by Svetlana Marshall

As the curtains came down on the National Budget Debates today, Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton, hammered the Government over its “failure to prioritize Defence and Security”, in the context of the ongoing threats to the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. 

The Opposition Leader questioned the rationale behind what he considers the Government’s failure to have an integrated defence and security strategy, that prioritizes the protection of Guyana’s territorial integrity amid the threats from Venezuela. He submitted that issue should have been a priority one in the budget.  

“One would have expected that spending on the following matters would have merited a dedicated section in the Budget Speech: a stronger military, enhanced diplomatic capability, more robust border protection, special programmes for border communities, and a Venezuelan migrant resettlement policy. But not with this PPP. It thrives in haphazardness. This budget leaves much to be desired when it comes to the protection of our territorial integrity,” Mr Norton told the House. 

Mr. Norton told the Assembly that the “inattentiveness” to the country’s foreign policy has already led to the downplay of diplomacy as the country’s first line of defence, pointing to the delay in appointing Ambassadors to both Brazil, Venezuela and a number of other countries.

On the December 2023 meeting between President Irfaan Ali and the Venezuelan President and the Declaration that followed in St. Vincent, hinted that the St. Vincent Prime Minister should be removed as an interlocutor in the process, pointing to the photograph which showed the Prime Minister posing behind a map of Venezuela that included Guyana’s Essequibo region.

According to the Norton, the action of the CARICOM Leader raises serious questions about his suitability to remain fairly engaged in a neutral way in the follow-up to the Argyle Declaration. The Prime Minister has since apologised over the photo, claiming that he was unaware of the contents of the sign that he was posing behind.

“We wish to inform this house that we do not have confidence in his leadership. It is not in the interest of Guyana for that Prime Minister to be involved in the follow-up to the Argyle Declaration. Our confidence that the seriousness of the Essequibo is fully understood by this government is very low. This is a point of concern because the budget does not give clear enough signals that all appropriate actions will be taken to place our citizens in a stronger position to invest and enjoy life in the Cinderella County,” the Opposition Leader told the House.

The Opposition Leader also said Guyana’s Essequibo region must be seen as a priority, noting that there must be a clear strategy to engage Guyanese in the communities bordering Venezuela, so that they are conscious, secured, trained, and committed to ensuring Essequibo continues to be a part of Guyana.

 “We cannot just hope, we must use the resources of this country to achieve those noble objectives. Merely saying Guyana is we own will not allow us to achieve those objectives. We need a plan to ensure that Essequibo continues to be we own,” he said. 

The Opposition Leader also made a case for there to be a well-designed and articulated economic diplomatic strategy aimed at promoting and protecting the country’s territorial integrity and for the enhancement of the capabilities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to implement such a strategy. 

“We cannot sit idly by and allow Venezuela to use Petro Caribe dollars to undermine individual Caribbean countries solidarity and support for Guyana against Venezuela. We must be of assistance to sister Caribbean nations in our time of plenty as Trinidad and Tobago did in theirs. Mr. Speaker, to do that demands the careful management of our oil resources. Unfortunately, our oil resources are being mismanaged,” he told the House. 

Throughout his presentation, the Opposition Leader cited several other issues with the $1.1 trillion budget, describing it as anti-poor, anti-working class, lopsided and heavy on public infrastructure, while limiting spending to directly impact the ordinary man.

But Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh, in closing off the debates late this afternoon, told the National Assembly that the “proof of the pudding is in the eating,” and that “actions speak louder than words when it comes to the management of the country and its resources.  

He said over the last five days, the Assembly was regaled with nothing but “cheap talks” from the main opposition – A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) – with lofty promises, though it failed to deliver during its term in Office.

Dr. Singh said unlike the APNU+AFC, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government will deliver the projects and programmes included in the $1.146 trillion.

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