General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, has labelled the A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) plans for massive cash transfers using oil revenues as “financially unsustainable.”
Last Sunday, APNU launched its 2025 campaign, unveiling a series of initiatives that will improve the lives of citizens. Among the promises was an immediate 35% salary increase for public servants if the party wins the election.
Responding to the announcement during his Thursday press conference, Jagdeo said he interpreted the proposal as an annual 35% increase instead of a 35% increase for public servants over the coalition’s five-year term in office.
“So, they couldn’t mean 35% for the five years if they win because…it would just be too low [of] a figure. I don’t think that’s what they meant. So, I am assuming it’s about 35% per year,” he stated.
Jagdeo first pointed out that the current employment cost in the national budget stands about $246 billion. He then broke down the potential cost of APNU’s proposed wage increases over five years. “So, if you give 35% in the first year 2026, it becomes $312 billion. In the second year it is $448 [billion] because you’re compounding, third year $605 billion, fourth year $817 billion and by 2030, the end of your term $1.1 trillion only on wages,” the Vice President said.
He further explained that Guyana would need double the amount of oil money that is in the 2025 national budget just to fund this wage bill increase. He also outlined that fulfilling such a promise would consume nearly all of the national budget. This year’s budget is $1.382 trillion and it would cost $1.1 trillion to find a 35% increase for public servants over a 5-year period.
“All of the money we have in the budget will go to wages. Nothing for anything else in the country. Nothing for education, nothing for health care, nothing for building roads, bridges or anything else. It’s not just unsustainable, you have to be like in a mad house, be taken from the mad house to make a promise like this,” Jagdeo said.
