BUDGET 2024: Finance Minister to unveil govt’s plan for gradual approach to ‘free UG’

By Vishani Ragobeer
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Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh will present the 2024 National Budget to the National Assembly on Monday and he is expected to detail how the government will gradually approach free university education by 2025.

The governing People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C), in its 2020 election campaign, said it would make university education free by 2025.

In December, President Dr Irfaan Ali said the government will deliver on its promise to make university education free and will undertake a step-by-step approach from 2024.

During a year-end interview with the News Room, President Ali said the government would deal with students paying loans first.

“We will be implementing and I will be making some announcements in relation to this phased approach that the President alluded to.

“Suffice it to say that if it is in our manifesto, if we committed to doing it, we will be doing it and you will be hearing a little bit more about that on Monday,” Dr. Singh said during a pre-budget interview with the News Room on Friday.

The Finance Minister emphasised that free university education was a promise made by the PPP/C in its manifesto- a document he describes as the party’s social contract with Guyanese- ahead of the 2020 General and Regional Elections.

And according to him, the PPP/C government intends on fulfilling every promise made.

However, Dr. Singh noted that free university education is just part of a “broader agenda” that will see the government investing in several sectors to guarantee support for households and to ensure that Guyana enjoys continued economic growth.

Come next week, the Finance Minister also said people can expect announcements that will allow households to get more money even as the government spends more on advancing big, infrastructural projects be it roads, schools or hospitals.

He also confirmed that there will be no new taxes in the budget, as has been the case in the last four budget presented since the PPP/C returned to office in 2020.