The government has expanded cash grants, subsidies and publicly funded services as rising food and energy prices put pressure on households, even as the country’s oil-driven economy continues its rapid growth.
Consumer prices rose 4.4 per cent in the first six months of 2026, according to the government’s Mid-Year Report. Food prices increased 6.7 per cent and accounted for most of the overall rise. The 12-month inflation rate stood at 4 per cent in June.
The report attributed the increase to imported inflation, stronger demand for food, retail mark-ups and unfavourable weather, while saying government measures had helped prevent sharper increases.
“Government has ensured cash support to farmers, parents of school-age children, and every Guyanese over 18 years old to cushion the effect of increased costs, and to increase disposable income,” the report said.
The largest initiative is a $100,000 cash grant for Guyanese aged 18 and older. Distribution began in March, with $42.5 billion spent during the first half of the year.
The government also increased Old Age Pension payments to $46,000 a month from $41,000 and Public Assistance to $25,000 from $22,000. More than 30,000 people with disabilities received the higher Public Assistance payment.
Families with school-age children received additional support. More than 206,000 children were eligible for $85,000 each through the Because We Care grant, a uniform allowance and a new transportation grant, up from a combined $55,000 previously.
The government also paid examination fees for thousands of CSEC and CAPE students and spent $3.4 billion on its National School Feeding Programme during the first half of the year.
Healthcare initiatives provided tens of thousands of people with eye examinations, spectacles and universal healthcare vouchers, while some patients received free prosthetic limbs and hearing aids.
Housing remained another major area of spending. The government spent $89.9 billion of the $159.1 billion allocated for affordable housing and distributed 3,245 house lots, most to low- and moderate-income households.
The PPP/C government also sought to contain energy costs by keeping electricity tariffs stable and maintaining a zero per cent excise tax on petroleum products, limiting the effect of higher global oil prices on consumers.
Crude oil averaged US$92.50 a barrel during the first six months of 2026, nearly 29 per cent higher than a year earlier.
Food affordability measures included direct assistance to rice farmers. The PPP/C government paid $2.8 billion to 5,106 farmers covering nearly 235,000 acres, alongside programmes intended to increase agricultural production and improve yields.
The spending comes as Guyana continues to record extraordinary economic growth fuelled by its expanding petroleum industry. The economy grew an estimated 33.3 per cent in the first half of 2026, while the non-oil economy expanded 10.1 per cent.
But the government said global commodity volatility, supply-chain disruptions and elevated food and energy prices remained risks to household purchasing power.
“Government will continue to implement targeted interventions to contain cost of living pressures,” the report said.