‘Ignorance is no excuse’- Min Teixeira rejects Opposition claims of ‘national suffering’
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, challenged the Opposition’s claims of widespread ‘national suffering’, accusing them of distorting Guyana’s trajectory.
During her presentation on the Budget 2026 debates in the National Assembly on Friday, Minister Teixeira argued that the Opposition relies on unverified anecdotes while ignoring the systemic poverty that once gripped the nation.
She asserted that Guyana’s current transformation is best understood when contrasted with the severe deprivation of the 1970s and 1980s.
“I am proud to see my country move from what it was in the 70s and 80s to what it is today,” Teixeira told the House, stating that, “I am proud to have lived long enough to witness this transformation and the marked improvement in the quality of our people’s lives.”
The minister said that there was a range of poverty and social capital indicators, beginning with access to basic services, to support her case.
She noted that since 1992, the majority of Guyanese now have access to electricity, either through the grid or solar power.
Speaking about water access, she recalled conditions in Georgetown in the early 1990s, when residents walked long distances to obtain water that had to be boiled before use.
Today, she said, more than 90 per cent of the population has access to clean, potable water, including hinterland communities that previously relied on rivers.
Minister Teixeira also highlighted consumption and asset ownership as measures of improved living standards.
She said vehicle purchases between 2021 and 2025 totalled 80,551, a sharp increase compared with previous periods.
“So, when people talk about ‘is only their friends and their cronies, PPP people benefiting,’ they mean that these 80,000 people are all PPP people?” she asked rhethorically.
The minister contrasted the figures with the period 2015 to 2020. She argued that higher taxes, restrictions on vehicle imports and job losses, including the loss of about 7,000 sugar workers, had reduced purchasing power.
She also cited growth in commercial and productive assets.
Between 2021 and 2025, she said, some 16,748 lorries, 8,101 pick-ups, 3,208 excavators and 2,666 tractors were purchased and licensed, reflecting increased business, construction and agricultural activity.
Mobile phone subscriptions were another indicator.
Minister Teixeira explained that subscribers increased to more than 1.12 million between 2021 and 2025, compared with 652,000 in the 2015 – 2020 period.
Turning to public finances, she challenged the opposition’s claims that the former government lacked resources.
She explained that in 2015, Guyana had foreign currency reserves of approximately US$783 million and gold reserves valued at $13 billion, which she claimed were significantly reduced by 2020.
“In 2020, when they were out, and we check the books, USD$783 million went down to $300 million. Where the money gone?” she queried, explaining that, “The issue of saying oh you didn’t have money, you had money but what you did with it did not benefit the people of Guyana.”
Minister Teixeira said current government policies, including free education, scholarships, cash grants, pension and subsidised housing lots, to name a few, were directly improving lives.
She noted that Guyana’s per capita income now stands at approximately US$24,023, compared to US$2,000 three decades ago.
“No one is saying that we have fixed all the problems,” she said. “But consistently and sustainably, we are moving this country forward.”
The minister added that for poor citizens, these initiatives and opportunities open doors and empower them to carve a better life for themselves and their children.