Azruddin Mohamed, Leader of the Opposition and head of the newly formed We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party, delivered a scathing critique of the 2026 National Budget on Friday, warning that Guyana stands at a historic crossroads.
“MR. SPEAKER, Guyana stands at a historic crossroads. Never has our nation commanded resources of this scale. But with that privilege comes responsibility. We cannot sit here as leaders of this great nation and mistake volume for vision or lavish spending for strategy,” Mohamed told Parliament.
“History will record what we did with this opportunity. Let it never be said, that at the hour of abundance, that we did not do our best to ensure all 800,000 plus Guyanese benefited from our wealth. Guyanese are not asking for miracles—only for fairness, for stability, for a chance to breathe without fear of the next price increase.”
Highlighting growing inequality, Mohamed noted that over 58% of Guyanese live in poverty, including 32% in abject poverty, yet the budget provides little support for single parents, pensioners, teachers, small business owners, and indigenous communities. He called on the government to focus on outcomes, not numbers, saying, “Bigger budgets do not equal better lives. Ask the farmers, the youths, or speak to the auxiliary staff in the ministries. A family can double its spending and still fall deeper into debt if priorities are wrong”
Mohamed, whose party emerged as the main opposition with 16 of 29 seats, rejected the $1.558 trillion budget as out of touch with the struggles of ordinary citizens. “The size of the budget does not impress us on this side of the House. A budget should be judged not by how much is spent, but by how smartly it is spent and how the people benefited,” he said.
The Opposition Leader highlighted what he called “EXPENSIVE INCOMPETENCE” in public infrastructure, noting that $196.1 billion has been allocated to roads and bridges, the largest single component of the budget, yet many projects suffer shoddy construction, rapid deterioration, and favoritism in contract awards. “Roads built today, break up tomorrow. Bridges built today, caving in tomorrow,” Mohamed said.
Turning to natural resources, Mohamed called for independent oversight of oil revenues, warning that parliamentary approval under a government majority offers no true accountability. “Oil money spent without reform is oil money wasted,” he said, urging forensic audits, a truly independent Natural Resources Fund board, and better enforcement of labour protections on oil rigs.
He also condemned the budget’s private sector focus. “This is a pro–private-sector-driven budget—shaped around infrastructure contracts, incentives, concessions and financing schemes,” he said, adding that ordinary Guyanese continue to face rising living costs with minimal support.
On social services, Mohamed argued that pension and public assistance increases are inadequate and unindexed to inflation. Nearly 70,000 public servants received no salary adjustments. He also criticised VAT relief measures that favor luxury items over essentials, saying, “You cannot claim to be putting people first while leaving the tax system unchanged for those who earn the least and struggle the most.”
“But MR. SPEAKER, we are not surprised … this is the BLUEPRINT of the PPP: P-oor Planning. P-oor quality infrastructure. P-oor outcomes. And the ‘C’ … well MR. SPEAKER, you banned that word from the Parliament,” he added, underscoring his point about systemic mismanagement. Speaker Manzoor Nadir banned the use of the word “Corruption” in parliamentary discourse citing an outmoded application of the word, even as Transparency International ranks Guyana the most corrupt English Speaking country in the region.
Mohamed urged the government to allow the Tender Board to operate transparently and give local contractors a fair chance. He also raised concerns over playgrounds and recreational spaces, criticising the mismanagement and privatization of community grounds, and questioned the effectiveness of a $1.3 billion allocation for maintenance and upgrades.
In health, Mohamed cited persistent staffing shortages, expired medication, and unfinished hospital projects, warning that increased allocations alone do not improve outcomes. He pointed to deaths in regional hospitals, including a 22-year-old at Diamond Hospital and a mother and child at New Amsterdam Hospital, as evidence that “Budget 2026 spends more, but it does not do more.” He also questioned the government’s reliance on foreign medical staff while underpaying local nurses and doctors.
On agriculture, Mohamed said the fisheries sector is in decline, with only one of three major companies remaining in operation, leaving over 2,000 former workers unemployed. He asked, “So now the question lingers – why are these companies closed? What happened to the 2,050 employees who were laid off? When honourable member Zulfikar boasts about putting the people first, these are the realities he refuses to accept.”
Concluding his address, Mohamed said, “We cannot support the 2026 budget for passage in this assembly. Budgets are meant to improve lives, not dominate headlines. True people-first budgeting requires structural and systematic reforms, and deliberate redistribution, especially since the cost of living has increased by 75%. This budget offers the maintenance of hardship instead of the elimination of struggle.”
