By “Frustrated Yute”
We are young, we are talented, and we are tired.
Tired of being sidelined. Tired of being told to wait our turn. Tired of watching the same faces, the same names, and the same networks get all the opportunities while the rest of us are expected to clap from the sidelines and “be grateful” we’re alive in an oil-rich country where wealth trickles down in the form of slogans and staged outreaches.
We, the young people of Guyana, want more than photo ops and empty promises. We want jobs. We want fairness. We want meritocracy. We want to build this country, not as spectators but as contributors, leaders, and owners of the future. We are not asking for handouts. We’re demanding a system that rewards hard work, innovation, and talent, not party cards, family names, or backdoor deals.
Every day, we wake up to rising prices, food, rent, transportation, while wages remain stagnant or unavailable. For many of us, having a degree, a skill, or an idea means nothing if we don’t know the “right people.” If we aren’t tied to the ruling class or loyal to the ruling party. How can we be expected to stay optimistic when even basic government contracts are hoarded by a handful of loyalists and recycled among friends and cronies?
Young entrepreneurs in Guyana face a wall of bureaucracy, high interest rates, and a system rigged against them. We want to start small businesses. We want to farm. We want to build. But where is the access to affordable land? Where are the government-backed loans at fair rates? Where is the tool rental programme that allows us to be contractors and builders of this so-called modern Guyana? We don’t want to leave. We want to stay and grow. But Guyana has to give us a reason to believe that’s possible.
This country is booming, but for whom?
Too many of us feel like guests in our own homeland. There’s a culture of exclusion, of favouritism, of silencing dissent and rewarding sycophancy. It’s not just about race, but let’s not pretend it isn’t also about race. Young African Guyanese in particular have been sold a dangerous lie, that racism doesn’t exist anymore, that all is well, that the only thing holding us back is ourselves. Many of our parents, either out of fear or a misguided desire to shield us, failed to prepare us for the cold reality: that Guyana is still deeply raced. That under the PPP regime, the system is engineered to ensure we get the bare minimum while others feast at the table.
But we are not interested in being trapped in the bitterness and divisions of the past. We want a new Guyana. A Guyana where race no longer determines access to opportunity. A Guyana where what matters is your idea, your hustle, your work ethic. We want to build a country where the next generation doesn’t have to choose between staying silent or starving. Between leaving or losing hope.
The opposition, APNU and any other alliance serious about leading this country, must do more than criticize. They must articulate a clear, unapologetic vision for youth. Not a gimmick. Not a youth fair. Not another “youth arm.” A real plan. One that ensures young people are prioritized not as tokens, but as stakeholders. That doesn’t mean giving us anything for free. It means clearing the path and letting those who work hard rise. Give us a shot at the Guyanese dream, and we’ll show you how far we can take this country.
We’re not waiting around forever. We’re watching. We’re organizing. And soon, we’ll be voting too. The future of Guyana isn’t oil. It isn’t concrete. It’s us.
Give us a fair shot. Or lose us.
