Another 1200 Guyanese on EBD benefit from Govt’s part-time jobs

Some 1,200 persons living along the East Bank Demerara corridor have become newest beneficiaries of the Government’s Part-Time Jobs initiative.
Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo launched the programme at the Diamond Secondary School on Friday, during which he reiterated that the initiative forms part of the administration’s efforts to supplement household incomes, in light of the rising cost of living due to several external factors, specifically the COVID-19 pandemic.
The administration is aggressively pushing to provide 50,000 jobs over a five-year period, as was promised in its manifesto. Since taking office in August 2020, it has invested a significant number of resources to strategically enhance the lives of citizens.
“Because we were looking at the situation, so many of our people were unemployed, but then we had COVID. And so, we didn’t lose only 30,000 jobs after COVID, and the country was shut down; we lost maybe another 40,000 [jobs], so we have to get those people back to work,” the VP told the gathering.
The job opportunities allow for the employees to work for 10 days and earn up to $40,000 on a monthly basis. The jobs are being offered in specific areas within Government Ministries and agencies, and cater to one person per household. So far, some 11,000 Guyanese are currently benefitting from the programme countrywide, and this would cost the Government some $10 billion annually.
The part-time jobs initiative is just one of a menu of measures implemented by the Government to cushion the effects of the cost of living. Along with supporting farmers and cushioning the net effect of the increased cost of freight and the Russia/Ukraine war, Guyanese are benefitting from a range of tax incentives. Removal of VAT on electricity, water and data; reduction of the excise tax on fuel to zero; in addition to the many non-tax measures, such as the one-off $25,000 relief grant; reintroduction and increase of the school children cash grant, as well as its extension to private schools; and a one-off $25,000 cash grant for pensioners and cash grants to support small businesses, among others.
Additionally, despite the rise in the price of fuel, the Government has absorbed the increased cost associated with the production of electricity, so there has been no increase in electricity tariff.
Further, Dr Jagdeo said the Government would continue to plan incrementally for the advancement of the country and all Guyanese. “If we don’t have a long-term vision of Guyana, a lot of the improvements we see now we will not be able to sustain, and that is what is always characterised by the People’s Progressive Party. We have always planned for the long term,” he explained.
He also called on those who signed up for the jobs to take advantage of the educational opportunities being afforded to them, particularly through the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL).
The Vice President was accompanied by Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall; Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat; Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, with responsibility for Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy; and Members of Parliament Jennifer Westford, Alister Charlie and Yvonne Pearson.