Opposition contribution to Budget debate poorer owing to Winston Murray's absence-Finance Minister

Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh said that the Opposition was rambling and incoherent in presentations during the 2011 budget debate, which concluded last night, and that this is indicative of the state of affairs in their individual parties.

Speaking in response to the perceived lack of consultations in the preparation of the budget, Dr.Singh said that the budget is in reality a distillation of policies, plans, programmes, projects that are generated through ongoing strategic processes that take place in all sectors and ministries on an ongoing basis.

“To the extent that these plans find favour...congratulations are really due to all of Government as a whole,” he said.

He said, taking the presentations of the Government Members of Parliament in totality, “I believe that the compelling vision of this PPP/C Administration and the concrete plans we have for realizing that vision, the progress we have already made in that regard were adequately adumbrated over the course of the past six days,” he said.

The Minister said that the budget debate in the House was poorer for the absence of the late Winston Murray.

“I believe that it is fairly well known that Mr. Murray is my shadow [Minister] and I had particular engagements which saw us collaborating closely and debating fiercely also, differing diametrically, but doing so in a manner that I believe was characterized by the strictest of rigour. His contributions to these debates over the years were always erudite and I missed those contributions this year. If I might say so, Mr. Speaker, with no disrespect intended to any of my colleagues on the other side of the House, I believe that the Opposition evidently missed his contribution also,” he said.