Latest update December 31st, 2025 12:35 AM
Over $19B budgeted for salary increases in 2025
…former Auditor General raises questions over redirection of sum
(Kaieteur News) – Former Auditor General (AG) Anand Goolsarran is questioning the non-payment of salary increases to public servants this year as over $19B was set aside in the 2025 Budget to meet such expenses.
In his recent column ‘Accountability Watch’ published by Stabroek News, the Chartered Accountant said it was most disappointing that the government failed to announce salary increases this year for public servants and other categories of government workers and reneged on its promise of a cash grant.
Former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran
Goolsarran went on to point out, “The 2025 budget for the Ministry of Finance shows an amount of $19.354 billion for other employment costs under Sub-head 6141. This amount is normally reserved mainly for the payment of salary increases.”
As such, the anti-corruption advocate urged that government should explain if that sum was used to meet other costs and what specifically it was used to finance.
Moreover, Goolsarran pointed out that when budgetary allocations prove insufficient during the execution of the budget, a Supplementary Estimate is normally required. In such circumstances, the National Assembly is convened to enable parliamentary approval of the said Estimate.
As such, he reasoned, “Why was this not done? Or is it that the Government decides that there will be no increase in salaries for 2025? If so, it would be unprecedented, especially considering that that while Guyana is considered one of the fastest growing economies in the world, 58 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, with 32 percent living in extreme poverty, according to a recently released report from the Inter-American Development Bank.”
In addition, the former AG noted that Guyanese, especially those in the lower round in the economic ladder, are reeling from the effects of the high cost of living and are in dire need of financial relief. He was keen to note that members of the disciplined services received the usual one month’s tax-free bonus, and asked whether other government workers were also not deserving of a similar bonus.
On December 18, President Irfaan Ali announced a one-month tax-free bonus for members of the joint services. The announcement came one day after the President announced that government will not be paying out a cash grant to the wider Guyanese population ahead of Christmas, although he previously hinted on the campaign trail that “you will have a bright Christmas.”
As such, public servants such as doctors, nurses, teachers and others in the various ministries and agencies were forced for the first time in years to meet holiday expenses without any additional revenue from government to cushion their high expenses.
The A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) faction of the Parliamentary opposition described the move as deceptive electioneering, and accused the government of failing to deliver on its promises.
Leader of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party, Azruddin Mohamed also slammed the Head of State for failing to keep his campaign promise. The politician argued that such statements amounted to more than political rhetoric. “That statement created a moral contract, not just a policy promise. When leaders speak that way, people don’t hear maybe or next budget. We hear certainty…now after the election, the language has changed. You want to give the nation a meager $100,000 with all the monies generated from oil, the cash grant was a campaign tool, not a guaranteed obligation…” Mohamed said.
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