–Dr. Singh hammers opposition for ‘sordid and disgraceful’ history of corruption, failure to deliver on promises
–exposes ‘unrealistic, whimsical and fanciful promises’ that amount to nearly a trillion dollars without any allocation for critical sectors

ARMED with newspaper clippings and official records, Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh provided a searing indictment of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)/A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), calling them “clueless and confused” as they continue to peddle false narratives and attempt to rewrite history to mask their failures.

Dr. Singh, in closing off the Budget 2025 debate on Friday, exposed the opposition’s long history of corruption, economic destruction, and failure to deliver on promises.
The other side of the House sat almost mute, while Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton and several other members of parliament were absent for the majority of the Finance Minister’s presentation.
The Opposition Leader had made his presentation just before Dr. Singh, and spoke at length about his party’s plans, should it assume the governing role.
Norton touted “a people-centred strategy for development,” which includes a significant reduction in taxes, and the alleviation of the high cost of living.

Dr. Singh, however, said that with the opposition’s track record, it is highly unlikely that it will ever return to the governing office, and warned that their incompetence, economic mismanagement, and deception were the reasons they were rejected by the electorate.
The Finance Minister reminded the nation of the APNU+AFC’s disastrous tenure in office between 2015 and 2020, during which they implemented draconian taxation policies, stifled economic growth, and mismanaged national resources.
He directly chastised Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, stating: “I was reminded of an old saying: “Turtle can’t walk if he nah push he head out de shell.” They remain just as clueless and as confused as they were between 2015 and 2020, and as they were before 1992. They remain just as clueless and confused as they’ve always been – incompetent.”

Dr. Singh emphasised that every time the PNCR held power, it resulted in economic collapse. To illustrate this, he presented newspaper clippings from the 1980s and early 1990s, detailing the consequences of PNCR’s policies, including rampant inflation, food shortages, and international isolation.
“There is an almost perfect correlation between the political and economic history of our country. The APNU and the PNC before them have, on every occasion, demonstrated absolute disregard for democratic norms, respect for the will of the people, or even a shred of concern for the citizens they were supposed to serve,” the Finance Minister said.

He reminded the public that the PNCR, under Forbes Burnham, once banned basic food items like flour and potatoes, criminalising citizens for eating roti and dhal.
“Mr. Norton comes today to say he’s proud of the fact that their party banned basic food items. The APNU+AFC has learned nothing. They want to mislead the people into believing they have changed, but they are the same PNC that reduced this country to pauperism,” Dr. Singh posited.

HYPOCRISY ON INFRASTRUCTURE AND SPENDING
Dr. Singh systematically tore apart the opposition’s criticism of the PPP/C’s investment in infrastructure, pointing out their contradictory stance on development projects.
“For weeks, we heard APNU members claim that we are investing too much in infrastructure. Then Norton comes and promises multiple bridges across the Essequibo River – not one, but multiple! Which is it? They want infrastructure or they don’t?” the Finance Minister said.
He ridiculed the opposition for their fascination with feasibility studies, sarcastically noting: “The champion of feasibility studies as Mr. Norton is, I don’t know where these studies are for the multiple bridges he promised. Maybe he’ll share them with us.”
Dr. Singh also highlighted Norton’s “absurd proposal” to bring back Guyana Airways Corporation (GAC), a failed state-owned airline known for mismanagement under the PNC.
He said: “They want to bring back GAC, but they conveniently forget that under Burnham, the aircraft was used as a private jet. Seats had to be changed to his favorite colour, and friends and family were prioritised over paying passengers. They ran it into the ground, just like everything else they touched.”

RECORD OF DELIVERY
Dr. Singh reaffirmed that Budget 2025 is designed to continue Guyana’s transformation, ensuring prosperity for all citizens.
He pointed to tangible achievements under the PPP/C, including doubling the income-tax threshold, increasing the old-age pension from $20,500 to $41,000 per month, and expanding access to education and healthcare.
“We have doubled the income tax-threshold in one term, from $65,000 to $130,000 per month. We have increased old-age pensions and introduced a $100,000 baby grant for new mothers for the first time in our country’s history,” the Finance Minister posited.
He added that the government is building modern hospitals, expanding the housing sector, and enhancing infrastructure, all of which create jobs and opportunities for thousands of Guyanese.
Dr. Singh said: “Every child in Guyana today has access to better education, every patient has access to better healthcare, and every Guyanese has the opportunity to own a home. That is the reality under the PPP/C.”

APNU’S BUDGET PROPOSALS
Dr. Singh also dismantled APNU’s reckless and unrealistic budget proposals, which he calculated would cost nearly a trillion dollars—without a clear plan to fund them.
“Their fictitious, imaginary measures, their whimsical and fanciful promises, amount to nearly a trillion dollars before they even build a school, a hospital, or a single road,” he said.
According to Dr Singh, these measures would cost an estimated $799 billion, and this fanciful host of proposed measures exclude the allocations needed for critical sectors like infrastructure and education.
Dr Singh challenged the opposition to justify that these measures would not cost as much as estimated.

He further urged the public to scrutinise these promises and do their own calculations to determine their feasibility.
“I want you to go and see what they promised you and pull out your pocket calculators and calculate for yourself. These things that they are promising you alone would cost about a trillion dollars,” Dr. Singh said.
He exposed their contradictions, highlighting their promise to eliminate VAT on electricity and water—taxes they introduced while in government.
“They put VAT on electricity and water in 2015. Now they come and tell you they’ll give it to you for free? The Guyanese people are not stupid,” he emphasised.

Dr. Singh warned that APNU’s deception was an insult to the intelligence of the people, stating: “They believe they can pull the same trick they did in 2015, when an entire generation had forgotten their failures. But after five years of their rule, the Guyanese people will never forget again.”

In closing, Minister Singh reaffirmed that with PPP/C government will be delivering on its promises and forging ahead with Guyana’s unprecedented economic growth.

“We in the PPP/C will continue to deliver to the Guyanese people, and Budget 2025 represents this latest instalment in our continued delivery to the Guyanese people. We will continue to deliver, we will execute Budget 2025, we will win the elections later in 2025, and we will continue to deliver until 2030, and long beyond 2030,” he added.