“Budget 2025 will continue to deliver to Guyanese people” – Finance Minister ahead of today’s presentation

Today Senior Minister within the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, will present the eagerly-awaited Budget 2025 to the National Assembly.

This budget, which is the fifth to be presented by the current People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, follows last year’s national budget of $1.146 trillion since taking office in August 2020.

The presentation of Budget 2025 holds significant weight, as it reflects the Government’s ongoing commitment to fulfilling its promises made to the people of Guyana. Already, PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo, who is also the country’s Vice President, the budget will be a continuation of the Party’s efforts to improve the lives of all Guyanese citizens.

In fact, similar sentiments were echoed by the Finance Minister ahead of his presentation in Parliament today. During a live broadcast on Thursday evening, Dr Singh noted that this year’s budget estimate will continue the track record of previous PPP budgets.

“Every budget that has been presented by the People’s Progressive Party in government has been a budget that has served the people and Budget 2025 is going to be no different… If there is anything that I would say is special about Budget 2025, I would say that it would continue the track record of previous PPP budgets… Budget 2025 will continue to deliver to the Guyanese people what we committed to them we will deliver, and that is, improvement in their wellbeing, improvement in the opportunities that are available for them and improvement in their circumstances in every regard,” the minister stated

He strongly asserted that, unlike the budgets passed under the A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC), this year’s budget will deliver tangible benefits directly to the citizens.

“If I were to go all the way back to the 1992 PNC government… People would await Budget Day with great fear and trepidation, not knowing which new punitive measure would be introduced and which benefit would be taken away.”

“In striking contrast, budgets presented by successive People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Governments have all been budgets that have addressed in a direct and frontal way the needs of the people, concerns of the people, delivering services to the people, creating opportunities for people, laying the foundation for a more resilient and more prosperous country going forward and generally doing so in a framework that is not punitive to the Guyanese people,” he noted.

Since coming to power, the PPP/C Government has emphasised economic expansion, infrastructure development, and social initiatives aimed at enhancing the quality of life across the nation. As the country’s economy continues to show promising growth, especially in sectors like oil and gas, agriculture, and infrastructure, all eyes are now on how the 2025 Budget will address both the short-term needs and long-term sustainability of the nation’s economy.

Last year, Guyana witnessed the passing of the country’s largest budget ever under the theme, “Staying the Course: Building Prosperity for All”.

Following the approval of the Finance Ministry budget after nearly two hours of scrutiny in the Committee of Supply, the Estimates of Expenditure for Financial Year 2024 was put on the floor of the National Assembly and subsequently approved.

This paved the way for the House to pass the Appropriations Bill 2024 – Bill No. 1 of 2024 after it was read three times.