-says 2025 National Budget a continuation of investing in people, communities

IN a comprehensive overview of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C administration’s fiscal strategies, President, Dr Irfaan Ali emphasised that the last four national budgets were designed with one guiding principle in mind: improving the well-being of the people of Guyana.

The Head of State during a Sunday afternoon broadcast stated that the government has exceeded its own expectations by fulfilling its commitment to a people-oriented strategy and investing in various sectors to uplift the population.

“The whole philosophy of the last four budgets was about improving the conditions of people, the life [sic] of people; the conditions of [the] community; empowering people; creating wealth; building prosperity; expanding growth; opening up opportunity [sic]; and investing in the development of our people all across the country, whether it’s health care, education, community services, roads, infrastructure, drainage, agriculture. It was all about investing around people, empowering people, uplifting people,” President Ali said.

Some key achievements he noted included reversing over 200 punitive taxes, saving the private sector $100 billion annually and boosting foreign direct investment.

These taxes which were imposed by the previous administration, he noted, had ‘killed’ the country’s economy, dulled productivity, extracted disposal income from citizens and reversed growth in many sectors.

“One of the first things we did was the adjustment to the tax regime to improve the investment climate of our country and provide relief to citizens. These included restoring the VAT zero rate on basic food items and household necessities; rolling back freight costs to pre-pandemic levels; reducing [the] excise tax on gasoline and diesel and adjusting the income tax threshold.”

MANIFESTO PROMISES

Shifting his attention to the government’s manifesto promises, President Ali noted that not only has the government delivered on all of the commitments it made during its campaign run back in 2020, but it had exceeded them beyond expectations.

“We were able to exceed, even before the presentation of budget 2025, the GOAL [Guyana Online Academy of Learning] scholarship programme, more than 20,000, close to 30,000 scholarships issued; 70 per cent of which went to women; ICT liberalisation. This would have saved consumers billions of dollars; reducing the cost of data; reducing the cost of capital for ICT businesses and giving wider access to ICT-related services, data services that are critical in empowering especially young people,” he said.

The Guyanese leader reminded viewers that the government brought back the Because We Care education grant, increasing it incrementally over the span of five years.

This had resulted in a direct cash injection of $26 billion going to the country’s children.

Further, the government has invested more than $28 billion in electricity generation, ensuring that the country was able to keep pace with the expansion of its economy and the demand for electricity.

Highlighting specifically the country’s flagship gas-to-energy project, President Ali noted that the government’s investments are interrelated.

“The gas-to-shore project that will bring down the cost of electricity by 50 per cent; that will put back more money into the pockets of people; that will make us more competitive; that would allow the migration of more international businesses in manufacturing, agro-processing, [and] industrial development here in Guyana.”
This in return, he explained, will create sustainable and long-term jobs, translating into prosperity of people and the expansion of businesses.

HEALTH AND EDUCATION
Investments in healthcare, education and infrastructure were highlighted, with $108 billion spent on healthcare and $54 billion on education.

With the massive investments in the healthcare sector, public health has seen a transformation with more specialised services now being offered.

To this end, he pointed to the six regional hospitals that are currently under construction, which will create more beds and specialised care.

“Between 2021 and 2023, all the regional health centres were upgraded at a cost of $12 billion. Between 85 and 90 per cent of drugs and medical supplies are now available in the healthcare sector, that is, our health dispensaries, our pharmacies.”

Regarding education, the Head of State noted that more educators across the country have been trained.

Meanwhile, some 34 schools across the country were either extended or constructed since 2020, while some 315 nursery institutions, 440 primary institutions and 150 secondary intuitions were rehabilitated.

“So, we have been investing not only in infrastructure, the school, having good buildings, but also building recreational facilities for children to enjoy, creating good public open space[s] for quality of life.”

He added: “Now budget 2025 will continue the story, the story of giving our pensioners more, the story of giving our children more, investing more in our communities.”