HGP Nightly News – With Guyana’s $1.558 trillion Budget 2026 now on the table, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance Dr. Ashni Singh is pointing to three big priorities he says will determine whether the country’s growth translates into everyday stability: national security, electricity infrastructure, and economic diversification.
The budget, presented under the theme “Putting People First,” was later discussed by Singh during an interview on Hits and Jams 94.1 Boom FM on Thursday. He argued that the government’s focus is not simply about headline numbers or cash grants, but about building “a safe, productive and opportunity-driven society.” On security, Singh said the administration views public safety as non-negotiable for a rapidly expanding economy.
“People want to be able to live in a safe society,” he said. “When you work hard and accumulate savings, buy a home and a car, you want to know that those things are safe.” He linked that concern to major spending aimed at modernising the Guyana Police Force, including support for new vehicles, training programmes, expanded bases, and stronger technological capacity.
Singh said security policy is increasingly built around a layered approach, blending conventional policing with technology and intelligence-led operations. He highlighted the Safe Country Initiative and the rollout of surveillance cameras on major roadways and junctions, arguing that the system has strengthened the state’s ability to track suspects and respond quickly.
“If you have somebody fleeing in a motor car from one location to another, you’re now able to trace that with technology at a speed that was never previously possible,” he said. He also pointed to expanded forensic capacity and data analytics, and described body-worn cameras as a key tool for public confidence and accountability.
“The body cam affords both the police officer and the citizen a level of protection and accountability that did not exist before,” Singh said, adding that the goal is “a citizen-friendly police force in whom citizens can have confidence.”
Beyond crime-fighting, Singh again pushed the case for strengthening the non-oil economy, warning against overdependence on petroleum revenues. While acknowledging Guyana’s oil earnings, he said experience from other resource-rich states shows the risks of putting national development on a single industry.
“We have become an oil and gas producer with what I call late movers’ advantage,” he said. “We can look at what other countries did that worked and what did not work.”
