During his 2026 Budget rebuttal in the National Assembly on Friday evening last, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, while outlining how the economy has improved over the last years, highlighted that credit to the private sector on the whole has more than doubled since the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) returned to office. He explained that in 2020 total credit by the banking system amounted to G$259.8 billion and by the end of 2025 it increased to a whopping G$531.8 billion dollars.
“..and it went to Guyanese businesses in agriculture, mining, manufacturing, services, credit to households, “Dr. Singh underscored, pointing out further that Guyanese are thriving under the leadership of the PPP/C government with more persons employed and earning while entrepreneurs are improving their businesses.
He added that real estate mortgages at the end of 2020 amounted to $90.6 billion and by the end of 2025, this amount doubled to $185.4 billion.
On this note the finance minister posited that the PPP/C government wants to make sure that every single Guyanese who wishes to set up a small business, is able to access credit or financing for their business as he alluded to the US$100 million allocated in the 2026 Budget towards the establishment of an SME development bank. The venture will allow for small entrepreneurs to access small business loans at zero interest with zero collateral.
“And we will not charge them interest, and we will work with them to be able to access additional financing with commercial banks,” Minister Singh added, noting that government’s ultimate objective is for the entrepreneurs to eventually graduate from the programme and become small and medium-sized entrepreneurs who can stand on their own.
Dr. Singh then concluded his rebuttal with a pledge to Guyanese on behalf of government.
“Our pledge to all Guyanese is that not a single day or a single hour will go by over the course of the next five years, that we, led by our President, will not be working hard to convince every single Guyanese person-those who voted with us and would like to stay with us, and those who, for whatever reason, did not vote with us-we will spare no effort in working hard to convince you and to demonstrate to you in an even more emphatic fashion than we have done in the past, that the People’s Progressive Party remains the vastly superior alternative amongst all competing political alternatives, “ he said.
With the Budget debates wrapped up on Friday, the National Assembly is currently considering the 2026 estimates of revenue and expenditure for every Ministry and agency and this will continue for another few days.