–Minister Rodrigues emphasises, says Budget 2026 ‘ambitious, bold,’ puts Guyanese at the centre of prosperity

AMBITIOUS and bold were the words used by Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Susan Rodrigues to describe Budget 2026, which she hailed as a national blueprint for development, as it firmly places citizens at the centre of the nation’s growth and lays the foundation for prosperity leading into 2030.
During ‘Budget in Focus,’ the minister firmly stated that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has a track record of pursuing a people-centred agenda unlike the opposition.
“We remove things that bring burden to people… [We’re] removing things that bring burden, not removing things that give benefit to people,” she stated.
From the increased social support to vulnerable groups and tax reliefs to interest-free loans for micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSMEs), the minister said this year’s budget is one of the strongest expressions of the government’s people-first agenda.
Budget 2026 is the first of five budgets designed to deliver on the PPP/C’s manifesto following the 2025 General and Regional Elections, and lays out President Dr. Irfaan Ali’s vision of delivering prosperity to every Guyanese.
Pointing to the government’s track record, Minister Rodrigues has urged citizens to examine previous budgets, from 2020 to now, which show that the PPP/C is the political party that stays true to their promises.
Aside from her ministry, the minister reasoned that there is a wide-ranging series of initiatives for other sectors.
Rodrigues particularly emphasised measures aimed at easing cost-of-living pressures, such as the additional $9 billion set aside in the budget for further cost-of-living support.
Assistance for children and the elderly will also be expanded, with the Because We Care grant increasing to $60,000 per child, the introduction of a $20,000 annual transportation grant for schoolchildren, and the $5000 uniform voucher, which, aggregately, will see each child receiving $85,000.
This will reflect in an estimated $12.4 billion being transferred to parents under the Because We Care programme.
Support will also continue to cover examination fees for Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) benefitting some 14,000 students.
These measures, according to the minister, will help parents to invest in their child’s future, and help the government to continue “to invest in our education system itself, empowering our teachers, building new schools, making it more comfortable for our children when they go in that space to learn, they can be in a conducive environment.”
Minister Rodrigues further noted that when one analyses the macro effect of this budget and all the other budgets under the PPP/C since 2020, it shows the government is on course to delivering prosperity for all.
She said the PPP/C has “never deviated from that group,” emphasising that “there’s no budget that comes along and shocks people by the removal of something that brought benefit to people.”
Notably, the elderly will see an increase in old age pension to $46,000 per month, and benefit from an annual transportation grant of $20,000, providing an additional injection of $1.9 billion in support.
Measures to raise disposable income include higher stipends for community-based workers, the return of the $100,000 national cash grant for persons aged 18 and above, the removal of net property tax on individuals and an increase in the income tax threshold to $140,000 per month, with the minister estimating that these fiscal measures will place more than $100 billion into the hands of citizens.
The government announced, too, the continuation of the $100,000 grant for every newborn child.
She also addressed the political quibbling from the opposition and reminded the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) that when they were in office from 2015, Guyanese citizens saw “erroneous” measures being put in place and benefits being taken away such as the ‘Because We Care’ grant, which the-then government had labelled as unsustainable.
She told APNU: “You gave zero…You gave nothing. You took away benefits from people, from children. We [PPP/C] gave it back and increase it, but they have the gall to criticize this government.”
She further cautioned citizens about the opposition’s rhetoric, noting: “People have to be honest and objective, and see that this party and this government, People’s Progressive Party/Civic, you can trust this government, because we have always remained faithful to our commitments every budget cycle annually, you see us making the necessary allocations to bring those promises to reality, to bring that vision into action.
“And that is what budget 2026 allows us to do. It is the first instalment in bringing our vision for manifesto 2026 to 2030, it’s our first instalment in bringing that vision to action, and that is why every Guyanese should be excited about this budget.”