Dear Editor,
Despite Guyana’s rapid economic expansion, many young adults continue to face significant financial pressure. For much of the “Generation Z”, the central concern is affordability (whether their income can realistically cover basic expenses), while allowing them to build assets such as a home.
A survey conducted in December 2025 that I saw, underscores this reality. Although inflation has slowed, food, utilities, and housing-related costs remain high relative to wages. For lower- and middle-income earners, this gap is widening, making home ownership increasingly difficult compared to a generation ago.
The experience of “Kathy K,” a 28-year-old public servant, illustrates the challenge. Kathy holds a Master’s degree and works full-time in the public sector. To supplement her income, she operates a small shop from her mother’s home in Sophia. Several years ago, she was allocated a government house lot and exhausted her savings to pay for it. Today, she is trying to accumulate approximately $800,000 needed for basic land filling and preparation before construction can even begin.
Her net monthly income is about $140,000. From this, she covers transportation, contributes to household expenses (her mother is unemployed), pays $15,000 monthly on a modest used car loan, and manages electricity bills exceeding $18,000 per month. After these obligations among other vital living expenses, little remains for savings. She told us that taking on a mortgage feels risky, as default could mean losing the land she worked so hard to secure.
Kathy had hoped that the announced electricity reductions and cash grants made by President Ali on the elections, would ease some of the pressure. With those expectations unmet, her timeline for building even a modest home has been pushed further into the future. She often finds herself recalculating her budget at night, trying to determine how long it will realistically take to begin construction.
Her situation is not unique. The findings from the survey indicate that 47% of the “Gen Z” respondents have completed university, yet youth unemployment remains high, and many believe upward mobility opportunities are limited outside specialized sectors. Housing costs continue to rise, and the age of first-time home ownership has shifted from an average age of 31 a decade ago to 44 years old today for many young professionals.
Perhaps most concerning, 64% of respondents expressed skepticism that oil wealth will meaningfully improve their personal circumstances. There is a growing perception that national growth is not translating into broad-based personal economic advancement. One respondent ask me rhetorically if she needs to start selling “chocolates”, as a side job to build her first modest home.
Economic growth figures and record budgets cannot alone define success. True progress will be measured by whether educated, hardworking young citizens like Kathy can realistically achieve stability, financial independence, and home ownership in the country they call home.
And yet again we had the biggest budget ever but for whom? Certainly not for the likes of “Kathy K”.