Oil wealth will be pledged away to creditors — Charles Sugrim — Opinion

Oil wealth will be pledged away to creditors

October 3, 2026·3 min read

Dear Editor,

The Overall Deficit After Grants in the Guyanese public finance has deteriorated dramatically over the last 12 months under the watch of Dr. Ashni Singh. It declined from negative $35 billion in the first half of 2025 to negative $105 billion in the first half of 2026. No government can credibly present this as an achievement. It is driven almost entirely by runaway public expenditure, which rose by $62 billion year-on-year, while revenues shrunk by nearly $4 billion. Spending more while earning less is not a recipe for national development; it is a national disaster.

Rather than deal with this hard truth, the Irfaan Ali Government has sought to hoodwink the population on how much new oil revenues we have. But the truth of the matter more and more of our oil revenues are being pawned away to the banks as we borrow more and more every day.

These figures reveal that the PPP/C administration under President Irfaan Ali is pursuing a markedly more expansionary fiscal policy, financed through borrowing. Borrowing in Guyana tripled between the first half of 2025 and the first half of 2026. Let me repeat that: borrowing tripled in a single year and the figures are all there in their own Ministry of Finance MID-YEAR REPORT 2026^[1].

Net external borrowing surged from $19 billion to $71 billion, while net borrowing from the local banking sector rose from $16 billion to $35 billion, apparently to absorb excess liquidity being paid out to their favoured friends and families in the contracting class. The administration is borrowing from foreigners, and domestic lenders alike, with the evident purpose of financing a contracting class on projects that are not bringing relief to the people. How is Irfaan Ali delivering productive national development to the people of this nation?.

Unless the non-oil economy grows consistently and persistently faster than this debt accumulation, Guyana risks seeing its oil wealth (currently held in the Natural Resource Fund), pledged away to banks and other creditors. This raises immediate and serious concerns about debt sustainability and future interest burdens, something which Mr. Christopher Ram continues to highlight for the nation.^[2]

Interest payments already rose by $5 billion between the first half of 2025 and the first half of 2026. At this pace, annual interest payments are projected to exceed $20 billion by year-end, a snowballing obligation that consumes ever more fiscal space and leaves less for the Guyanese people. That is money flowing to lenders, not to citizens.

Dr. Ashni Singh is failing this nation as Minister of Finance by permitting his political leaders to raid the treasury without issuing the necessary fiscal advisories. This is not how a solid foundation is built for a nation.

Over the past three years, these reckless policies have directly fueled inflation and a runaway cost of living crisis, while the government deflects blame onto the Gulf war and Ukraine war rather than leveling with the people on their poor public financial policies. They have also crowded out private sector investment, which could have grown by an additional $70 billion over the past year had the government not absorbed so much new debt in the name of the people.

The Guyanese people should take nothing this administration says at face value. In real terms, they will be poorer next year than they were last year. Guyana’s most talented professionals already recognize this, which is precisely why so many young, skilled citizens continue to seek opportunities in better-managed countries abroad.

Our future is bleak. The PPP/C administration continues to mislead the uninformed public about the true nation of our country’s finance. Future administrations will be saddled with a humongous public debt that must be serviced. This reckless borrowing not only pawns future revenue to service the debt, but more importantly, it robs the citizens of services that must be curtailed to service the debt.

President Ali needs to come clean. In his recent trip to New York he boasted of the transformation of the economy^[3] with the building of roads, hospitals, and schools. What he failed to inform his audience is the burgeoning debt he has recklessly placed on the necks of our children and grandchildren.

Sincerely,
Charles Sugrim

References

Household relief boosted as food, energy costs climb – 2026 Mid-Year Report – Department of Public Information, Guyana — dpi.gov.gy ↩
Business & Economic Commentary by Christopher Ram - Stabroek News — www.stabroeknews.com ↩
'The Guyana we are building belongs to all of us' - President Ali updates Guyanese diaspora in New York - News Room Guyana — newsroom.gy ↩

Household relief boosted as food, energy costs climb – 2026 Mid-Year Report – Department of Public Information, Guyana

dpi.gov.gy · 2026-09-14

Household relief boosted as food, energy costs climb – 2026 Mid-Year Report – Department of Public Information, Guyana # Household relief boosted as food, energy costs climb – 2026 Mid-Year Report September 14, 2026 The government has expanded cash grants, subsidies and publicly funded services as rising food and energy prices put pressure on households, even as the country’s oil-driven economy continues its rapid growth. Consumer prices rose 4.4 per cent in the first six months of 2026, according to the government’s Mid-Year Report. Food prices increased 6.7 per cent and accounted for most of the overall rise. The 12-month inflation rate stood at 4 per cent in June. The report attributed the increase to imported inflation, stronger demand for food, retail mark-ups and unfavourable weather, while saying government measures had helped prevent sharper increases. “Government has ensured cash support to farmers, parents of school-age children, and every Guyanese over 18 years old to cushion the effect of increased costs, and to increase disposable income,” the report said. The largest initiative is a $100,000 cash grant for Guyanese aged 18 and older. Distribution began in March, with $42.5 billion spent during the first half of the year. The government also increased Old Age Pension payments to $46,000 a month from $41,000 and Public Assistance to $25,000 from $22,000. More than 30,000 people with disabilities received the higher Public Assistance payment. Families with school-age children received additional support. More than 206,000 children were eligible for $85,000 each through the Because We Care grant, a uniform allowance and a new transportation grant, up from a combined $55,000 previously. The government also paid examination fees for thousands of CSEC and CAPE students and spent $3.4 billion on its National School Feeding Programme during the first half of the year. Healthcare initiatives provided tens of thousands of people with eye examinations, spectacles and universal healthcare vouchers, while some patients received free prosthetic limbs and hearing aids. Housing remained another major area of spending. The government spent $89.9 billion of the $159.1 billion allocated for affordable housing and distributed 3,245 house lots, most to low- and moderate-income households. The PPP/C government also sought to contain energy costs by keeping electricity tariffs stable and maintaining a zero per cent excise tax on petroleum products, limiting the effect of higher global oil prices on consumers. Crude oil averaged US$92.50 a barrel during the first six months of 2026, nearly 29 per cent higher than a year earlier. Food affordability measures included direct assistance to rice farmers. The PPP/C government paid $2.8 billion to 5,106 farmers covering nearly 235,000 acres, alongside programmes intended to increase agricultural production and improve yields. The spending comes as Guyana continues to record extraordinary economic growth fuelled by its expanding petroleum industry. The economy grew an estimated 33.3 per cent in the first half of 2026, while the non-oil economy expanded 10.1 per cent. But the government said global commodity volatility, supply-chain disruptions and elevated food and energy prices remained risks to household purchasing power. “Government will continue to implement targeted interventions to contain cost of living pressures,” the report said. ### Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation (GWI) – Invitation for Bids – Supply and Installation of Transmission Mains at Adventure, Region #6 ### Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation (MARAD) – Notice to Mariners – No. 164 (2026) Offshore Guyana

Source

Oil wealth will be pledged away to creditors in Kiskadee Watch, October 3, 2026

Business & Economic Commentary by Christopher Ram - Stabroek News

www.stabroeknews.com · 2026-02-08

Business & Economic Commentary by Christopher Ram - Stabroek News # Business & Economic Commentary by Christopher Ram By Christopher Ram ... Mr. Sharma is not a professionally qualified accountant and does not meet the statutory requirements ordinarily associated with the office. More troubling than qualification, however, is performance. During a period marked by explosive growth in public expenditure running into tens of billions of dollars, the proliferation of discretionary funds and persistently weak financial systems, the Auditor General has shown zero appetite to challenge, interrogate or even issue timely and meaningful warnings. A review of the 2020 – 2025 Estimates under the Ali Administration shows an annual expansion of discretionary payments. In addition to the 40-hour part-time employment programme, cost-of-living buffers, community policing stipends and contract employment arrangements, Budget 2026 introduces yet another discretionary initiative, the house repairs programme. Each of these programmes demands extensive systems audits, rigorous beneficiary verification, reconciliation testing and post-payment forensic review. None has received that level of scrutiny. Taken together, they signal a decisive shift away from rules-based public finance contemplated by the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act toward political control of public funds, with the Auditor General content to observe rather than object. At the same time, Dr. Singh, as de facto Minister of Finance, has failed to modernise or implement systems capable of tracking, controlling and reporting such spending. This is precisely the environment in which an Auditor General should be demanding additional resources, specialist staff and forensic capacity. Instead, the response has been institutional quiet. Reports are produced on schedule, photographs are taken and deadlines are met – but audit quality, thematic analysis and systemic challenge are absent. ... More serious still is what has not been done. Despite clear statutory requirements, the Auditor General has failed year after year to conduct and present annual audits of tax concessions granted under the Income Tax (In Aid of Industry) Act. Billions of dollars in foregone revenue remain effectively unaudited. This is not a marginal omission; it goes to the heart of fiscal accountability and ministerial responsibility. ... occasionally but ser ... times in succession, ... last Chairman left ... What makes the present situation especially corrosive is that fiscal power and audit influence now sit within the same household. The de facto Minister of Finance presides over unprecedented discretionary spending, while his spouse exercises effective authority within the Audit Office as the de facto Auditor General. That arrangement is incompatible with any serious conception of independence. It would be unacceptable if formalised; it is scarcely less objectionable because it is informal. ... This is not a justification for extension. It is an admission of deliberate, inexcusable and unacceptable governance failure. Succession planning in a constitutional office is not optional; it is a duty. Its neglect has produced a false and manufactured choice: retain an Auditor General who has failed to assert the office in the public interest, or formalise an arrangement that would extinguish even the appearance of audit independence.

'The Guyana we are building belongs to all of us' - President Ali updates Guyanese diaspora in New York - News Room Guyana

newsroom.gy · 2025-09-24

President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Tuesday evening assured members of the Guyanese diaspora in New York that the transformation taking place in Guyana is real, people-centred, and inclusive, urging them to remain engaged and play their part in the country’s future. ... Dr Ali and First Lady Arya Ali attended a meet-and-greet reception with nationals living in the United States as part of activities surrounding the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Addressing a packed hall, the President reflected on the “new spirit” of Guyana’s development. He said the country is experiencing “a people-centred transformation built on service, glued together by love, and forward-looking through the eyes of unity.” ... The President praised the diaspora for keeping Guyana alive in their hearts while building lives abroad, but stressed that their contributions remain essential to national progress. He assured that his government is creating avenues for overseas Guyanese to invest, mentor, share expertise, or simply return home. ... He promised new investment opportunities tailored for the diaspora and reiterated that the Diaspora Unit will be modernised to better connect them to opportunities at home. ... Dr Ali emphasised that Guyana has shifted from a country that people once fled to one that now attracts global attention. He recalled a recent encounter on his flight to New York, where the pilot expressed pride in Guyana’s unfolding transformation. “The greatest injustice we can do to our country is to be negative and selfish about the progress. This is development happening in real time. It is visible, it is tangible, and it is undeniable,” he said. ... Dr Ali closed with a call for inclusivity and unity, stressing that development must lift women, youth, and the elderly. He highlighted measures such as raising pensions, expanding women’s opportunities, free education, and targeted support for Indigenous communities. ... , but about ... He assured the diaspora that Guyana’s transformation is designed for them too—whether they choose to return permanently, invest, or simply remain connected. “The Guyana we are building belongs to all of us—those who stayed, those who returned, and those who live abroad but never stopped caring. Together, we will build a strong, united One Guyana,” the President declared.