Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, on Monday pushed back against claims that Budget 2026 does not cater to the people, as he outlined how the budget provides a plethora of social measures and infrastructure provisions, underscoring that, “this budget binds growth with fairness and opportunities with inclusion.”
Edghill was the third speaker of the day and the first for the government side as Budget Debates on the 2026 Budget commenced in the National Assembly at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.
As he got the ball rolling, Edghill responded directly to points made by the Opposition MPs who spoke before him, We Invest in Nationhood’s Dr Andre Lewis and A Partnership for National Unity’s Vinceroy Jordan.
Jordan opened his party’s case with APNU’s longstanding, recycled claim that the budget offers nothing for the people, setting the theme his MPs are expected to repeat throughout the debates.
However, as he took to the floor, Minister Edghill listed a number of social measures contained in the Budget which he believes directly impact Guyanese at the individual level.
“Listen to who is going to get the benefits. Every family that gets a newborn baby continues to get $100,000 at the time of birth. The 206,000 children in our private and public schools who will get their cash grant of $85,000, putting people first. The 106,100 pensioners who will get their increase in pension, the 25,000 persons who will benefit from public assistance, 70,000 public servants who will benefit from an increased wage bill from $147 billion to $177 billion… thousands will benefit because we put people first,” Edghill contended.
Addressing criticisms that the budget is infrastructure heavy, Edghill highlighted the role infrastructure plays in improving the lives of individuals.
“We are hearing that people are complaining about how the budget is heavy on infrastructure. It is because they don’t take time to link how infrastructure will benefit the individual,” Edghill noted.
He provided concrete examples of the impact of major infrastructure projects saying: “Ask all the people of Region 3 who travel to Georgetown to work on a daily basis how the US$260M and the Bharrat Jagdeo River Bridge has transformed their lives. Ask the people of diamond how the new Heroes highway has transformed their lives and how they can get to work and back home and get their children to school early… Ask the people who use the Ogle to Eccles interlink, that is now moving on to providence with a direct link to the Bharrat Jagdeo River Bridge, how investment in infrastructure is making a difference in their lives.”
Edghill also rejected Jordan’s claims that the PPP/C had appropriated the Budget 2026 theme of “Putting People First” from the APNU 2025 manifesto, noting that the motif has been used by the PPP/C for years and reminding that it was even a core slogan and governing philosophy in the 1992 U.S. presidential campaign of Bill Clinton and Al Gore.
“These were concepts in the PPP/C long before the 2025 manifesto of the APNU. Budget 2026, rightly themed ‘Putting people First’, is a strong expression of the one guyana philosophy which recognises that true national progress must uplift all citizens. It is a social contract of inclusion and this budget intentionally directs resources to the everyday needs of the working family, small businesses, farmers, public servants and communities,” Edghill noted.
He further added, “Budget 2026 unlocks a new transformative growth that builds out a Guyana where every person…can partake in the nation’s successes. This is a well thought out people oriented, pro poor, service oriented, development focus budget with an aim to achieve a united and prosperous Guyana. This budget does that.”
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