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Georgetown, Guyana (Credible Sources) Opposition Leader and People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Leader Aubrey Norton labeled Budget 2025 as “elitist and mismanaged,” asserting that it prioritizes the wealthiest while neglecting the needs of ordinary Guyanese. Speaking during the 2025 Budget Debate at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on January 30, Norton criticized the government’s economic policies, stating, “This budget puts wealth in the hands of the few—the PPP elites, families, friends, and favorites.”
He described the budget as “self-contradictory,” arguing that it relies on inflated figures and lacks a structured national development plan. According to Norton, the heavy focus on infrastructure comes at the expense of human resource development and the working people of Guyana. “It is the lumping together of projects that do not constitute a national plan,” he contended, adding that the budget serves as “a slush fund and a recipe for waste and illegal enrichment.”
Norton also accused the government of failing to develop a strong non-oil economy, warning that overdependence on oil revenues poses serious risks to Guyana’s financial future. “At the current rate of depletion of funds from oil, there is little or no money to invest, and little or no money to cushion the ill effects of a decline in oil prices,” he stated, pointing to the Finance Minister’s own projection that oil prices could drop to US$71 per barrel.
He challenged the government’s claim of growth in the non-oil sector, arguing that the reported figures were misleading. “The reality is the figures in the non-oil sector were fudged so that they could appear great,” he asserted. Norton further criticized the government’s handling of key industries, including sugar, gold, and manufacturing, stating that sectors critical to long-term stability were either mismanaged or artificially propped up.
He vowed that a future PNCR-led government would implement a structured non-oil development plan to ensure long-term economic resilience, promising, “We will produce a non-oil sector development plan to ensure the development of a viable and sustainable non-oil sector that is not oil-dependent.”
