Nandranie Singh, parliamentarian for the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party and representative of A New and United Guyana (ANUG), tore into Budget 2026 in the National Assembly, accusing the government of abandoning workers while hiding behind the theme “Putting People First.” WIN and ANUG had joined forces to contest the September 2025 General and Regional Elections.
Singh, a first-time Member of Parliament, opened her presentation by urging decorum in the House, expressing disappointment at repeated disorder and conduct unbecoming of Parliament. At one point, she chastised Education Minister Sonia Parag, equating her unruly behaviour to that of a “fowl” and calling on the minister to be a positive role model for children who watch parliamentary proceedings.
Turning to the budget, Singh said WIN stood “firmly with the workers and public servants” in condemning the absence of a salary increase in Budget 2026. She contrasted the government’s approach with WIN’s manifesto commitments, including a proposed 50 per cent increase for public servants and raising the income tax threshold from $130,000 to $200,000.
She argued that Guyana has the resources to properly compensate workers, noting a stark disparity between the living standards of government officials and ordinary citizens. “Government ministers are living far better lives than the people who pay their salaries,” Singh said, highlighting the continued struggles of Guyanese without adequate housing.
Singh questioned the credibility of the “Putting People First” theme, pointing to what she described as a “meagre” $10,000 increase in the income tax threshold. For a worker earning $200,000 monthly, this translates to roughly $2,500 in additional take-home pay—insufficient to meet basic household needs.
Citing the government’s 2025 Mid-Year Report, she noted that inflation stood at 2.9 per cent by June 2025, largely driven by rising food prices. “Workers are being asked to absorb higher living costs while wages remain stagnant, even as income tax contributions from the working class totalled $71 billion,” she said.
Singh also condemned the failure to adjust the national minimum wage in a $1.558 trillion budget, calling for an immediate review. She highlighted that the private sector minimum wage has not increased since 2022 and referenced calls from the Guyana Trades Union Congress and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana for wages that reflect the cost of living.
On social security, Singh questioned the effectiveness of a $10 billion one-off NIS cash grant announced in 2025. While authorities claimed up to 25,000 people could benefit, reports indicated only about 3,000 accessed the funds, at a cost of less than $1.2 billion. She called for clarity on what happened to the remaining money, delayed NIS reports, and actuarial reviews.
She cited an Inter-American Development Bank assessment showing that 58 per cent of Guyanese live in poverty, 32 per cent in abject poverty, and 67 per cent of the extremely poor reside in rural communities—realities at odds with the scale of the national budget.
Singh’s criticism focused heavily on the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning and the Ministry of Public Service, Government Efficiency and Implementation, which she said were treated as “afterthoughts.” She pointed to a reduction in the public service ministry’s budget from $8.4 billion in 2025 to $8 billion in 2026, questioning the government’s claims of efficiency and transformation.
She warned that inadequate funding for labour inspections, occupational safety, and enforcement undermined worker protection amid expanding economic activity. Citing workplace fatalities between 2020 and 2024, particularly in mining and construction, Singh criticised official responses that shifted blame onto workers.
Addressing labour exploitation, Singh referenced media reports of violations at Chinese-owned Aurora Gold Mines and raised concerns about multinational companies displacing Guyanese workers with lower-paid foreign nationals, especially in public hospitals.
In conclusion, Singh argued that Budget 2026 benefits “the few” rather than the many, prioritising infrastructure and “big numbers” while failing to protect workers, uphold dignity, or deliver shared prosperity. She said WIN could not support the budget, which fails to meet the needs of Guyana’s poor, working class, and vulnerable citizens.
