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Public servants’ wage bill surges 19.9% in first half of 2025 – BoG Report
(Kaieteur News) – The wage bill for public servants shot up by 19.9% in the first six months of 2025, accounting for 22.5% of the government’s total current expenditure, according to the Bank of Guyana (BoG) 2025 Half-Year Report.
Total current expenditure, including debt charges, grew a staggering 36.7% to G$290.8 billion. Transfer payments, which include pensions, subsidies, education subventions, grants, and scholarships, jumped 27.4% to G$128.7 billion, representing 44.3% of total current spending. These payments include subsidies and contributions to local and international organisations, pensions, as well as education subventions, grants, and scholarships, totalling G$64,089 million, G$38,839 million, and G$25,701 million, respectively.
The Bank of Guyana
Meanwhile, BoG indicated, “Employment costs, which accounted for 22.5% of total current expenditure, grew by 19.9% to G$65,530 million. Within this category of expenses, wages and salaries amounted to G$55,519 million, while benefits & allowances totalled G$10,011 million.”
Government’s wage bill during the first six months of this year is likely to be almost identical in the last half of the year, given that no salary increase has been announced for the Christmas season.
President Irfaan Ali announced a one-month tax-free bonus for members of the joint services last week. Other categories of public servants such as nurses, doctors and teachers will, for the first time in several years, be forced to meet holiday expenses without any additional resources.
Nevertheless, BoG reported that payments were also made to purchase ‘other goods’ and pay for services which accounted for 30.1% of current expenditure. These payments increased by 76% to G$87,572 million, according to the Bank of Guyana. According to the report, “This category primarily consisted of spending on miscellaneous goods and services, materials and supplies, maintenance of infrastructure, transport, travel and postage, rental and maintenance of buildings, as well as fuels and lubricants, amounting to G$59,041 million, G$11,369 million, G$5,248 million, G$4,416 million and G$3,631 million and G$1,889 million.”
It was also reported that total interest charges expanded by 23% to G$9,013 million. External interest costs increased by 16.7% to G$5,543 million, while domestic interest costs expanded by 34.5% to G$3,469 million.
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