Dear Editor,
Although the 2026 Budget is branded under the theme “Putting People First,” its structure and priorities suggest a different emphasis. The budget is fundamentally development-led rather than people-led, placing heavy weight on infrastructure expansion, energy projects, and long-term economic growth, while assuming that benefits will eventually reach households. For many citizens, however, the challenge is not tomorrow’s growth but today’s cost of living.
The government’s approach relies largely on indirect relief. Adjustments to the income tax threshold, increased stipends, and expanded public assistance provide some support, but these measures mainly benefit formally employed workers and the poorest households. Large segments of the population—particularly informal workers, small traders, and middle-income families—continue to face rising food prices, transportation costs, rent, and utility bills with little immediate cushioning. In this context, a budget that truly puts people first would prioritize direct, short-term household relief, such as food or transport subsidies, utility support, or broad cash transfers that stabilize living standards while longer-term projects are underway.
At the same time, the budget’s use of oil revenues reinforces a top-down development model. Vast sums are allocated to capital projects, yet there is limited transparency about how these investments translate into measurable improvements in daily life or reductions in inequality. Citizens are positioned largely as beneficiaries of outcomes rather than as participants in decision-making. A genuinely people-first approach would place greater emphasis on shared oil wealth, whether through direct citizen dividends, child or family benefits, or participatory mechanisms that allow communities to influence spending priorities and monitor results.
In effect, the 2026 Budget puts growth, infrastructure, and the future first, with people expected to benefit over time. A people-first budget would reverse that logic—protecting households now, easing immediate economic pressures, and ensuring that oil wealth is felt directly and transparently in the lives of ordinary Guyanese, even as the country builds for the future.