Dear Editor,

THE October 3, 2025 Peeping Tom column, ‘The shrinking Bank’, is yet another example of the misinformation and distortion being pushed by Kaieteur News. It is both unfair to the public, and a reckless rewriting of what was actually promised by the PPP/C government.

At no point during its campaign did the PPP/C ever pledge a large-scale “Development Bank” of the kind the columnist now ridicules with talk of skyscrapers, revolving doors, and mega-financing for highways and hydropower plants.

Every single item of campaign paraphernalia, every manifesto line, and every public commitment made by the PPP/C referred explicitly to an SME Development Bank. Its purpose was always clear: To support small and medium-sized businesses, to widen access to credit, and to stimulate grassroots enterprise across Guyana.

The attempt now to recast this as some bait-and-switch deception is patently false. The PPP/C never promised a capital-rich financial institution to rival global investment banks. Instead, the SME Development Bank was conceptualised as a means to meet real needs on the ground – access to small loans, support for new entrepreneurs, and the empowerment of ordinary Guyanese to build livelihoods for themselves and their families.

It is telling that the columnist chooses to paint such a programme — which echoes models that have successfully lifted millions out of poverty worldwide — as nothing more than a “pawn shop” or a “glorified micro-loan shop”.

This kind of casual sneering dismisses not just the PPP/C government’s policy but also the real aspirations of small business owners who stand to benefit.

Editor, it is fitting to remind that just one day before, on October 2, 2025, PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo condemned the misinformation and disinformation being pushed by sections of the media. The Peeping Tom column is a prime example.

By perpetuating the myth of a promised “Development Bank”, Kaieteur News is not critiquing government policy in good faith but actively misleading the public.

Sincerely,

Brian Azore