ON Monday, Guyanese will have the opportunity to hear from their elected parliamentarians and parliamentary secretaries in the National Assembly as they begin to scrutinise the 2026 National Budget as presented by the Senior Minister within the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashini Kumar Singh.
Already, Dr Singh has laid the foundation for discussion on the budget, which stands at a whopping $1.58 Trillion. He has pointed out that a major part of the budget’s focus will be on people and their social development, with continued emphasis on changing and modernising the country’s infrastructural landscape.
Dr Singh made it clear during his budget-presentation speech on Monday that people can expect to see budgetary allocations for health, education, local government, human services and security increase as the government rolls out aggressive campaigns in each of the sectors to improve service delivery and match it with technological advancements.
The senior minister, while noting that the economy grew by 19.3% last year and for this year, the government projects an overall GDP growth of 16.2%, with the non-oil economy expected to grow by 10.8%, said that this budget is about affordability and making life easier for the Guyanese public through targeted cash grants; subventions; assistance for vulnerable groups; business-development loans; revision of mortgage ceilings; key policies and other interventions.
While he was making his budget presentation to the National Assembly, there were looks of bewilderment on the faces of the opposition as if they were lost at sea or in the land of Narina. They eventually mustered up the courage to start their usual tirade of assaults on Dr Singh, because they said he was not honouring the promises made at the recently concluded general and regional elections.
Another criticism coming directly from the main opposition party, We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), has been the tired and old argument that the budget, as read by Dr Singh, does not contain anything for the ordinary or common Guyanese.
WIN stated that the budget will cater to the needs of friends, families and favourites as it does not adequately address poverty, corruption, and the cost of living, which it alleges is prevalent in society.
Firstly, this budget is not only larger in size, but also larger in its allotment of funds that caters to people and sectors of the economy. Budget 2026 meets the threshold of “putting the people first” because of some of the measures it includes, which got the lion’s share of funds, such as the ‘Because We Care’ cash grant for children, which now will be a $60, 000 per child, along with the other allowances and the transportation grant. The budget does stop there. It prioritises the health and well-being of the students, making their growth and development the focus of funds allocated to School Feeding Breakfast and Lunch Initiatives.
The budget has made allowances for an increase in the personal income-tax threshold to $140,000, removing 5,000 people from the tax net and a $100,000 national cash grant for every adult Guyanese citizen, as was promised last year. The old-age pension increased from $41,000 to $46,000 monthly, plus a new $20,000 annual transportation grant.
Looking at Dr Singh’s $1.558 trillion fiscal plan, which includes significant spending increases for human development and physical infrastructure, funded partly by oil revenues projected to reach US2.4 billion in profit oil and US$375 million in royalties, that’s just one set of transformative measures which are people-centred and people-oriented.
Examine the other allocations for security, housing, tourism, public services, labour and energy sectors, to name a few, and the ordinary Guyanese will find that this budget is also making continuous investments in jobs, training and entrepreneurial advancements even as it still focuses on technology.
Secondly, the WIN and the Partnership for National Unity (APNU)’s job is to scrutinise the budget.
Nothing else will be expected in the budget debate on Monday. But the APNU\WIN opposition will only be pulling at straws if they do not bring their ‘A’ game, especially when they find fault with the minister’s allocations in every sector. If they will oppose, then they should propose. They should be left with the burden of identifying resources which the minister or the government could realign and redirect towards these areas.
APNU/WIN should not be given an easy time either. The PPP should sharpen their proverbial axes and knives and go to war with the sole aim of pointing out the duplicitous, misleading, wrong and sensational statements that the opposition will make in parliament.
For instance, the opposition leader will talk about government corruption and poverty. Government parliamentarians should be prepared with all relevant documents and cases to depict the facts to combat this misinformation and the sordid lies that he will tell. Apart from the opposition leader, the public should brace themselves for presentations from Amanza Walton-Desir, Juretha Fernandes, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, Natasha Singh-Lewis, and Vinceroy Jordan, which could be epic and drama-filled with the usual distortions and cunning lies.
Newcomers to watch are Sharma Solomon, Terrence Campbell, and Dexter Todd.
From the government benches, the politicians to pay close attention to are Anil Nandlall, Gail Teixeira, Priya Manikchand, Mark Phillips, Charles Ramson, Bishop Juan Edghill, Sonia Parag, Frank Anthony, Zulfikar Mustapha, Susan Rodgriues, and Kwame McCoy. They could be sharp and very lethal with their arguments and presentations.
New faces to watch their presentations starting Monday will be Keoma Griffith, James Bond, Vanessa Benn, and Sarah Brown, since they are intelligent, witty and no strangers to the limelight.
So, the National Assembly will come alive with arguments, debates, props, and laughter.
Thirdly, the public expects all parliamentarians to have class and decorum. One would expect these parliamentarians to be politically crafty with how they plan to debate the budget. It is important to practise active listening, keep an open mind, and be respectful.
One would even expect the use of props and other forms of illustrations to be used in their presentations. In any event, Guyanese expect the use of skilful argumentation and persuasiveness, but above all, the truth would be present. As a matter of fact, the truth was essential and critical to this year’s budget debate, as it is to every other debate and public life.
Remember that effective debating centres on the exchange of knowledge, the promotion of progress, and the application of intellectual rigour, rather than simply seeking victory or engaging in conflict. Essential insights highlight that genuine debate necessitates active listening, logical reasoning, and mutual respect, often serving as the cornerstone for democratic and open-minded discussions.
Finally, next week, when the debate is over and the arguments have been made, we still will move on with our lives. The whole country will know who has won and which party has the greatest debater…
The greatest debater will be the parliamentarian who can defend or poke holes in the premise of the national budget, while demonstrating class and dignity in his argumentations. Who will this be? The clock is ticking….tik…tok!
8945DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.