HGP Nightly News – The 2026 National Budget debate concluded with a forceful presentation from Senior Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh, who presented detailed figures intended to counter opposition arguments that the government’s record spending is fiscally irresponsible.
Central to his argument were two key metrics. Dr. Singh reported that Guyana’s ratio of debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stood at 28.6% at the end of 2025, a figure he stated is the second lowest in the western hemisphere. He contrasted this with many other nations, which he said are grappling with ratios exceeding 80% or even 100%.
“Guyana’s debt-to-GDP ratio at the end of 2025 was 28.6 per cent… the second lowest in the western hemisphere,” Dr. Singh told Parliament.
Furthermore, he highlighted a sharp decline in the burden of debt repayments on the national treasury. The minister stated that the debt service-to-revenue ratio has fallen to 5.53% in 2025, meaning just over five cents of every revenue dollar is used for debt payments. He framed this as a recovery from a 1993 crisis point, where debt service exceeded total government revenue.
“Coming from a position where we were spending more than 100 per cent of our revenue, we are now spending 5.5 per cent of government revenue to service our debt,” he said.
Dr. Singh positioned these figures as evidence of “prudent and responsible economic stewardship” that has created fiscal space. This space, he argued, allows for the government’s dual approach of “aggressive” long-term investment and expanded social services, as outlined in the $1.558 trillion budget.
The presentation served as the government’s definitive rebuttal to weeks of opposition criticism, framing the historic budget not as a liability, but as an affordable investment made possible by disciplined debt management.
The data places Guyana’s fiscal structure in a starkly different category than many of its global peers, a point the government will likely emphasize as budget implementation begins.
