The people’s debate speech

Dear Editor,

Please see an extract from the people’s debate speech regarding the 2025 budget.

Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly,

As the people of Guyana gather here today—figuratively, of course, since most of us are watching from home while sipping on mauby—we cannot help but marvel at the proposed $1.382 trillion budget for 2025. It’s a number so large, it makes the national debt of my cousin’s rum shop look like chump change. But as we debate this budget, we must ask ourselves: are we getting value for money, or are we simply funding a never-ending saga of delays and cost overruns? 

Let’s start with the Gas-to-Shore Pipeline, a project that began with a promise of $273 billion and has since ballooned to $315 billion. Honourable Speaker, in a $1.382 trillion budget, an extra $42 billion might seem like a rounding error. But to the people of Guyana, it’s a lot of money that could have been spent on schools, hospitals, or even fixing the potholes on the East Coast Demerara road. When will this pipeline finally deliver the energy it promised, or will it remain a pipe dream?

 Next, we have the New Demerara River Bridge, now priced at $54.6 billion —up from $53.8 billion. Honourable Speaker, this bridge has been in the works longer than my aunt’s famous cook-up rice has been on the stove. At this rate, will it ever be completed, or will it become a permanent fixture in our budget debates? 

And then there’s Silica City, the futuristic utopia that was supposed to solve our housing crisis. Originally budgeted at $31.5 billion, it’s now at $42 billion, with a completion date pushed to 2027. Honourable Speaker, by the time Silica City is finished, my grandchildren might be old enough to apply for a lot. Is this project truly a priority, or is it just a shiny distraction from the real issues facing our people? 

The Cheddi Jagan Airport expansion, now at $42 billion, is another example of a project that keeps growing like a teenager’s appetite. Honourable Speaker, when will this expansion finally be completed? Or are we building an airport so grand that it will only be ready for the flying cars we’re all supposed to have by 2030? 

And let’s not forget GuySuCo, the sugar industry’s never-ending saga. Originally budgeted reinvention was pegged at $42 billion, it’s now at $63 billion, with completion pushed to 2025. Honourable Speaker, at this rate, will GuySuCo ever turn a profit, or will it continue to sweeten its losses with taxpayer dollars? 

Honourable Speaker, as we debate this $1.382 trillion budget, we must ask ourselves: are these projects truly serving the people of Guyana, or are they simply serving as a showcase for grand ambitions and empty promises? Are we getting value for money, or are we simply throwing trillions at dreams that keep slipping further and further away? 

The people of Guyana deserve answers not from the same old playbook of the parties to justify why it’s their turn at the honey pot, but real genuine and honest accountability. For instance, resignations at highest levels.

Thank you, Honourable Speaker.

Sincerely,

Keith Bernard