–Rebukes lead APNU MP for masking APNU+AFC IDB data as Guyana’s performance
SENIOR Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, last Friday, blazed lead APNU Parliamentarian Terrence Campbell for repeatedly citing what he described as outdated poverty statistics that do not reflect Guyana’s current socio-economic reality.
Speaking during the third sitting of the 13th Parliament, Dr Singh highlighted that during the days of scrutiny in the Committee of Supply and heated debates, Campbell repeatedly referenced the poverty statistics drawn from an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) working paper that analysed survey data from 2016 to 2018, as well as 2021, the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Campbell had referenced the IDB report in the National Assembly while arguing that ordinary Guyanese were not being centred in this year’s fiscal plan.
It is in this regard that the Minister scolded Campbell for resurrecting the APNU+AFC era report and accused him of misrepresenting the poverty statistics and thereby painting a misleading picture of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government’s performance.
Dr. Singh called out the lead APNU Parliamentarian for ignoring the volumes of current government data on programme performance across all sectors, which he said document the significant progress in social and economic development.
Dr Singh stressed that the government has been transparent in providing updated data across sectors, including in the national Budget documents, which he said outline both progress made and areas still requiring attention.
“It was convenient for Mr. Campbell. It was convenient for him to ignore the existence of all of the other data that we have produced, not only in Volume Two, but all of the other data and all of the other reports that we’ve been producing and putting out there constantly, every single sector,” Dr Singh told the House.
“Every single sector in this government has been producing reports on a regular basis on their performance that documents what is being achieved, where gaps remain and what still remains to be done,” he added.
Although the IDB report clearly identifies the timeframe of the data used, the opposition repeatedly failed to disclose this context while presenting the figures as reflective of present-day conditions.
On page 41 of the report, under the appendix titled Surveys Analysed by Country, it states clearly that the data for Guyana comes from the Labour Force Survey for the years 2016 to 2018 and 2021.
The 2016–2018 period fell squarely under the APNU+AFC administration, while 2021 coincided with the economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, when the incumbent PPP/C administration returned to power in 2020.
The IDB publication, titled Ten Findings about Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean (Working Paper IDB-WP-01644), was released in November 2024.
The minister criticised Campbell for branding the IDB report as the only source of data, firmly stating, “Nothing could be further from the truth and I could present here a vast compilation of documents and reports that have been produced by my colleagues, the ministries under their respective charge, containing valuable data and extensive data on what we have achieved.”
Describing Campbell’s arguments as “fallacious” in relation to the poverty rate, the Minister noted that the lead APNU’s claims were even previously debunked, yet he refused to even acknowledge that the data was sourced from when APNU+AFC was in office.
The Minister also denounced Campbell’s disagreement with the removal of property tax on individuals, noting that “just a few minutes later, he extolled his own personal wealth.”
The Minister told the House that the Guyana, that the PPP/C government aims to build, will see every single Guyanese citizen being able to achieve personal and household prosperity.
The government, Dr. Singh defended, has emphasised its comprehensive vision for economic growth, including infrastructure and social sector investments, aiming for world-class services.
The Minister noted that despite the veiled efforts by the opposition, the Guyanese people can see through this and are well aware that both sides of the opposition have no interest in their well-being.
“The inescapable fact of the matter is that the only political party that presented a comprehensive vision for improving the lives of the Guyanese people is the People’s Progressive Party,” Minister Singh said.
“Budget 2026 will see us continuing to invest in the things that matter for the long-term viability and competitiveness of our economy, including infrastructure that is so critical to catalyse strong long-term economic growth, transport infrastructure, energy infrastructure, etc,” Dr. Singh said.
Dr. Singh reaffirmed that the PPP/C government remains committed to improving living standards and addressing poverty through expanded employment, education, health care and social-support programmes outlined in Budget 2026.
