In a blistering critique that left no stone unturned, the Opposition parliamentarian Shurwayne Holder tore into the government’s 2025 budget, exposing it for what he claims is nothing more than an elaborate mirage designed to deceive the public while perpetuating the same policies of failure and exclusion.
Describing the budget as a reflection of the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) hollow promises, Holder, from the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) painted a bleak picture of a government clinging to its single-party rule and leaving the majority of Guyanese in the lurch.
Holder, his voice sharp with disdain, pointed out that the budget is a glaring reminder of how far the PPP is willing to go to disguise their incompetence and corruption. He said even the claim that the economy is booming, tens of thousands of Guyanese continue to struggle just to put food on the table.
According to parliamentarian the claim that that infrastructure is improving has seen no equitable distribution of wealth. To this end he queried why with Guyana’s prosperity the people who need relief are denied.
Holder’s scathing critique began with the glaring absence of meaningful policy engagement with the political opposition and other stakeholders. Despite the country’s rapid transformation due to oil wealth, he remarked, the PPP continues to ignore the voices of the opposition, civil society, and the very people they claim to represent.
They say ‘One Guyana,’ but this “nothing more than an empty campaign slogan orchestrated to deceive Guyanese while they conceal their quest for total domination and control of the country through one Party rule,” he countered.
He didn’t mince words when it came to the management of natural resources. Turning to the gold mining sector, Holder accused the government of disregarding the industry’s potential.
For five years, he thundered, the PPP has mismanaged the gold sector, watched production plummet by over 30%, and failed to capitalise on the booming market. They promised progress, but under their watch, Guyana lost billions—$300 billion, to be exact- Holder pointed out, and lambasted the government for the absence of accountability, a proper plan for the future.
Not stopping there, Holder dug deeper into the corruption he alleges runs through the veins of the PPP’s policies. In addressing what the Opposition said is Government’s policy of ‘friends, family, and favourities’, the parliamentarian said small and medium-scale miners are being shut out, while government cronies reap the rewards.
He highlighted a particular case in the Puruni area where the “Minister of Natural Resources in 2023 issued a retroactive order in …an attempt to wrestle possession of a mining claim away from the miner who applied for the claim since 2012.”
Bauxite
The parliamentarian criticised the PPP government’s handling of Guyana’s bauxite industry, despite a 225% increase in production to 1.7 million tonnes in 2024.
He argued the rise was due to one company’s expansion, not overall industry growth. Under the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) government (2015-2019), production averaged over 1.66 million tonnes, peaking at nearly 1.92 million tonnes. Since 2020, production has dropped by over 50%.
Holder dismissed government claims about RUSAL’s departure, citing the APNU+AFC’s success in overcoming similar challenges. He also criticised the PPP for failing to capitalise on Guyana’s bauxite deposits and pledged to advance the industry with value-added products.
Oil and gas
Holder then shifted his focus to the oil and gas sector, where, according to him, the government’s handling of the nation’s newfound wealth was nothing short of reckless. He called out the PPP for depleting the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) at an alarming rate, draining the country’s oil revenues for short-term gain without regard for future generations. “qBy their own admission, global oil prices are about to drop,” Holder pointed out, “and what are they doing? Spending every last cent, as if there’s no tomorrow. What happens when the oil runs dry, Mr. Speaker? Will we be left with empty coffers and a devastated economy?”
A particularly damning portion of Holder’s speech revolved around the issue of accountability—or the lack thereof. The PPP, he said stands guilty of disrespecting the very laws they created as he blasted the government for the absence of transparency and prudent management of taxpayers’ money.
In a final, impassioned plea, Holder laid out the APNU’s vision for the country, emphasizing a shift towards sustainable and responsible governance, making known the future of Guyana demands better than what the PPP has given.
The 2025 budget, Holder concluded, represents not a plan for progress but a further entrenchment of the PPP’s grip on power, indifferent to the struggles of ordinary citizens.
