Good morning, Guyana! ☕
Welcome to Tuesday, where the National Assembly sounds like a zoo (literally — animal noises were reported during debate), Speaker Nadir decided five journalists is more than enough to cover a trillion-dollar budget, and President Ali flew to Belize to explain how great Guyana is while his ministers fight for their fiscal lives back home.
Today’s menu: Budget debates open with maximum chaos and minimum press access, WIN and APNU both hate the budget but for completely different reasons, sugar is apparently coming back to life, unemployment is down (says the government), a Guyanese-American wins a major Caribbean award, the Rupununi demands justice for a murdered tour guide, and Kaieteur asks the question nobody in Parliament wants to answer.
Grab your coffee. This one’s a full plate. 🇬🇾
🏛️ BUDGET DEBATE OPENS: HECKLING, ANIMAL NOISES, AND FIVE JOURNALISTS
The Big Picture:
The $1.558 trillion Budget 2026 debate kicked off Monday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, and within hours it turned into a parliamentary circus — complete with what Stabroek News described as “bizarre animal noises” from the benches.
The First Government Punch:
Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill led the government charge, calling the budget a “social contract of inclusion” and boasting about the $227 billion allocated to his ministry. He rattled off the new Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge, the Heroes Highway, and new hinterland airstrips like a man reading his own resume at a job interview.
The Opposition Response:
For the first time in Guyana’s parliamentary history, a party that is neither PNC nor PPP opened the debate for the opposition. WIN MP Dr. André Lewis delivered a maiden speech that basically said: you’re spending record billions but nobody’s life is actually getting better. He argued the budget “measures success in ounces, barrels, and billions, but not in people.”
Meanwhile, APNU’s Vinceroy Jordan went straight for agriculture, calling the budget “anti-farmer” and questioning how $200 million in capital expenditure could transform the entire livestock industry. His math: 85% of the agriculture budget goes to just two entities — Drainage & Irrigation and GuySuCo.
📵 SPEAKER NADIR LOCKS OUT THE PRESS
What Happened:
Speaker Manzoor Nadir revived COVID-era pandemic restrictions and limited media access to FIVE journalists at a time inside the parliamentary Dome. Reporters had to surrender their ID cards to receive one of five media passes.
The Reaction:
Kaieteur News didn’t hold back, running the headline about an “opposition uniting against Nadir’s media lockout.” Veteran journalists pointed out that the old Parliament Building on Brickdam — a much smaller space — allowed more than five journalists inside. The new billion-dollar Conference Centre somehow has less room for the press than the colonial-era building it replaced.
📊 PRESS FREEDOM SCORECARD
Venue Capacity Journalists Allowed Old Parliament (Brickdam) Small 5+ journalists Arthur Chung Centre (New) Massive 5 journalists max Your living room Tiny Unlimited (via livestream)
The Speaker’s defense? “This was merely a continuation of what was obtained in 2020 during the Pandemic.” Yes, that pandemic. The one that ended years ago.
✈️ ALI IN BELIZE: FOOD SECURITY DIPLOMACY
While his ministers were fielding fire back in Georgetown, President Ali was in Belize addressing their National Assembly, calling on both countries to lead regional food security efforts. He argued that Caribbean trade barriers are hurting farmers and demanded a “fair trade system” so regional food can actually move within the region.
Ali told Belize’s parliament that small states must “reinforce the importance of stable institutions, predictable rules and cooperative approaches to global problem-solving.” Noble words from a leader whose own Speaker just locked out the press from observing democracy in action.
The Belize trip also produced a sugar cooperation agreement — because nothing says Caribbean solidarity like two countries bonding over an industry that has lost money for decades.
🥊 BUDGET DEBATE HIGHLIGHTS: THE CLASH CARD
📋 MONDAY’S DEBATE CARD
Speaker Team Main Argument Dr. André Lewis (WIN) Opposition Oil spending is reckless, gold is leaking across borders, no plan for price drops Juan Edghill (PPP/C) Government Budget is pro-poor, infrastructure is transforming lives Vinceroy Jordan (APNU) Opposition Agriculture budget is a joke, 85% goes to D&I and GuySuCo Sonia Parag (PPP/C) Government Education transformed, opposition had “lost years” Natasha Singh-Lewis (WIN) Opposition 58% poverty rate, women sleeping on streets, budget is “a farce” Dr. Vindhya Persaud (PPP/C) Government Gender Equality Seal, 21,000 women trained, $70B direct to beneficiaries Pauline Browne (PPP/C) Government Where was Hastings’ voice when APNU was in power?
The star moment: Minister Persaud and Singh-Lewis clashing over whether Guyana is experiencing “transformational progress” or “two-faced governance.” Persaud pointed to Guyana’s rank of 31st out of 149 on the Global Gender Gap Index. Singh-Lewis pointed to women sleeping on road corners in Bourda Market.
Both things can be true at the same time, but Parliament isn’t really built for nuance.
🔍 WIN MP CALLS OUT GOLD SMUGGLING — WHILE PARTY LEADER FACES GOLD-SMUGGLING CHARGES
You cannot make this up. WIN MP Dr. André Lewis stood in Parliament and demanded “more oversight and transparency in mining” while the leader of his own party — Azruddin Mohamed — is fighting extradition to the United States on charges including gold smuggling, wire fraud, money laundering, and importing a Lamborghini.
The Chronicle made sure to mention that the Mohamed extradition ruling, which was expected Monday, has been pushed to February 9 and 16.
🎭 IRONY METER: ████████████ 11/10
📉 UNEMPLOYMENT DOWN, SAYS ALI — OPPOSITION SAYS PROVE IT
President Ali cited Bureau of Statistics data showing unemployment dropped from 12.8% in 2020 to 6.8% in Q4 2024. Female unemployment fell from 14.4% to under 9%.
The opposition’s position remains: these numbers don’t match reality on the ground. Cost of living is still rising, the Guyana dollar sits at GYD210:US$1, and Kaieteur’s editorial asked the best question of the day: “What is your bottom line?”
As in: forget the budget speeches. What do YOU, the citizen, actually have at the end of the month?
🏭 GUYSUCO WILL RETURN TO PROFITABILITY — AGAIN
Agriculture Minister Mustapha told Parliament that sugar production jumped 26% in 2024 and hit 59,000 tonnes in 2025. Budget 2026 allocates $13.4 billion to sugar.
GuySuCo returning to profitability has been promised so many times it should have its own loyalty card. But the minister also took shots at former GuySuCo director Vishnu Panday — who is now a WIN MP — calling out “colossal failures” during his tenure.
💔 JUSTICE FOR RASTA: RUPUNUNI TOUR GUIDE MURDERED
Leon “Rasta” Baird, 38, a beloved tour guide at Wichabai Ranch in the South Rupununi, was murdered after he stumbled upon cattle rustlers butchering stolen animals. His partially burnt body was found two days after he disappeared on January 23.
Baird wasn’t just a tour guide. He was a vaquero, a senior ranger with the South Rupununi Conservation Society, a co-author of academic biodiversity papers, and the man who taught children on the ranch to ride horses and harvest açaí. His brother is demanding arrests. No one has been charged.
The Rupununi Livestock Producers Association and Visit Rupununi have both called for zero tolerance on cattle rustling — a chronic problem that everyone acknowledges and nobody has fixed.
🏆 QUICK HITS
🧬 Guyanese-American Wins Sabga Award: A Guyanese-American biotech innovator was among five recipients of the 2026 Anthony N. Sabga Awards for Caribbean Excellence — one of the region’s most prestigious honours.
🏗️ $4.3B Sea Defence Blitz: Public Works rolls out a 21-project coastal protection plan. Because when the ocean is coming, even a billion-dollar budget can’t argue with water.
👮 143 Police Complaints: The Police Complaints Authority logged 143 misconduct complaints in 2025. That’s 143 people who believe filing paperwork will change something.
🏫 Biometrics in Schools: The government plans to introduce biometric attendance systems. Because if there’s one thing Guyanese schoolchildren need, it’s fingerprint scanners.
🐔 Hatching Egg Programme: Guyana Times says the local hatching egg programme is “good for Guyana.” We agree. Anything that makes breakfast cheaper gets our vote.
🏏 CPL 2026 Tickets: Final tickets go on sale February 7. Because nothing unites Guyana like overpriced cricket seats.
⚽ Golden Jags U17: The boys are locked in for CONCACAF Qualifiers starting February 3 in Honduras. Group H opponents: Honduras, Bermuda, Suriname. A historic World Cup qualification is on the line.
🗞️ THE EDITORIAL DIVIDE
📰 WHAT THE PAPERS THINK
Paper Take Chronicle Budget is people-centred, transformational, opposition has nothing to offer Times Creative economy is the future, interfaith harmony is beautiful Stabroek Diaspora being sold a lie, forex crisis is real, press freedom under threat Kaieteur Speaker’s media lockout must be stopped, oil oversight is dangerously thin
Kaieteur’s question of the day — “What is your bottom line?” — cuts through all the budget debate noise. It’s not about whether the government or opposition wins the debate. It’s about whether your salary covers your expenses at month end.
For most Guyanese, the answer hasn’t changed.
That’s your Tuesday Brief, Guyana. Budget debates continue today — assuming the Speaker lets anyone watch. Stay sharp. 🇬🇾