Report reflecting 58% poverty rate was from APNU’s era in gov’t – Ashni Singh

Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh had cause to clarify an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) document used by Opposition Parliamentarians during the 2026 Budget Debate, stating that the poverty rate mentioned in the report reflects APNU’s era in government.

The IDB report states that 58% of Guyanese are living in poverty. However, the Finance Minister said this figure is based on data collected between 2016 and 2018— when APNU was in government. The incumbent People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) administration returned to power in 2020.

Since then, Dr Singh posited, efforts have been made to uplift citizens and empower them through increased employment, higher wages, expanded cash transfers, and major investments in housing, education, and health care. Reduced unemployment, he said, was a major stride; the government has boasted that more than 104,000 new jobs were created in five years.

Earlier in the budget debate, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira also chided the opposition for misusing data and misleading citizens on the impact of government programmes.

“I’m not saying there’s no poverty, there is. There are gaps we have to close,” Teixeira said, but affirmed that the PPP/C government was improving the lives of citizens sustainably over the years.