GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Free house lots for every citizen turning 18. Pensions doubled to $100,000 a month. New cash grants for school children. These were just some of the bold promises unveiled Friday as the Alliance for Change (AFC) launched its 25-point manifesto, declaring that Guyana’s oil wealth must go directly into the hands of ordinary people.
At the party’s weekly press conference, executives said the plan was not an election gimmick but the product of more than a year of consultations and “listening sessions” in communities across the country. Party executive Cathy Hughes, calling the document an “action plan,” said it was carefully costed and designed to transform lives.
She dismissed what she described as the PPP/C’s “piecemeal handouts,” insisting that the AFC’s proposals would legislate guaranteed support for families. “This manifesto is committed to giving ordinary Guyanese their fair share,” Hughes declared.
The commitments are sweeping: $100,000 in disability allowances, a dedicated bank for women’s economic empowerment, and no less than $10 million in compensation for families of disciplined service members who die in the line of duty. Hughes argued that such measures would be a permanent guarantee rather than a one-off election bribe.
Prime ministerial candidate Laura George highlighted pension reform as a central plank, promising a new national pension fund to replace the troubled NIS, alongside expanded maternity and paternity benefits. She said hinterland residents in particular had raised urgent concerns about the rising cost of living, crumbling roads, and unsettled land rights.
“We are confident Guyanese will no longer accept to suffer,” George declared, promising that Indigenous communities and rural families would see real change. The AFC also accused the government of shutting down its access to state media. Hughes alleged that the National Communications Network refused to air a paid AFC broadcast meant for members of the Disciplined Services.
Despite what it described as deliberate obstruction, the party insisted it was confident of its chances, pointing to its record in government and its vision of a “new republic” where oil revenues fuel housing, education, and social protection. The 25-point manifesto, now available online, will be distributed across the country as the campaign intensifies in the final stretch before the September 1 elections.
