‘Easy to make fake promises’ – Min. Bharrat reminds of APNU+AFC’s failed 100-day plan


Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat on Monday rebutted promises made by Opposition Member of Parliament Shurwayne Holder that his party is poised to offer significant increases in pension and the income tax threshold as well as a reduction of Value Added Tax (VAT), among other cost-effective measures.
“It is easy to make fake promises like they did in 2015, but from 2015 to 2020, we went backward instead of forward,” Bharrat stated during his contribution to the 2025 budget debate in the National Assembly.
He spoke after Holder, who in his speech, promised a 35% increase in public servants wages, increasing income tax threshold to $400,000, provide over $1M in cash grants to each household, reduced cost of cooking gas, the provision of a $10,000 Child Care Allowance for every child from birth up to 16 years old, and an increase old age pension to $80,000.
“We will ensure Guyanese workers earn a living wage and Guyanese households earn a livable income in our first year in government. This is our social contract and commitment to the people for Guyana,” Holder said.
Minister Bharrat, in response, pointed out that from 2015 to 2020, the APNU+AFC Government did the opposite of what they promised ahead of the 2015 elections.
He referred to the former administration’s 100-day plan, which they failed to fully implement at the end of their term in office.
In the 100-day plan, which was used to score political points before the elections, the APNU+AFC had said it would reduce the Berbice River Bridge toll and significantly increase the salaries of Government and Public Sector employees.
The coalition government also promised that it would establish a long-term economic plan to realise the vast potential of the country, but the then President David Granger went on to tell the public that there is scope for Guyana’s growth by selling plantain chips and cook-up rice.
The 100-day plan also promised the liberalisation of the telecommunications and information communication technology sector, but it was the PPP government that realised this in October 2020.
Meanwhile, in praising the 2025 National Budget, Minister Bharrat said the document “balances infrastructural development, economical development with environmental sustainability with pro-poor measures so the people of the country can benefit.”
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