‘I’d like to have a bicycle’ – Granger tells Gov’t

By Kurt Campbell

[www.inewsguyana.com] – ‘I’d like to have a bicycle to at least send mails’. Those were the words of Opposition Leader David Granger as he urged the administration to comply with the law in providing his office with resources to carry out its functions.

Granger said the Office of the Opposition Leader is starved of much needed resources and reminded of legislation accented to by former President Bharrat Jagdeo for the provision of financial and other resources to the office of all future Opposition Leaders.

He explained to a news conference on Friday, March 7 that he currently has ten Shadow Ministers who oversees 20 sectors along with other geographical responsibly and argued that resources provided by the executive over the last two years have been inadequate as he pleaded for increased funding in the 2014 National Budget which will be presented shortly.

The Opposition Leader said his office has nonetheless done the best it could with the limited resources it was afforded.

On a separate note, Granger opined that the opposition has not been satisfactorily consulted in the preparation of the 2014 National Budget, adding that it is likely not to include several elements of expenditure which he deemed useful.

He said the Opposition has considerable contributions that it would like to make to the budget but posited that even if any consultations are held now it is not likely to effect any alteration to the budget or see the opposition’s ideas being included.

He said the APNU has contributions that it would like to make to ensure poverty alleviation, job creation and improved delivery of education among others.

Granger added that the Opposition has no separate budget since it is prohibited by law but will continue to approve and disapprove of sections of the national budget as was done over the last two years, in accordance with the recent ruling by the Chief Justice.