In his searing budget critique, Opposition MP Christopher Jones zeroed in on two areas where the PPP government has failed the people: health care and governance. With rising corruption allegations and hollow promises, Jones declared Budget 2025 as yet another betrayal of the trust and hopes of Guyanese citizens.
Jones reminded Parliament of the stark consequences of the PPP’s decision to scrap free dialysis treatment—a policy implemented under the David Granger administration. Under the PPP, dialysis patients now pay $12,000 per session, or $36,000 weekly, which amounts to a staggering $144,000 monthly.
“The result is devastating,” Jones said. “Forty-five percent of the patients who once received free treatment are no longer with us. Not because they sought treatment elsewhere, but because they are dead.”
He recounted the tragic story of a New Amsterdam man who, faced with the choice of paying for dialysis or feeding his family, chose the latter and ultimately succumbed to his illness. “Cde Speaker, this is the grim reality under the PPP—lives lost because the government chose private profits over public health,” Jones said.
Jones also lambasted the PPP’s deliberate weakening of parliamentary oversight. He cited the collapse of critical committees, such as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which has met progressively fewer times under the PPP’s tenure—from 25 meetings in 2021 to just 9 in 2024. He blamed the decline on a resolution spearheaded by Governance Minister Gail Teixeira, accusing her of obstructing transparency.
“The PPP promised constitutional reform, but their actions speak louder than words. The committee on constitutional reform chaired by Attorney General Anil Nandlall met once in 2024—just once!” Jones revealed.
He also criticized the government’s negligence in foreign affairs and security oversight. “Despite Venezuela’s aggressive actions on our borders, the Foreign Relations Committee met only once in 2024. The Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Security? Zero meetings since 2020. Cde Speaker, this is incompetence on a scale we have never seen before.”
Jones accused the PPP of fostering a “kleptocracy supported by an oligarchy,” where public needs take a back seat to personal greed. He cited growing allegations of corruption at the highest levels, including within the Guyana Police Force and the Judiciary.
“Cde Speaker, an oligarchy which threatens democracy in Guyana has already been formed and is rapidly growing,” Jones warned, invoking former President David Granger’s 2011 statement that the PPP “places personal greed before public need.”
Jones’s speech was a blistering indictment of the PPP’s governance failures, calling Budget 2025 a “farce” and urging a new course for the nation. “The people of this nation deserve better. This farce must end,” he concluded.
