Ingredients

FOR THE KORMA PASTE

2 cloves garlic

1 thumb-sized piece fresh root ginger

teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon garam masala

teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons groundnut oil

1 tablespoon tomato puree

2 fresh green chillies

3 tablespoons desiccated coconut

2 tablespoons ground almonds

1 small bunch fresh coriander

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

JALFREZI PASTE

2 cloves garlic

1 thumb-sized piece fresh root ginger

1 teaspoon turmeric

teaspoon sea salt

 2 tablespoons groundnut oil

2 tablespoons tomato puree

1 fresh green chilli

1 small bunch fresh coriander

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds

1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

ROGAN JOSH PASTE

2 cloves garlic

1 thumb-sized piece fresh root ginger

75 g jarred roasted peppers

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

2 teaspoons garam masala

1 teaspoon turmeric

teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons groundnut oil

2 tablespoons tomato puree

1 fresh red chilli

 1 small bunch fresh coriander

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

2 teaspoons coriander seeds

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

TIKKA MASALA PASTE

2 cloves garlic

1 thumb-sized piece fresh root ginger

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

2 teaspoons garam masala

teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons groundnut oil

2 tablespoons tomato puree

2 fresh red chillies

1 small bunch fresh coriander

1 tablespoon desiccated coconut

2 tablespoons ground almonds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

VINDALOO PASTE
 2 cloves garlic

1 thumb-sized piece fresh root ginger

4 dried red chillies

1 tablespoon turmeric

teaspoon sea salt

3 tablespoons groundnut oil

2 tablespoons tomato puree

2 fresh red chillies

1 small bunch fresh coriander

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

4 cloves

2 teaspoons coriander seeds

2 teaspoons fennel seeds

1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

Method
1. To make any of the above curry pastes...
First peel the garlic and ginger. Put a frying pan on a medium to high heat and add
the spices for toasting to the dry pan. Lightly toast them for a few minutes until
golden brown and smelling delicious, then remove the pan from the heat.

2. Add the toasted spices to a pestle and mortar and grind until fine, or put them into
a food processor and whiz to a powder. Either way, when youve ground them
whiz the toasted spices in a food processor with the rest of the ingredients until
you have a smooth paste.
Finance ministers, auditors-general, and leaders of professional accounting organizations are meeting
Tuesday in Nassau to discuss a topic that is often hidden from view, but is critical to quality of life in
the Caribbean: Capacity and standards in public financial management.

How governments manage taxes, borrowing and spending is essential to economic growth, to poverty-
reduction, and to ensuring that the regions poorest can improve their lives. It is a core function of
accountability in government. Improvements in this area could increase the health of small and
medium-sized enterprises, create jobs, and bring in additional government revenues to spend on
essential public services. Residents of Caribbean nations: this strategic dialogue will be about how the
government manages your money.

The dialogue will be opened by Bahamas Minister of State for Finance, the Hon Michael Halkitis, and in
addition to government sponsorship, will include the expertise of international and private-sector
organizations: the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean (ICAC) and the International
Federation of Accountants (IFAC). World Bank Group staff will be there to offer our institutions
assistance in countries efforts to improve their accounting systems, audit capacity, and other skills
critical to the transparent and effective functioning of government.

In a recent report published by the Bank Group, Strengthening Financial Reporting Regimes and the
Accountancy Profession and Practices in Selected Caribbean Countries, we found that the region faces
a number of challenge in public financial management. In most Caribbean countries, the public
financial management system is not yet fully mature. The statutory frameworks and regulatory
practices used by Caribbean nations are not up to the standards of international best practice, despite
good-faith efforts and recent advances. There are also long delays in the preparation of the financial
statements of governments and state-owned entities.

In addition, the region has a significant shortage of qualified professional accountants. For example, a
healthy ratio of professional accountants per thousand population is around 2.74, the ratio found in
Singapore. By comparison, that ratio is 0.07 in Suriname, 0.44 in The Bahamas, 0.81 in Trinidad
&Tobago.

The general state of the economy also hinders success in bolstering public financial management. For
example, unemployment remains high, especially among young people. Small and medium-sized
enterprises have limited access to credit, and the government itself finds itself with limited resources
to invest in infrastructure and social services.

Improving financial reporting is key to increasing private sector investment. It increases investors
confidence and willingness to take risks. Modernization of public sector management can improve
service delivery and increase transparency, assuring citizens that the government is making good use
of scarce resources.

We have carried out work to address these challenges, including performing detailed evaluations of
accounting and auditing practices in various countries known as a Report on Standards and Codes. At
the request of the members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), for example,
the World Bank Group evaluated the regulatory and oversight mechanisms pertaining to credit unions,
which hold deposits for more than half of the working population and primarily target low- and middle-
income groups. The insight and recommendations of this evaluation helped improve financial
regulations in those countries, consumer protections and general oversight of these institutions. The
result was that the savings of some of the regions poorest are now more secure and protected from
systemic risk.

In Guyana, the World Bank Group is advising the government on how best to strengthen regulation in
the pension and insurance markets. In part this is an effort to recover from and avoid a repeat
occurrence of the 2009 collapse of CLICO Guyana, a systemic insurer with assets amounting to 3
percent of GDP. That collapse reduced the insurance market by 75 percent.

We believe the accountancy profession can play a big role in promoting higher standards of accounting
education and help address the skills shortages in this area. We also think the profession can play a
leading role in advocating for stronger financial reporting, helping to bridge the challenges posed by
the small size of the countries in the region and promoting the sharing of good practices and
experiences between these countries.

With the collective wisdom of government, technical experts and private sector practitioners, we can
find the best solutions to the public sector management challenges faced by Caribbean countries.
Tuesdays strategic dialogue is a step in the right direction.

Mr. Ramgolam, if you could have interpreted this sentence, then maybe you would understand that 40 % would be
taxed after making 2.16 M per annum, or 180k per month. 1/3 of that is 60k, tax-free. The other 120k is taxed at 28 %
and anything after at 40 %. Sit and read and understand. Don't come and make these radical statements. Sad to
seeSasenarine Singh and Priya Manickchand, a former Minister in the Government, praising such secondary
standard mistakes.

This Table is wrong. You taxed the entire taxable amount at 40 %. Go and read and you will see the first 120k per
month is taxed at 28 %, and the remainder at 40 %. If you did that calculation, the tax payable would be $45066, not
$59,466!
We need to change course and
personnel in the Ministry of
Finance

This 2017 Budget has caused me to reflect on an idea that I have toyed
with all my adult life why cant truth and politics go together? I have
just read an excellent academic piece called The Political Economy of
Public Policy in contemporary India which strengthens my resolve that
you actually can bring the two together. Only politicians who have a
shallow commitment to politics need to resort to falsehood, subterfuge,
and deception. If your commitment to people and politics is deep, the
truth is your best armour.

What happened this week in Guyana? Where should the people stand on
this Scud missile of a budget? What is the medium range projection for
the poor and the working class? What impact will this have on the 2020
elections?

Winston Jordan unveiled a $250 billion budget aimed at building a

diversified green economy. But what he has really forgotten is how to
protect the existing economy to generate the resources that can feed and
fund the diversification process. Instead, he is using the model of taxing
and borrowing more, to spend more. But the operative question is who is
being taxed more and why? The answer remains that the poor and
working class and the business class are being asked to pay more into the
treasury by way of these VAT charges on electricity, so that the politicians
in the Granger administration can spend more. This entire game plan is
all about the bigger pensions, bigger perks and the future mansions for
the new political class. Ask Mr Hamilton Green.

One of the principal documents within any budget is the Statement on the
Central Government Financial Operations. This statement confirms how
the government intends to fulfil its mandate over a year through its
financial activities. It basically gives you a summary of the total expected
cash inflow into the Treasury v the total expected cash outflow. Any
householder can connect with this document since it reconciles to the
same realities of every family what they earn v what they spend.

If it is in deficit, it means that the government is spending more than it

earns, and irrespective of how respective ministers attempt to window-
dress this number, a deficit is a deficit. When there is a deficit, it clearly
means that the government will be borrowing more money in the name of
the newborn children of Guyana or taxing the people more in order to
satisfy this increased spending. This is exactly what Minister Jordan has
done in 2017. Irrespective of how we twist it and turn it, the people are
being taxed more so that the Granger administration can spend more.

In 2017, the non-financial public sector is expected to record a deficit of

$42.6 billion (5.6 per cent of GDP) in 2017, versus $30.4 billion (4.3 per
cent of GDP) in 2016. This translates into a new need for cash of some
$12.2 billion in 2017.

So while there will be a decrease in some taxes like income tax because of
the increase in the tax threshhold, there is a rapid expansion in VAT by
almost $10 billion because of the new punitive tax on electricity and water
which will affect the poor and the working class the most, and will also
make many Guyanese businesses more uncompetitive. Then there will be
an expansion of the so-called fuel tax (Excise Tax) by another $5 billion.
The Environmental Levy is back which is expected to rake in another $1
billion and the taxes on the small man in the form of miscellaneous taxes
like penalties on the horse-cart man and such people are expected to rake
in an additional $300 million. So this budget is nothing else but financial
murderation of the small man. He gets hit on the light bills, the water
bills, the minibus fares, the licences on all the small shops and draycarts
and so on and so on.

Why all this financial pressure? Check the 2017 Budget carefully; there is
enough evidence to expose an executive travel budget of some $1 billion
for 2017.

It is clear that these politicians do not care if they have to borrow more,
because the Minister clearly outlined that he is prepared to pay some $1.5
billion more in interest payment for the national debts in 2017 compared
to 2016. There is no end to this financial insanity. The growth rate is
plummeting, but we are paying more interest on the debt and we continue
to borrow more and more to what end? Economic bankruptcy?

But I question the depth of economic knowledge of President Granger,

since even Burnham would not have allowed such a budget to fly. Why is
he not seeking more advice from his economic advisor Dr Clive Thomas?
I have challenged Dr Thomas on his work on GuySuCo because clearly he
is not a businessman or a business strategist, but if there was any job Dr
Thomas was born for, it was to be an economic presidential advisor. He is
a very talented economist who is a million times more skilled than the
Minister in structuring an economy. So why is his mind not being tapped
more on the economic front by the President?

It was Christopher Ram who skilfully advised us that Dr Ashni Singh

should structure a budget of around $175 billion in 2013. Mr Ram was
correct then. Since then, nothing significant has happened in the
Guyanese economy to cause any Minister of Finance to want to bolt on
$75 billion in additional expenditures without a clear roadmap of how we
can create rapid economic growth. So it is either the Minister is playing
politics with the economy or is guessing his way through this entire
process.

Some commentators will say to me same old PNC but I continue to

reject that comment. I still think that Carl Greenidge would have been a
greater asset to the Granger administration as the Minister of Finance. He
has the experience at conceiving pro-growth economic models as we saw
in 1990-92. So the PNC does have talent in its ranks just like the PPP.
But this PNC talent is being stifled because of human insecurities and
petty small men with small minds who continue to put self first instead of
Guyana.
Unless we change course and personnel at the very top in the Ministry of
Finance, the small man must batten himself down for tough times as the
clueless continue to be given the baton to lead on the economic front.

Yours faithfully,

Sasenarine Singh