Dear Editor,
As the Thirteenth Parliament commenced and new Members of Parliament (MPs) have been sworn in to serve as representatives of their constituencies in the National Assembly, the ‘Building Our Dream Guyana Movement’ would like to reiterate the earlier proposal advocating for an increase in the monthly stipend for Members of Parliament.
Even as the government is preparing the budget for 2026, we recommend that the sum of five hundred thousand dollars (G$500,000.00) be budgeted, as the monthly stipend for parliamentarians from 2026. In addition to an increase in stipend to $500,000.00 for Members of Parliament (MPs), we are proposing that the government facilitate parliamentary offices for Opposition MPs, in their constituencies. The draft structure and budget could be as follows.
Each Opposition Member of Parliament could have an office with two staff members, maybe a Secretary/Finance Officer and a Community Development Officer/Outreach Officer. The monthly salary for the Secretary/Finance Officer could be G$160.000.00 and for the Community Development/Outreach Officer G$200.000.00; rent for office G$200.000.00; office supplies, utilities, and other expenses G$140,000.00 monthly; which will amount to G$700,000.00 per month by twenty-nine parliamentarians with a total of G$20,300.000, and annually, G$243,600,000.
Therefore, an increase of G$500,000.00 stipend per month for sixty-five parliamentarians with an annual total of G$390,000.000 and the annual budget for the operations of parliamentary offices for Opposition MPs at G$243,600,000, will cost G$633,600.000, annually. Members of Parliament need resources from the state, through the government to effectively contribute and to strengthening good governance in our oil-rich country, the institution of parliament, and representation of their constituencies.
Guyana is now an oil and gas producing and a high-income country and our parliamentarians need to have a more proactive approach to problem solving, finding solutions for members of their constituencies, upgrading and giving greater effect to the functionality of our systems of governance, such as the parliamentary system. There are many gaps and hinderances to a more robust parliamentary system and the effectiveness of representation by parliamentarians. There is also an urgent need for a more structured approach to governance and representation that enables sustainable growth and development of their constituencies by MPs.
The government has an excellent opportunity to really make some structural changes by broadening the scope for good governance and representation for the sixty-five parliamentarians. ‘Building Our Dream Guyana’ hopes that the government would make this dream a reality by implementing this proposal from 2026.