🎬 SCRIPT 1: 60-SECOND VERSION (YouTube Shorts / TikTok / Reels)

[AVATAR ON SCREEN — ENERGETIC, CASUAL TONE]

Hey Guyana! Happy Saturday! Here’s your 60-second Daily Brief for January 31st!

Budget 2026 dropped this week — one-point-five-five-eight TRILLION dollars! Biggest budget in Guyana’s HISTORY! Hundred-thousand-dollar cash grants for every citizen eighteen and over! The opposition calling it a rich man’s budget, the government calling it continuation and prosperity. Classic Guyana!

UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy visited and signed on to Guyana’s Global Biodiversity Alliance. The UK coming to US now!

ExxonMobil producing eight-hundred-seventy-five-thousand barrels a day — ABOVE projections — and now eyeing exploration closer to the Venezuela border after the Maduro situation.

Bangladesh opening an embassy in Georgetown. That’s how you know we HOT!

Tragic news though — a fatal accident on the Demerara River Bridge. An unlicensed driver behind the wheel of a cement truck. Twenty-four-year-old Scott Dorwart lost his life. Condolences to the family.

Banks Classic horse racing TOMORROW in Berbice! Bayrock Stadium opening TODAY in Linden! And Mashramani celebrations rolling!

January’s done, Guyana. February coming HOT! Follow us for daily updates. Leh we go!

[END — 60 SECONDS]

🎬 SCRIPT 2: 4-MINUTE VERSION (YouTube Main Channel)

[AVATAR ON SCREEN — WARM, CONVERSATIONAL TONE]

Good morning Guyana and welcome to the Daily Brief for Saturday, January 31st, 2026. I’m your host and we got a LOT to cover today because January is wrapping up with a BANG. Let’s get into it!

[BEAT — TRANSITION]

First up — BUDGET 2026. If you haven’t heard the number by now, here it is one more time: one-point-five-five-eight TRILLION dollars. That’s the biggest national budget in Guyana’s entire history. Finance Minister Ashni Singh presented it on Monday and the country hasn’t stopped talking since.

The highlights? A hundred-thousand-dollar cash grant for every Guyanese citizen eighteen and older. Three million dollars in zero-interest loans for small businesses. Mortgage relief on loans up to thirty million. All taxes eliminated on agriculture and agro-processing. And the government says it’s absorbing hundreds of billions in inflationary pressure to keep prices down.

Now, the opposition? They’re saying this budget benefits the wealthy and leaves ordinary Guyanese behind. Commentators in Kaieteur News comparing it to a feast for the rich. The truth is probably somewhere in between, but one thing is certain — the NUMBERS are massive and Guyana is playing in a league nobody expected.

[BEAT — TRANSITION]

Next — international relations are POPPING. UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy visited Guyana this week and signed on to our Global Biodiversity Alliance. He literally said the UK is “proud” to be a signatory. Think about that — the former colonial power coming to Guyana and saying THEY are proud to join OUR initiative. Times have changed!

And speaking of international moves — Bangladesh just announced they’re opening a diplomatic mission in Georgetown. They’re eyeing our economy — which grew nearly fifty percent last year — and want in. Three new EU business missions are also planned for 2026 as part of an agro-processing partnership with Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Europe wants our cacao, our avocado, our bananas. The breadbasket dream is getting real!

[BEAT — TRANSITION]

Now to oil. ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods confirmed on an earnings call that the company is producing roughly eight-hundred-seventy-five-thousand barrels per day from Guyana. That’s a hundred thousand barrels ABOVE investment projections. Four FPSOs running and all performing above expectations.

Here’s the interesting part — Woods said the company is now considering exploration in parts of the Stabroek Block closer to the Venezuelan border. With the capture of Maduro and reduced naval patrols in the area, ExxonMobil sees an opportunity. The Stabroek Block exploration licence expires in late 2027, and the ICJ border ruling will be a critical milestone.

[BEAT — TRANSITION]

We do have to cover some difficult news. On Thursday, a cement-laden motor lorry rolled backwards on the Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge, causing a multi-vehicle collision. Twenty-four-year-old Scott Dorwart of Grove, East Bank Demerara, lost his life. Police revealed the driver — a twenty-three-year-old — didn’t have the proper licence category to operate a lorry. Both the driver and the truck owner face charges. Our hearts go out to the Dorwart family.

Separately, in Albouystown, twenty-eight-year-old Kevon Ridley was shot and killed Thursday evening. Two others were injured. No arrests have been made. Another young life lost to gun violence.

[BEAT — TRANSITION]

On the positive side — GO-Invest facilitated a nearly one-billion-dollar investment in neurological healthcare through Neurospine Services. Guyanese who previously had to travel abroad for specialised spine and neurological care may soon have world-class options right here in Georgetown.

The Bayrock Track and Field Stadium opens TODAY in Linden! Banks Classic horse racing kicks off TOMORROW at Port Mourant with twelve-point-seven-five million in purse money! And today is the LAST DAY to submit for the Guyana Prize for Literature — midnight tonight!

[BEAT — TRANSITION]

And across the Caribbean — the IMF approved four-hundred-fifteen million dollars in emergency aid for Jamaica. Caribbean Airlines is closing its Barbados hub next month. The US is cracking down on birth tourism visas from Caribbean nations. And West Indies women’s cricket is thriving with Guyana’s Shemaine Campbelle leading the charge!

[BEAT — CLOSING]

That’s your Saturday Brief, Guyana. January 2026 was a MASSIVE month. Budget dropped, international partnerships signed, oil production records broken, and Mashramani celebrations underway. February is going to be even bigger.

If you found this useful, hit that subscribe button, drop a comment, and share this with a fellow Guyanese. We’re here every single day bringing you the news with a smile.

Until tomorrow — stay blessed, stay informed, and stay Guyanese. Leh we go!

[END — APPROXIMATELY 4 MINUTES]

📋 PRODUCTION NOTES (HeyGen)