and concluding at 7:57 pm, the 5 hours 5 minutes’ presentation saw Singh declaring that the budget comes just short of “8 months before this 12th parliament of Guyana will be dissolved in anticipation of general and regional elections. These elections will be held before the year is over”.

He noted that in 2024 Guyana’s economy is estimated to have grown by 43.6 percent overall while the non-oil economy saw an expansion of 13.2 percent.