McCoy says trust wins elections as WIN MPs walk out during his budget debate contribution

Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy, said “trust” was the central dividing line in Guyana’s politics during his contribution to the 2026 Budget debates on Wednesday but not before a dramatic walkout by the WIN opposition.

As McCoy rose to speak, all WIN parliamentarians left the Dome, a move he later referenced as he accused the opposition benches of offering “noise” instead of ideas, and of being unable to connect with the wider electorate.

McCoy argued that the PPP/C’s continued electoral success is rooted in public confidence built through delivery, telling the House that “progress… only come through trust… people got to trust you.” He maintained that Budget 2026 is designed to benefit “every single class, category, race” and insisted it is a governing plan with “a human face” behind every dollar.

He took aim at opposition claims that Afro-Guyanese are excluded from government benefits, saying he was “fully offended” by suggestions that state programmes are designed to shut out any group. In a pointed exchange directed at opposition member David Hinds, McCoy said broad-brush accusations of exclusion ignore the daily realities of government services and programmes, including work and support being delivered through the Office of the Prime Minister and other ministries.

To reinforce his “human face” argument, McCoy offered an anecdote of a young woman who began by selling meals at construction sites and, he said, has since expanded into operating a taxi service with four vehicles — using the example to argue that economic activity and opportunity are spreading through national development and public investment.

McCoy also dismissed opposition criticism of spending on infrastructure, arguing that roads, construction and public works are not abstract line items but opportunities that circulate income — from contractors and small businesses to vendors and workers.

Returning repeatedly to his main theme, McCoy said trust is earned through delivery and destroyed by failure, describing the former APNU+AFC administration as “a failed experiment” that left the opposition “impoverished of ideas.” He accused the opposition of “manufacturing slogans” for cameras while the government, he said, governs “with substance.”

He ended by thanking citizens for their confidence and pledging that the administration will continue “day in, day out” to work on improving lives — insisting that Budget 2026 is “for all the people” and designed to drive another wave of national progress.