– Dr. Jagdeo says in rejecting misinformation about the government’s plans

The Secretary General of the People’s Progressive Party, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has denied claims that the government does not intend to seek parliamentary approval for the distribution of the 100,000 Guyanese cash grant.

He clarified, however, that while the government had intended to seek parliamentary approval from the outset, it did not intend to introduce new legislation to govern the distribution of the grant.
During his weekly press conference on Thursday, he said: “I have never said that we have no intention of seeking parliamentary approval; We said that we would not have to pass a special law called the Cash Grant Act. If we had to do that, we would have to pass one for the business grant and everything.”

He assured the citizens that the process will be carried out in accordance with the Constitution, which emphasizes that parliamentary approval is a necessary step in the allocation and spending of public funds.
This clarification follows observations made by accountant Christopher Ram on this front and misinformation published in the local news.
“Every common man would know that to give effect to the constitutional provisions, there is a law; a special act that was passed. The last version of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act was passed in 2003 which sets out exactly how public money should be spent and allocated,” explained Dr Jagdeo at his weekly press engagement at Freedom House.

Noting that Ram is clearly unfamiliar with the constitutional process governing the allocation and expenditure of public funds, he said:
“Every time you give a budget, you go to parliament to appropriate the funds. But when the budget is passed, you can’t withdraw the funds until you have the legislative authority to do so. There’s an act that’s approved by the president that then gives you the right to do that.”
This law, he explained, is called the Appropriation Act, which is an essential law that provides the legal framework for the government to access and use money from the Consolidated Fund, which is the main account where all government revenue is deposited.

THE APPROPRIATION ACT
The appropriations act authorizes the government to withdraw funds from the Consolidated Fund to finance approved expenditures. It specifies the amount that can be spent on each program or project.
The law is an annual process and a new one is enacted for each fiscal year.

“It is published, so I cannot claim ignorance, but there is a special act which is the authority from which the Ministry of Finance then uses it to withdraw funds from the Consolidated Fund. If there is a supplement during the year, then there is the Supplemental Appropriation Act approved by President Ali,” Dr. Jagdeo pointed out.

In addition, the auditor general is responsible for auditing government expenditures to ensure that funds are used appropriately and in accordance with the Appropriations Act. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) also plays a key role in overseeing public finances and holding the government accountable for its spending.

“You have to own up,” he said, adding: “This is parliamentary oversight; you have to go to parliament to appropriate your money. So that means debate in parliament; it passes. But even when it’s approved, you can’t withdraw the funds yet. Then you have to publish it and it has to be approved by the president.”

All of this is covered by the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act, he explained.
He added: “It will go to parliament, there will be a full debate there, and once it is passed, it will then have to be put into an additional act, approved by the president, published in the Official Gazette and only then will the funds be put available.”
Turning his attention to the flagrant violation of the Constitution under the APNU+AFC government, Dr. Jagdeo pointed out that that administration spent about $153 billion without parliamentary approval.
“We had to fix that when we came into office,” he recalled.

The announcement of a one-time cash grant of $100,000 for every citizen aged 18 and over was made last month.
This undertaking will cost the treasury over $60 billion so as to inject much needed disposable income into the pockets of Guyanese adults.
Furthermore, Guyanese living abroad are not left out of this development. Once they have a valid ID and are aged 18 and over, these people will be able to receive their cash grant. But to benefit, one must register in Guyana as no payment will be facilitated abroad.

Dr. Jagdeo pointed out that the opposition was initially against this move to consider Guyanese abroad eligible for the grant.
“They give back; they are not totally against the idea now, but they were against it then. Then they tried to lie saying that I said only people from New York would get it and that they were stopping people from the Caribbean. It is not true; Guyanese living anywhere in the world once they meet the eligibility criteria will also benefit from the cash grant,” he said.

The Ministry of Finance is currently developing a software application to facilitate the smooth payment of the cash grant. (IPR)