April 1, 2026 • 3 min readProgress Report
The Guyana Daily Brief’s weekly mid-week check-in on the state of the nation. No spin. Well. Less spin.
🟢 MOVING FORWARD
Digital Identity Card Act — Active as of March 31, 2026. Two years after passage, the law is now operational. This is, genuinely, a step toward a more functional public services system. The biometric ID card has been years in the making and its rollout will eventually affect everything from banking to passport renewal. Credit where it’s due: it got done.
Read More → April 1, 2026 • 2 min readUncle Ramesh
By Uncle Ramesh, proud PPP/C supporter, retired civil servant, and man who has never once been wrong about anything.
People, I wake up this morning and I feel good. You know why? Because this government — MY government — is moving Guyana forward again.
First thing I see: the Digital Identity Card Act is now in force. Mark Phillips himself sign the Commencement Order. Two years in the making and now it real. You know what that means? Modernisation. Digital future. I know some people want to grumble about the Data Protection Act not being in force yet, but listen — you can’t rush everything at once. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither was Pradoville.
Read More → April 1, 2026 • 5 min readDaily Brief
Wednesday, April 1, 2026 — Your morning cup of chaos, served hot.
FLOOD WARNING ISSUED — SOMEBODY TELL DE KOKER
The Civil Defence Commission is warning Guyanese to brace for “significant flooding” as heavy rainfall is expected to intensify through the week. The CDC issued the alert Tuesday night after rains already began battering parts of the country. Residents near low-lying areas are being urged to take precautions. The drains, presumably, have been warned too. We’ll wait and see if they got the memo.
Read More → March 31, 2026 • 4 min readCaribbean Brief
Good morning from the region. The world is on fire — quite literally, given developments in the Strait of Hormuz — and the Caribbean is watching carefully, because oil prices affect everyone down here and not everyone has Guyana’s luck.
Here is your Tuesday Caribbean briefing.
THE MIDDLE EAST CRISIS IS NOW A CARIBBEAN PROBLEM
The US-Israeli war with Iran has entered its second month, and the ripple effects are landing in the Caribbean harder than most headlines acknowledge.
Read More → March 31, 2026 • 4 min readDaily Brief
Good morning. It’s March 31st, the last day of the first quarter of 2026, and Guyana is out here producing nearly a million barrels of oil per day while simultaneously underwater. We contain multitudes.
Here is what you need to know.
OIL KEEPS GOING UP — UNLIKE THE ROADS
Guyana produced an average of 918,000 barrels of oil per day in February, up slightly from 915,000 in January. Both figures represent a massive jump from the 2025 average of 716,000 bpd. The Yellowtail project alone is now pushing 264,000 bpd, and Exxon reportedly wants to increase its capacity to around 290,000 bpd.
Read More → March 31, 2026 • 3 min readUncle Ramesh
Uncle Ramesh is a proud PPP/C supporter who sees the government’s hand in every good thing that happens in Guyana and an opposition conspiracy in everything else. He does not do nuance. He does do passion.
Good morning, good morning, GOOD MORNING.
918,000 barrels of oil per day. You read that? 918,000. In FEBRUARY. Let me say it again for the people in the back who are still sulking: nine hundred and eighteen THOUSAND barrels. Every. Single. Day.
Read More → March 30, 2026 • 3 min readCaribbean Brief
Monday, March 30, 2026 | Caribbean Brief
Jamaica Tables a Hurricane Budget
Jamaica’s Finance Minister Fayval Williams has opened the 2026–2027 budget debate, navigating a JA$1.4 trillion national budget with a hole left by Hurricane Melissa — which struck in October 2025 and wiped out an estimated 40% of GDP. New taxes are on the table for the first time in ten years, including a levy on sweetened beverages expected to generate JA$10.1 billion. Williams noted it took a Category 5 hurricane for the government to introduce new taxes. Jamaica is rebuilding. The math is difficult.
Read More → March 30, 2026 • 2 min readUncle Ramesh
Uncle Ramesh Doodnauth, 67, retired civil servant, Brooklyn, NY. Back at the phone on Monday morning.
Bai, I barely finish me roti and me already have to defend me country from de Brief again.
First: de flooding. Yes, it flood. It always flood when it rain dat hard. You know what they doing about it? BUILDING. Roads, drainage infrastructure, whole new housing schemes. You cyah fix 200 years of Dutch drainage engineering in five years. But dem trying. De Brief prefer to make a joke. Uncle Ramesh prefer to look at de big picture.
Read More → March 30, 2026 • 3 min readDaily Brief
Monday, March 30, 2026 | Guyana Daily Brief
The Irony Was Not Subtle
Days after Guyana positioned itself as a voice of authority on climate resilience — advising Caribbean neighbours to “climate-proof” their infrastructure — the country spent the weekend wading through its own floodwaters. Georgetown and its outskirts became, in the words of Kaieteur News, “a flat sea.” The Civil Defence Commission is now warning that heavy rainfall is expected to intensify through Tuesday, with flooding likely to worsen. The drains remain the drains.
Read More → March 29, 2026 • 3 min readDe Boys Seh
De Boys Seh is a weekly community roundtable. De boys gather. De boys talk. What could go wrong.
Shorty: Bai, yuh see de water out deh dis morning?
Tallman: My drain? Full. Me neighbour drain? Full. De gutter in front Mr. Persaud shop? Full. Everybody drain full except de government plan fuh fix dem.
Porkchop: Dem drain been de same since my grandfather time, bai. Dem drain older dan independence.
Read More → March 29, 2026 • 3 min readSpeedeet & Wilar
A Speedeet & Wilar Story
De rain start Friday night and didn’t stop.
By Saturday morning, Pike Street was a river.
Not a deep river. Not a dangerous river. But enough water that Little Sanjay from down de road was already wading through it with he shorts hiked up, looking absolutely delighted.
Speedeet press he face against de window and watch him.
“Bai,” he say to Wilar, who was sitting at de kitchen table doing absolutely nothing dangerous, “you see what I see?”
Read More → March 29, 2026 • 3 min readCaribbean Brief
Sunday, March 29, 2026 | Caribbean Daily Brief
Trinidad Gets a List
The United States has provided Trinidad and Tobago’s Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander with a list of “persons of interest” in the country linked to illegal drugs, guns, and violence. Minister Alexander confirmed this publicly. The persons of interest have presumably noted they are of interest.
Barbados Port Wins the Americas
Barbados Port Inc. has been awarded at the Inter-American Committee on Ports Maritime Award of the Americas for digital transformation. The port adopted a National Port Community System to improve efficiency and transparency. They will be formally honoured in Bridgetown in June 2026. Barbados Port: awarded, efficient, and not flooding. The bar is specific.
Read More → March 29, 2026 • 2 min readUncle Ramesh
Uncle Ramesh Doodnauth, 67, retired civil servant, Brooklyn, NY. Calls home every Sunday.
Bai, me read de Brief dis morning and me nearly choke on me paratha.
Dem write de whole ting like Guyana is falling apart! Flooding? Every capital city in de WORLD flood when rain fall fuh 24 hours! You ever see New York after a storm? People kayaking on Flatbush Avenue! Dat is a WORLD PROBLEM, not a Guyana problem. But de Brief doh want to tell you dat.
Read More → March 29, 2026 • 3 min readDaily Brief
Sunday, March 29, 2026 | Guyana Daily Brief
Georgetown Goes Underwater (Again)
Almost 24 hours of continuous heavy rain on Saturday left Georgetown streets severely flooded, with citizens reporting health concerns and general inconvenience across multiple communities. Minister Manickchand toured affected areas on the East Bank. The drains did not tour themselves, but we appreciate the effort.
The Powerships Are Not Going Anywhere
Guyana is set to extend its contract with Karpowership — the Turkish company renting two powerships to the country at a daily rate — because the Wales Gas-to-Energy project is delayed. Again. The AFC has been sounding alarm about the ballooning cost of the Wales project and the government’s continued silence on how much it has actually cost so far. GPL launched a “Solar Express Lane” this week to help customers integrate solar faster. One lane going in, one lane going further into Karpowership’s pocket.
Read More → March 27, 2026 • 3 min readTraffic Report
Disclaimer: DJ Roadblock’s Traffic Report is satirical commentary on Guyana’s road infrastructure and general traffic situations. No specific individuals are referenced or targeted. This is entertainment about SYSTEMS and SITUATIONS, not people.
🎙️ WAAAAAH GWAAN GUYANA! Is ya boy DJ Roadblock comin’ at you LIVE from de dashboard, Friday afternoon edition — and bai, is a special week because the GOVERNMENT just CLAIMED twenty-two streets in Georgetown and now everybody arguing about who responsible for de potholes!
Read More → March 27, 2026 • 4 min readCaribbean Brief
A weekly sweep of what’s moving across the Caribbean. Five minutes. No fluff.
JAMAICA — BUDGET DEBATE UNDER THE SHADOW OF HURRICANE MELISSA
Jamaica is deep in its 2026–2027 budget debate, and the numbers are sobering. Finance Minister Fayval Williams opened the debate last Tuesday facing a JA$1.4 trillion national budget with a significant gap, after Hurricane Melissa made landfall on October 28, 2025 as a Category 5 storm and wiped out an estimated 40% of GDP — causing roughly US$8.8 billion in physical damage. Williams announced new taxes for the first time in a decade, including a sugar beverage tax projected to raise JA$10.1 billion, noting bluntly that “it took a Category 5 hurricane for that to happen.” Opposition Leader Mark Golding has since taken the floor, and the debate is being closely watched across the region. Meanwhile, Montego Bay’s mayor is pressing the Auditor General for answers on the post-Melissa street light restoration arrangement with Jamaica Public Service. Much of St. James is still dark.
Read More → March 27, 2026 • 5 min readDaily Brief
Your five-minute briefing on everything happening in the Land of Many Waters. Served fresh, slightly spicy, and completely unsponsored.
GOVERNMENT TAKES 22 GEORGETOWN STREETS — CITY HALL CALLS IT ILLEGAL
In a move that has Georgetown politicians reaching for their lawyers, the government quietly gazetted 22 major city streets as public roads under central government control — transferring authority from the Mayor and City Council to the Ministry of Public Works, effective March 21. Regent Street, Robb Street, Camp Street, Lamaha Street, and the Eastern Highway are among the corridors now under Minister Juan Edghill’s portfolio. Mayor Alfred Mentore called it “unlawful governance” and “arbitrary centralisation of local assets by executive fiat,” noting there was zero prior consultation with the elected Council. The M&CC summoned an extraordinary statutory meeting today to deal with the matter, and Mentore has threatened legal action if the decision isn’t reversed. The government, for its part, has not yet offered a public explanation.
Read More → March 27, 2026 • 4 min readPatriots Portfolio
📊 PATRIOTS PORTFOLIO
Tracking the Business of Guyana
Week of March 27, 2026
MARKET MOOD: COMPLICATED OPTIMISM
Global oil markets remain volatile against the backdrop of Middle East conflict. Guyana’s production — past 900,000 barrels per day — is insulated from the worst volatility by long-term offtake agreements, but the private sector is watching the Gulf situation closely. The Guyana Chronicle reports the local private sector is “closely tracking developments in the Middle East.” That is the polite way of saying everyone is nervous and nobody wants to say so publicly.
Read More → March 27, 2026 • 4 min readThe Guyanese Horizon
The Guyanese Horizon is a monthly feature celebrating Guyana’s progress, heritage, and future. Published on the last Friday of each month.
THE CITY AND THE STREETS
Georgetown, March 2026
Walk down Main Street today and you will see something that did not exist five years ago: cranes.
Not one or two. Multiple. Against the Georgetown skyline — that low, wooden, Victorian skyline that survived colonial rule, independence, and decades of economic contraction — there are now steel arms reaching upward. Hotels under construction. Office buildings going up. A capital city remembering that it is supposed to grow.
Read More → March 27, 2026 • 2 min readUncle Ramesh
Opinion
Uncle Ramesh is a retired accountant from Berbice, now living in Queens, New York. He reads only the Guyana Chronicle. He has opinions.
Listen, I read the Chronicle this morning and I feel good. I feel GOOD.
Now everybody vex because the government take over twenty-two streets in Georgetown. Take over? TAKE OVER? You mean RESCUE. You ever drive down Robb Street? You ever see what City Hall does with a pothole? They put a cone next to it and leave it for six months. Now the Ministry of Public Works has those streets and people acting like is a coup d’état. The same people who complain the roads bad are now complaining that somebody is going to fix the roads. Make it make sense.
Read More →