‘We have always put people first’ – Finance Minister 

Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh said the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) has always put people first, a sentiment he expressed as he championed this year’s $1.558 trillion budget.

Budget 2026, the first of the current People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration following its landslide victory in the September 2025 elections, represents a 12.7 per cent increase over last year and a staggering 307 per cent jump from the $383.1 billion budget of 2021.

Dr Singh said the budget theme, “Putting the People First,” underscores the government’s commitment to fostering inclusive development and expanding opportunities for all citizens. And he opined that successive PPP governments have always “put people first.”

The Finance Minister said these efforts are evident in the improvements in healthcare seen across the country, support for students and vulnerable groups through write-offs and cash grants, the development of much-needed infrastructure, and the continued expansion of the economy. However, he said there is more work to be done.

“We are working hard, and we are building a modern Guyana.

“We are working every day to solve problems, that’s what responsible governments do. And we have been very clear that the Guyana that we have been building is not a Guyana where anybody will have to sit around waiting for a Pablo or a Pedro to come around and give them a small piece,” Dr Singh said after midnight, seemingly tireless.