The government will present the 2026 National Budget on Monday, January 26, despite what it has described as a deliberate campaign of misinformation surrounding the status of the Parliamentary Opposition.
Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy, on Monday issued a statement, responding to claims that the government cannot present a budget because there is no opposition in Parliament, saying the assertion is a “deliberate falsehood” being repeated with reckless audacity.
The opposition members have made this claim while calling for the election of the Opposition Leader, which remains outstanding since the commencement of the 13th Parliament on November 3, 2025.
McCoy said the narrative is either intentionally mischievous or reflects a fundamental inability to understand what transpired at the opening of the 13th Parliament.
Opposition Members of Parliament, he stressed, were duly sworn in when Parliament convened — an event that was televised live, recorded in the Hansard, and remains a matter of indisputable public record.
“Some of the very individuals now peddling this falsehood appeared visibly bewildered even as the oaths were administered. We now understand why,” McCoy said.
“Instead of preparing to confront the Budget on its merits, they have chosen to undermine public understanding and deliberately sow confusion,” he contended.
McCoy also pointed to what he described as a glaring contradiction in the Opposition’s posture, noting that the same voices insisting there is “no Opposition” have repeatedly and publicly demanded the appointment of a Leader of the Opposition.
“One cannot, on the one hand, call for the selection of a Leader of the Opposition and, on the other, claim that no Opposition exists,” he said, arguing that the inconsistency exposes the narrative as “manufactured nonsense”.
More troubling, the minister added, is the deliberate use of ordinary, unsuspecting Guyanese as conduits for misinformation, particularly on social media, with claims amplified and financed by what he described as ill-gotten wealth.
“This behaviour is irresponsible, dangerous, and a direct insult to the intelligence of the Guyanese people,” McCoy said.
He reiterated that Parliament is lawfully constituted, Guyana does have a Parliamentary Opposition, and there is no legal or constitutional barrier to the presentation of the 2026 Budget, which he said will set out clear plans aimed at improving lives and advancing inclusive national development.
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