ANTICIPATING the magnitude of development in store for Guyanese, especially the young people throughout Guyana, some young professionals say that Budget 2024 will enhance the lives of all through key investments in various sectors.

Co-Chair of the President’s Youth Advisory Council Dr. Josh Kanhai, during an Online interview with other young professionals, said that with this being the biggest budget in the history of Guyana, development for young people will advance to the next level.

According to him: “That is a hefty budget; $1.146 trillion is by far the largest we have ever seen for Guyana. That means a lot of development for this country; that means a lot of roads are going to be built, a lot of accessibility is going to happen, and it means a lot of people are going to get better infrastructure.”

As it relates to the development of health, Dr. Kanhai said that he is eager to see all that will be done in his sector, since, “development is key, especially for young people”.

He also said that Budget 2024 encapsulates all of what is to be done as the year progresses.

“This budget is encapsulating all of what I said; its theme, Staying the Course, Building Prosperity for All, is Guyana just being the phoenix that’s rising from the ashes,” Dr. Kanhai said.

He further related that while there are different elements in the budget that will be addressed in Parliament in the upcoming week, there is only one word to describe the budget: “Phenomenal”.

President of the US Embassy’s Youth Action Network Ellen Gopaul said that while the budget for 2024 may be the largest in Guyana’s history, in terms of absolute size, it was important to her to consider the three key factors: Growth, sustainability, and inclusivity.

According to Gopaul: “After reading the budget, from my observations, I saw that we have growth in terms of large infrastructural projects, and these are multi-year projects that are ongoing. We have inclusivity for youths, not just within the culture and youths’ allocations, but across all sectors where we’ve seen where those effects could multiply. We have seen allocations for women and girls, and we’ve seen allocations for persons with disabilities.”

She added: “We have just come out of a pandemic (COVID-19), The world had the Ukraine crisis with Russia with the war, and we have seen the effects of inflation and commodity prices. So, we have seen the improvements that the government has made to help with the cost of living during all of these circumstances, and I believe that this budget plays an integral role for prosperity for all people.”

Additionally, the founder of the Common Cent Financial Literacy podcast, Matthew Gaul said that he is “overly enthusiastic” about any budget, because his main concern is seeing the results and the outcome of the national budget.

He explained that while many Guyanese, like himself, have reservations about economics and finance due to failed promises by some administrations, he will analyse the budget based on the results.

While Gaul is waiting to see what will be delivered to the people, he said that there are some worthy commendations for the measures that are mentioned in Budget 2024.

“What is worthy of commendations are the measures that are within that budget that ought to increase the standard of living and the quality of life for all Guyanese. I think that we are on that path,” he said.