By Svetlana Marshall

In a presentation that grabbed the attention of the National Assembly this afternoon, We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) Member of Parliament, Odessa Primus hauled the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr. over the coals over the lack of policies and concrete initiatives to guide development in the sectors under his portfolio.

Describing the one and a half trillion Budget as deeply flawed, MP Primus told the House that in a country where more than 70 % of the population is made up of young people, the Government allocates $6 Billion to the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, which is $2 Billion less than it did in 2025.

“I was so concerned when I looked at the $8 Billion that they were given last year, and this year, they had to reduce that to $6 Billion. And we have over 70% of the people in this country are youths. You could imagine 70% of people are only given the smallest part of anything. This can’t be a Government that is putting the people first. Which people? Who? Certainly now the people who are involved in culture, certainly not our artistes, certainly not our sports men and women, certainly not our young people,” MP Primus said.

Primus said the problem lies with the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, who according to her, lacks vision for the important sectors under his watch.

“How could you have a ministry and have not one single policy for that ministry, whether it be youth, whether it be sport or whether it be culture? That in itself says, there exists a flaw,” MP Primus said.

Emphasizing that policies are urgently needed for the sectors of Culture, Youth and Sports, the WIN Parliamentarian explained that policies define goals, establish operational boundaries, ensure accountability and guide decision making.

Alluding to the theme of the budget, MP Primus said after almost 30 accumulative years in Government, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration has finally decided to “put people first”, but she said on examining the Budget, it was found that it fails to put the people first.

Establishing herself as an authority on culture in Guyana as a theatre personality, MP Primus said she could attest to the struggles being faced by those in the culture industry. She said many have died as paupers, although making tremendous contributions to the Arts.

 “We have names like the Mighty Rebel. How many young people you could go into a school and ask them who the Mighty Rebel is? How many young people could tell us about Henry Rodney’s contributions to theatre as well as to the culture? Habeeb Khan has been one of the most outstanding comedians in this country. That man loved the arts so much that he dropped out of law school and he went ahead and pursued his career in stand-up comedy. Honorable Members I stand before you, and it pains my heart to tell you that both Henry Rodney and Mr. Habeeb Khan died paupers in this country, and I am not saying that to discredit those persons, but to let you understand that as an artist, what the government is promoting is poverty,” MP Primus said.

Noting that more must be done to preserve the contributions of those who contributed to the Culture and Arts, MP Primus said there remains living legends like Desiree Edghill, Vivian Daniels, Margaret Lawrence, Gem Madhoo-Nascimento and Paloma Mohamed, whose contributions must be preserved.

“Nothing in this budget, absolutely nothing in this budget, in this people centered budget is for the people who are part of the arts,” she said.

While acknowledging the efforts of Minister within the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Steven Jacobs, MP Primus said despite millions allocated to sport facilities in the country, including grounds, remain in deplorable conditions. Added to that, she said athletes must be better compensated and catered for, noting that they should not be made to walk around and beg for contributions to fund their participation regionally and internationally.

Rising in defence of the Budget, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, in pushing back against the criticisms, said evidence of the work done by his ministry is available for all to see.

He said come Saturday, the Government will commission a stadium in Wismar, Linden. The stadium has been under construction for more than six years.

“We undertook the responsibility to build five stadiums. Those are huge undertakings. In fact all of those stadiums will be opened this year. And I want to be clear, the first one is happening on Saturday, it is going to be a huge event, and it is beautiful,” he said.

 He said in the last five years, the PPP/C Administration invested in over 600 community grounds across this country. Minister Ramson said in 2026, more than one billion dollars has been set aside for the repairs and upgrades of grounds.

“We started for the first time in this country, for the first time in this country, a national sports academy categorized into core and non-core sports. We built strong relationships with sports associations in the country, and all of the sport associations have issued their support for us, this ministry, the budget because they know how they have benefited,” he said.

Minister Ramson said his Ministry has also been tracking the performance of athletes. He said in the last three years, the country has secured over 1,000 international medals as a result of the improved performance of athletes.

The Culture, Youth and Sport Minister said it was the current government that reintroduced the Inter-Guiana Games, and passed two pieces of legislation including the much desired Horse Racing Authority Act.

He informed the House that the draft Sports Policy has been completed and will soon be submitted to Cabinet for its consideration.

Turning his attention to the Culture, Minister Ramson said it was the current Administration that resuscitated the Guyana Prize for Literature, adding additional categories.

“We have also turned that into a literature festival, a build out of an entire festival, that is what we are doing,” he said.

He said the ministry has also worked closely with those in the performing arts, and consistently supported local talents.

The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport said the Government will continue to support the sectors, and unlock new talents, providing Guyanese the opportunities to travel and share their talent globally while earning a living.

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