CubaPLUS Magazine

The Cooperative Republic of Guyana's 2024 Budget offers a holistic perspective of the country's development trajectory, showing key projects aimed at continuing the nation's transformative agenda, President Dr. Irfaan Ali said in a speech to the national television.

The Guyanese president spoke on national television this Monday to announce the transformative measures described in the country's budget for the current year that amounts to 1,146 trillion dollars, under the motto "staying the course: building prosperity for everyone." “We have another opportunity to show our development model and outline a strategic clear way by which we are building national prosperity and creating opportunities for all Guyanese, regardless of what region they live in or what sector they work in”, he said.

Later he highlighted that these measures focus specifically on women, children, the elderly and the young with an estimated injection of more than 100 billion dollars and he added that “these measures aim to increase disposable income, put more money in people's pockets, boost the incomes of vulnerable groups and, therefore, improve the governance system and the provision of services for our country."

Regarding the issue of fuel, the president referred to the commitment of the government of contain the cost of fuel, a measure that is expected to save approximately $40 billion a year at current prices, since it influences the general cost of energy and, Essentially, it dictates the pricing structure in various sectors. Among the key provisions of the budget he mentioned increases in several categories of pensions, including old-age pensions, which will rise to $36,000, benefiting 76,000 people, while public assistance will rise from $16,000 a month to $19,000. The minimum pension of the National Insurance System (NIS) has been increased to $43,075, to benefit more than 27,000 people, while an $8,000 voucher will be provided to women ages 21 to 65 to help cover the cost of breast cancer testing cervix and the Because We Care cash grant, increased to $40,000.

The budget also plans to eliminate outstanding loans for college graduates. University of Guyana which marks the first phase of fulfilling the promise of the PPP/C manifesto, to make tertiary education free by 2025. Another significant change is the increase in the income tax threshold to 100,000 dollars, which will result in about 13,000 people being eliminated from the tax bracket on income, allowing them to pay fewer taxes or none at all.