$8.5B invested in part-time workers initiative since 2022 launch

– over 17,000 jobs for Guyanese created

The Guyana Government has expended approximately $8.5 billion to date on the National Pathway Workers Project (NPWP), which created part-time job opportunities for vulnerable and unemployed Guyanese. This was revealed by Local Government and Regional Development Minister Priya Manickchand in response to questions raised by the Parliamentary Opposition.
A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) Member of Parliament (MP) Ganesh Mahipaul had posed a series of questions on the initiative, to which the Minister provided written responses during Friday’s sitting of the National Assembly.
“The sum expended on wages and other related costs to date is $8,550,790,010,” Manickchand indicated in her response. In 2025, the National Assembly approved $12.7 billion for the NPWP as well as the Community Enhancement Workers (CEW) Programme. This year, some $13.6 billion was allocated in Budget 2026 to continue supporting these two initiatives.

Additionally, the Government also increased the stipend paid to these workers from January 2026. This saw pathway workers, Community Enhancement workers, Community Service Officers, and Community Policing Groups benefiting from $50,000 monthly, compared to the previous $40,000 per month.
This stipend adjustment places an additional $2.8 billion of disposable income in workers’ hands and aggregates to an annual injection of $14 billion.
However, Manickchand also reported that as of October 31, 2025, the total number of persons employed under the NPWP was 17,450. Though the question was for that specific period, it is anticipated, however, that this figure has since increased.
Of these 17,450 workers, some 1200 are from Region One (Barima-Waini); 2099 from Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); 1672 from Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); 976 from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica); 2911 from Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice); 4400 from Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne); 279 from Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni); 1956 from Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), and 1957 from Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
According to the Local Government and Regional Development Minister, these pathway workers are deployed within various regional programmes. These include the Regional Administration in the capacity of clerical support staff, enhancement workers, support staff to Local Democratic Organs (LDO), etc; the Education Delivery Programme; the Health Services Programme; the Agriculture Programme; the Public Works Programme; and other Government agencies regionally.
“These workers are all employed with Government agencies (Public Sector) regionally and are expected to adhere to the agency’s assigned management system, policies and guidelines. The Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development continues to monitor in collaboration with the RDCs (Regional Democratic Councils) to ensure the project objectives are accomplished,” the Minister explained in response to Mahipaul’s inquiry about the oversight of the project and the workers.

She further pointed out that there are several systems outlined to the Regional Administration to ensure employees’ standards and codes of conduct are in keeping with the public service rules and regulations. These are as follows but are not limited to: Job descriptions of what is expected of pathway employees based on their skill set and standardised time/attendance and monitoring sheets to assess employees’ performances.
Moreover, the Heads of Agencies to whom pathway workers are assigned are also authorised to endorse stipend payments and enforce work ethics or report any breaches of the public service rules and regulations to the Regional Administration. In addition, clauses are also outlined within the pathway employees’ contract for them to adhere to and/or prevent breaches of work ethics/public service rules.
Initially dubbed the 10-day part-time workers programme, this initiative was introduced by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government in 2022 as a cost-of-living relief measure and allows persons to join various Government agencies and offices within their communities and regions for 10 days per month and receive a salary of $40,000.
This programme has significantly expanded since President Irfaan Ali announced plans last year to upskill these participants and offer them better opportunities. He had indicated that the goal is for these part-time workers to graduate into full-time employees and migrate into higher-paying jobs or own their own businesses.
“We are looking to graduate part-time workers into full-time workers because we are building out these services to advance our society,” the Guyanese leader had stated.
The part-time jobs initiative was one of a series of strategic measures rolled out by the PPP/C Government to mitigate the effects of the rising cost of living, the COVID-19 pandemic, and several other global factors.