By Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News|
GUYANA — Following the passage of Guyana’s historic $1.558 trillion National Budget, Opposition Member of Parliament Sherod Duncan has leveled a scathing assessment of the government’s fiscal management. In a press conference held on Saturday, February 28, 2026, Duncan asserted that evidence uncovered during the budget estimate reviews proves that corruption under the current administration is “not episodic, but systematic.”
With more than half of the budget—roughly $779 billion—allocated to infrastructure, Duncan warned that “governance by concealment” is threatening the integrity of the republic’s future.
The “Men on a Mission” Report Crisis
A focal point of the MP’s critique was the Men on a Mission (MOM) initiative, which received a $900 million allocation in this year’s budget.
- Three Years of Silence: Duncan highlighted that no reliable reports have been laid in the National Assembly since 2023 to account for the program’s outcomes or expenditure.
- The “Error” Defense: Government explanations attributing the lack of documentation to an “unfortunate error” were dismissed by Duncan as unacceptable.
- The Critique: “In any accountable system… three consecutive years of missing reports would constitute a governance crisis,” Duncan stated, adding that the lack of transparency only heightens public suspicion of misappropriation.
Infrastructure Anomalies: The Mahaicony Guard Hut
Duncan pointed to what he described as a “glaring duplication” in the Mahaicony district as evidence of either gross incompetence or deliberate “padding” of the budget estimates.
- The Duplicate Request: The MP claimed that a guard hut, which had already been completed and paid for, appeared in the 2026 budget as a fresh allocation request.
- Systemic Breakdown: He argued that such instances prove there is a fundamental breakdown in how projects are tracked and how expenditures are verified before they reach the National Assembly.
Vigilance Over the $1.558 Trillion
As the budget transitions from debate to implementation, the Opposition has pledged to increase its oversight role to ensure “value for money” on the thousands of projects funded by Guyanese taxpayers.
Key Areas of Opposition Focus:
- Project Tracking: Monitoring infrastructure items to prevent “duplicate” funding.
- Expenditure Audits: Demanding the immediate release of the missing Men on a Mission reports.
- Transparency Advocacy: Pushing for a more open process in the management of multi-billion dollar allocations.
“Corruption, if left unchecked, will define future governance in our republic… the parliamentary review process has continued exposures of a troubling pattern of financial irregularities.” — MP Sherod Duncan
