–fiscal plan to reflect manifesto commitments, outcomes of consultations, Dr. Singh says
SENIOR Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, has confirmed that work on Budget 2026 is advancing well, with some government ministries and agencies having already submitted their initial proposals, and stakeholder consultations ongoing.
Dr. Singh made this known in an invited comment to reporters on the sidelines of the UK-Guyana trade mission, during which he noted that the new administration, though freshly re-elected, benefits from continuity and a consistent policy direction.
“We are a brand-new government having been re-elected to office, but we are a government that has the advantage of continuity as well, having been in office in the previous term and having been in office previously and previous terms,” he said.
He added that both the government and the governing party take pride in maintaining a stable and predictable policy environment. This, he said, is key to guiding national development and sustaining public confidence.
Against this backdrop, the Finance Minister underscored that the administration’s manifesto, presented to the country ahead of the September 2025 elections, will serve as the foundation for the 2026 national budget.
“In September 2025, we went to the electorate with a very comprehensive agenda for the next five years,” he said.
Dr. Singh added: “That comprehensive agenda was reflected in our manifesto, which addressed both the overarching framework and vision, the bold and exciting vision of our President, and the leadership of our party and leadership of our government, and also a fairly comprehensive articulation of the things that we’re planning to do in the various sectors.”
This, he disclosed, will frame the policy direction and spending priorities for the upcoming fiscal year.
Dr. Singh said that some ministries and agencies have completed their initial submissions, which flesh out specific policy commitments and sectoral objectives.
He said: “Work has certainly already started on budget preparation, various ministries, and government agencies have already prepared their respective budget submissions and those budget submissions, as you can imagine, flesh out in greater detail… the various commitments, the various policy objectives and commitments that we would have articulated in the agenda.”
Dr. Singh further noted that the Ministry of Finance has begun its series of technical engagements with government bodies, the private sector and other stakeholders.
He said: “We in the Ministry of Finance have already started our engagement with the various agencies… in addition, engagement with other stakeholders, private sector groups, etc., because as you know, we also engage in an ongoing, close consultation with the private sector, and other stakeholder groups, as part of our policy formulation and budget preparation processes.”
With this, Dr. Singh said that the coming weeks will be an intense period of work as the government intends to intensify engagements in the lead-up to budget 2026.
Further, the Finance Minister stressed that Budget 2026 will begin delivering on the promises made to the electorate.
He said: “The budget will see us beginning to deliver immediately on the commitments that we gave in the manifesto, because it is our intention, in this term of office, to continue to do as we have always done, which is to ensure that we deliver our entire manifesto to the people of Guyana.”
