Maintaining Guyana’s “favorable” fiscal regime with no increase in royalties and bringing the Gas-to-Energy project online are among the energy sector focus areas on the cards for a People’s Progressive Party/Civic second-term government.
The party held a consultation on its 2025-2030 manifesto on July 16 on the outskirts of Georgetown, outlining several key priority areas for the Irfaan Ali-led government. The full document has not yet been released; currently, only a summary of key sector commitments is available.
The PPP/C touched on sectors like Education, Health, Infrastructure, Welfare and Security. A section for the Energy sector was absent. But the commitments linked to the sector are littered throughout the document.
A review of Guyana’s current Local Content legislation aimed at creating more opportunities for Guyanese businesses and nationals is expected. The First Schedule in the legislation currently has 40 priority areas for Guyanese. This will be increased.
While this was not included on the list, PPP/C Presidential Candidate Irfaan Ali said his government is also looking at a further reduction in oil and gas payment timelines.
“I know this is one of the things that continues to affect many of you. We are working with the banking sector to create the instruments that will allow [you] to have access to capital through invoicing,” he said.
Offering more context on the PPP/C plan for the energy sector was General Secretary and Guyana’s Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo. He emphasized the importance of prudent resource management to avoid the pitfalls seen in other oil-rich nations.
“You need to be very careful and deliberate in how you manage this, because other countries have not done so. That is why they destroyed their economies,” he said, referencing Venezuela as a cautionary example. He warned that overdependence on oil could destabilize the broader economy: “They splurged, they killed the other sectors of the economy… before you know it, the entire country is relying on revenue only from one sector.”
Jagdeo noted that Guyana is taking a different path by planning beyond oil from the outset.
“We are already working on a post-oil and gas economy, and a diversified economy,” he stated.
Highlighting government initiatives in non-oil sectors, he added, “The President has been aggressive in laying out the diversification plan; the focus on agriculture, the creative industries, the services sector, uphold the connection with Brazil, all to create new growth goals that will create the wealth of the future.”
The full manifesto is expected to be released later this month.
