2025 mid-year report highlights several gains for the working-class

Dear Editor,
The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) has recently reviewed the recently released 2025 mid-year report. The document highlights Guyana’s economic and financial progress while considering our social advancement. The report reviews the developments that have followed the historic 2025 National Budget, which continued to focus on comprehensive development and improvement. The Union believes that the report is a must-read given its focus on several significant issues.
Central to the report’s thrust and focus was the disclosure that the economy had grown by 7.5 per cent in the first half of the year. Notably, the non-oil economy grew by as much as 13.8 per cent. In our view, it demonstrates that the economy is much more than oil and gas. Significantly as well, we took note of the nearly 140 per cent expansion in the sugar sector. We anticipate that the growth realised will be sustained over the short and medium term as the industry is steered to viability. As President Irfaan Ali shared during his post-cabinet media briefing on November 21, 2025, greater emphasis will be placed in the coming period on management effectiveness and efficiency, as more efforts are being made towards mechanisation. These efforts, the President disclosed, will seek to reverse past bouts of mismanagement, especially during the sojourn of some who claim to come with clean hands and hearts.
The report’s economic data highlighted the robustness of the economy and the gains in several other sectors. Apart from that, we noted inflation was recorded at 2.9 per cent up to June 2025. This outcome, we are aware, cannot be separated from several government policies aimed at mitigating the full impact of global economic turmoil and upheavals.
Additionally, as a union representing thousands of Guyanese workers, we also noted the mid-year report’s highlighting of several laudable achievements during the first half of 2025. Some highlights for us were as follows:
• Health sector spending of approximately $53B – paving the way for the commissioning of six regional hospitals, advancing other health facilities, and increasing training of health professionals, among other things.
• In education, we note the expenditure of approximately $82 billion, which led to the opening of new schools in several villages, improved textbook availability, and the provision of cash grants to all school-aged children.
• In housing, the report highlights that approximately $58 billion was spent, resulting in the allocation of around 10,000 house lots during the period, with development works ongoing in over 100 housing schemes.
• In water, approximately $6.2 billion was spent on the commissioning of water treatment plants that benefit around 75,000 Guyanese, while works to improve water distribution were advanced in several villages.

Collectively, these efforts, along with many others, have contributed to improving the well-being of Guyanese workers and their families, making a tangible impact on their lives for even brighter days ahead. The 2025 mid-year report demonstrates that Guyana’s future is secure and assured. It reveals that a strong foundation is being laid for a modern, prosperous Guyana. But, most importantly, it speaks to a policy-driven agenda that ensures no Guyanese, whether on the coast or in the hinterland, is left out of the ambitious yet realistic development programme.

Yours faithfully,
Seepaul Narine
President – GAWU