Uncle Ramesh, retired accountant from Berbice now living in Queens, New York, reads the Guyana Chronicle every morning with his Demerara Gold coffee and calls his sister in Providence to discuss the news.

📞 THE CALL

“HELLO? Savitri? Yuh watching wha happening in Parliament? Bai, dis PPP government delivering like Amazon Prime and de opposition STILL complaining about de packaging!”

🏠 53,000 HOUSE LOTS AND DEM STILL NAH SATISFIED

Hear wha Minister Rodrigues tell de House — 53,000 house lots delivered since 2020. And yuh know wha mek it even better? Forty-six percent of dem gone to SINGLE WOMEN. Dat is empowerment, Savitri. REAL empowerment.

And she remind everybody wha de coalition do between 2015 and 2020 — barely 7,000 lots in five years. SEVEN THOUSAND. Me grandson does deliver more pizza than dat in a month.

Den she turn to Duncan and expose he audit report problems from when he was running Guyana National Printers. He own government FIRED him! And he want come criticise housing? Bai, de jokes does write demself.

🍬 GUYSUCO FIVE-YEAR PLAN — DIS IS HOW YOU DO IT

Minister Mustapha hold up de plan RIGHT THERE in Parliament. Not talking, not promising — he show dem de DOCUMENT. Five-year strategic plan to bring GuySuCo back to profitability by 2030.

Look at de facts:

  • Production UP 26.4% — from 47,108 tonnes to 59,600 tonnes
  • 3,000 hectares getting mechanised harvesting in 2026
  • Three new boilers, five new harvesters coming
  • Skeldon’s 5,000 hectares finally in production
  • $13.4 BILLION allocated in de budget

Dem opposition MP Panday — yes, he used to work at GuySuCo — but which government CLOSE de estates? Which government send home de sugar workers? De coalition! And now dem want come talk about accountability? Check yuh own record first, neighbour.

🌿 9 MILLION CARBON CREDITS — WORLD CLASS

Nine million CORSIA-eligible carbon credits for 2023. Third year in a row. Guyana is de ONLY country in de world certified to sell credits to de airline industry. Yuh hear dat? DE ONLY ONE.

And Minister Browne tell Parliament dat $14.5 BILLION gone straight to Amerindian villages. Twenty-six point five percent of revenues in 2024 alone went direct to Indigenous communities. Dat is not talk — dat is transfer receipts.

De opposition want talk about Amerindian development? Where was Dawn Hastings when she was Minister of State for five years and dem send home 2,000 Community Service Officers? Browne say she “sat quiet as a mouse.” And she right!

🇵🇦 PANAMA EMBASSY — DIPLOMATIC WIN

President Ali stop in Panama after Belize and come back with ANOTHER diplomatic victory. Panama opening an embassy in Georgetown. Dem joining de Global Biodiversity Alliance. Collaboration on oil and gas, logistics, agriculture, security.

Dis President does more in one trip than some leaders do in a whole term. He went to Belize, sign MoUs for tourism, defence, and education. Stop in Panama, get an embassy commitment. Come back home — government still running smooth.

Meanwhile de opposition leader facing extradition and can’t even get security detail. Yuh tell me who running tings.

📚 EDUCATION: BUILD SCHOOLS AND DEM STILL COMPLAIN

Minister Parag lay it out clean:

  • 66 nursery schools BUILT
  • 34 primary schools BUILT
  • 33 secondary schools BUILT
  • GOAL scholarships producing graduates
  • $7 billion school feeding programme

And de BEST part? She catch a WIN MP who criticise GOAL but USED GOAL to get he own degree! “Never bite de hand that feeds you” — dat headline is PERFECT.

De opposition want talk percentages. Two percent of de budget, three percent of de budget. But when yuh budget is $1.558 TRILLION, two percent is still $183.6 BILLION for education! Dat is more than some countries ENTIRE budget!

🌾 AGRICULTURE: $113.2 BILLION CONTRACT WITH DE PEOPLE

Minister Mustapha outline everything:

  • Fisheries allocation UP from $1.7B to $2.3B
  • 5,000 hectares of coconut expansion
  • 40 new fish cages
  • Agro-processing facilities in Parika and Lethem
  • 50 shade houses for women in Tiger Bay
  • Guyana Development Bank — $3M loans, NO collateral, NO interest!

And de removal of corporate taxes on agro-processing businesses? Flat tax on double door pickups? Dat is putting money BACK in farmers’ pockets.

Jordan from APNU say agriculture only getting 4.5% of de budget. But 4.5% of $1.558 trillion is STILL over $70 billion! Context matters, Savitri. CONTEXT MATTERS.

💼 JOBS, JOBS, JOBS

President Ali go on Facebook Live and lay out de numbers:

  • Unemployment DOWN from 12.8% to 6.8%
  • Female unemployment DOWN from 14.4% to under 9%
  • Over 104,000 new jobs created since 2020
  • Wages up over 100% in key sectors
  • Guyana SHORT 52,396 workers!

We got MORE jobs than we got people! When last any country in de Caribbean could say dat? Labour shortage mean POWER for workers — employers got to pay better, treat people better. Dat is de market working FOR de people.

⚽ LADY JAGS: 14 GOALS AND COUNTING

Me have to big up de Junior Lady Jags — 14-0 against St. Vincent! Six goals from one girl, Alexaudria Chasles. EIGHT different scorers.

Dem didn’t qualify for de next round, but 14-0 is a STATEMENT. Dem girls representing Guyana with pride. GFF President Wayne Forde call it “historic” and he RIGHT.

🏏 WINDIES TIME!

T20 World Cup start Friday! Shai Hope captain, Daren Sammy coaching, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder — we got TALENT. Scotland first, then England on February 11.

And CPL Finals tickets on sale February 7 — Kensington Oval, Barbados. Book early!

🏥 DIGITAL HEALTHCARE

Dr. Balwant Singh Hospital launch a patient portal app — first private hospital in Guyana to do it. Book appointments, check test results, view prescriptions, all from yuh phone.

Guyana modernising, Savitri. Step by step, we getting there.

💭 RAMESH’S FINAL WORD

“Savitri, me sitting here in Queens watching dis government deliver house lots, carbon credits, embassy commitments, sugar plans, education infrastructure, agricultural expansion, digital healthcare, and diplomatic victories — ALL IN ONE WEEK of budget debate.

And de opposition response? ‘Not enough.’ ‘Where’s de accountability?’ ‘Only 2%.’

Yuh know wha 2% of $1.558 trillion is? It’s $31 billion. Dat used to BE de whole budget not so long ago!

Dis government not perfect — nobody perfect. But dem DELIVERING. De receipts right there in Hansard. De numbers right there in de estimates. De schools right there on de ground.

Opposition need to stop counting percentages and start counting RESULTS.

Pass de coffee, Savitri. Me blood pressure high but me PROUD.”

Uncle Ramesh’s views represent the pro-government Guyanese diaspora perspective. For the critical view, see the Daily Brief.