Govt’s $1.558T budget fueled by US$2.6B borrowing

Jan 28, 2026 News

---

…as Guyana’s debt soars past US$10B

By Davina Bagot

(Kaieteur News) – Guyana’s third consecutive trillion-dollar budget, presented by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government on Monday, will be financed in large part by heavy borrowing, with new loans totalling US$2.6 billion pushing the country’s total debt beyond the US$10 billion mark for the first time in its history.

The details were outlined in the 2026 Budget presented to the National Assembly by Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh.

A careful look at this year’s financial blueprint reveals that government intends to further increase the country’s debt this year to a startling US$10.3B, pushing the Guyana’s loans up to double digits for the first time in the country’s history.

Multilateral debt, owed to agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is projected to climb from around US$1.9B to US$2.4B, while bilateral loans with allies such as Canada, China and the United States of America will jump from US$880M in 2025 to US$1.5B in 2026.

Similarly, the country’s domestic debt is anticipated to move from US$4.8B in 2025 to about US$6B in 2026. Be that as it may, the Finance Minister noted, “Guyana’s debt is projected to remain strongly sustainable into the medium-term, even as government advances its comprehensive development and transformation programme.”

In addition to US$2.6B in loans, the 2026 Budget includes US$2.4B oil money and US$238.7M in carbon credit inflows.  This year’s Budget is set at $1.558 trillion, a 12.7% increase over 2025’s $1.382 trillion-dollar plan.

Prior to Monday’s presentation by Dr. Singh, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) lead Member of Parliament (MP), Dr. Terrence Campbell cautioned the Government of Guyana (GoG) to be mindful of how it contracts more loans to fund this year’s Budget amid falling oil prices.

Campbell pointed out that Guyana was projected to earn less revenue in 2025, compared to 2024, despite the startup of an additional Floating Production Storage and Offloading Vessel (FPSO) and the production of oil beyond the initial design rates of the ships. Consequently, he said, “This alone should tell us that we have some problems. If we are to fall from the 60s down to 50 (per barrel of oil), it means that we will be earning much less revenue and the government would be wise, as you have suggested to reduce borrowing. There will be challenging times ahead and this is entirely the wrong government, a profligate government for us to have at a time when the economic road ahead, especially with energy looks challenging.”

Given the prevailing circumstances, Campbell said it would be reckless for yet another “largest budget ever” to be presented to the House. “If he (the finance minister) comes to the Assembly and he opens up about the largest budget ever, I know that he is continuing on the reckless path that they have gone before and he is not taking note, he is not cognizant of the effects of a lower oil prices on Guyana’s economy and the budget,” he explained. The MP made it clear that the government should restrain itself from increasing the country’s debt burden under such conditions. “In this scenario, borrowing should be restrained. We should not be looking in this scenario to be driving up our debt load,” he urged.

Notably, Guyana closed the year 2025 with a whopping US$7.7B debt burden, up from US$5.993 billion a year earlier and Dr. Singh said the increase reflects continued fiscal discipline alongside the government’s aggressive development drive. “Our government continues to balance the financing of our transformation agenda with the preservation of fiscal and debt sustainability,” Singh told the National Assembly. “We remain committed to the responsible and transparent management of public debt within prudent cost and risk parameters.”

He noted that the PPP government has demonstrated a well-established track record since it resumed office in 2020. He reported that total PPG debt stood at US$7.7 billion at the end of 2025, reflecting positive net inflows from both external and domestic financing sources. Domestic PPG debt accounted for 62.3% of the total, amounting to US$4.8 billion, while external PPG debt comprised 37.7%, or US$2.9 billion.

According to Minister Singh, multilateral creditors held the largest share of external PPG debt at 64%, followed by bilateral creditors at 30.1% and private creditors at 5.9%.  On the domestic side, treasury bills (T-Bills) dominated the debt profile, accounting for 82.5%, an increase of 6.2% from a year earlier. Debentures accounted for the remaining 17.5%.

Moreover, the finance minister stated that Guyana’s debt sustainability indicators have continued to improve. He outlined that since 2020, the ratio of total PPG debt to gross domestic product (GDP) declined from 47.4% to 28.6% at the end of 2025. He further stated that total debt service payments for 2025 amounted to US$264.6 million, with US$176.6 million paid to external creditors and US$88 million to domestic creditors. Notably, Dr. Singh stated that the share of external debt service expanded to 66.7%, mainly as a result of an increase in bilateral payments. Meanwhile, domestic debt service contracted to 33.3%.

It was also disclosed that 5.5% of Government revenue went towards debt service in 2025, a decrease from 8.5% in 2020. “This indicates a strong and improving capacity to meet our financial commitments as they come due, and implies a greater proportion of public funds being available for fiscal purposes other than debt service,” Dr. Singh said.

---

• borrowing, budget, carbon credit, Debt, financed, PPP

---