The Guyana Office for Investment (GO-INVEST) has moved to justify the salary paid to its Chief Executive Officer Peter Ramsaroop, following criticism from the opposition We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party over the agency’s budget allocation.
The issue surfaced on Monday evening during the consideration of the 2026 budget estimates in the National Assembly, when Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira disclosed that Ramsaroop earns more than $2 million per month. Ramsaroop also serves as a People’s Progressive Party Civic Member of Parliament.
Shortly after the disclosure, WIN took to social media, criticising the salary and suggesting that the budget prioritises the personal benefit of the GO-INVEST head. In one post, the party stated that Ramsaroop earns over $2 million monthly, in addition to gratuity, and accused him of “uplifting himself” through the budget process.
In response, GO-INVEST issued a statement titled “Opposition Stunned as Government Lays Bare Five Years of Non-Oil Investment, Jobs, and Economic Diversification,” in which it rejected what it described as attempts to undermine the agency’s performance and record.
According to GO-INVEST, its work over the past five years provides measurable evidence of investment facilitation and economic results. The agency said that in 2025 alone, it facilitated approximately $157 billion in total investments, including $86 billion in foreign direct investment, $64 billion in local investment, and $5.9 billion in joint ventures.
The agency said these figures demonstrate growing international confidence in Guyana, alongside strong domestic participation in the non-oil economy.
GO-INVEST also referenced Minister Teixeira’s remarks in the National Assembly, noting that the government has placed on record the scale of non-oil investments facilitated between 2020 and 2025, which it said contributed to job creation, economic diversification and reduced dependence on oil revenues.
Ramsaroop, who is also the country’s Chief Investment Officer, said the data presented contradicts what he described as the Opposition’s narrative.
“For five years, while the Opposition talked, this Government invested strategically, deliberately and across every major non-oil sector of the economy,” Ramsaroop said. “The results are undeniable. Jobs were created, businesses expanded, regions transformed, and the economy became stronger and more resilient.”
GO-INVEST said that between 2020 and 2025, Guyana recorded significant non-oil investment activity across agriculture, agro-processing, manufacturing, tourism, logistics, construction, housing, information and communications technology, energy services, health care and education.
The agency said it facilitated more than $1 trillion in signed non-oil investments over the period, executed more than 180 investment agreements, and secured commitments for over 32,000 direct and indirect jobs. It noted that not all investments pass directly through GO-INVEST, but that the agency plays a central facilitation role.
Ramsaroop said non-oil sectors continue to support small and medium-sized businesses and help ensure that economic growth benefits ordinary Guyanese.
“This Government made a conscious decision to build an economy by design, not by accident,” he said. “That means investing beyond oil, creating real jobs, lowering the cost of doing business, and ensuring Guyanese are participants in their own development.”
He added that the Opposition’s response reflects discomfort with the data presented, saying the government intends to continue expanding non-oil investment under President Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s Vision 2030 framework, with a focus on inclusive and broad-based growth.
