Dear Editor,
“800 jobs for Region Two” is the word from Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, and this is good news indeed. The VP’s announcement stems from the Government’s decision to make available some 800 temporary jobs to these residents, in a move to supplement the income of those, as he puts it, “feeling the squeeze” of the increase in cost of living, engendered by external factors beyond Guyana’s control. The whole idea itself is quite commendable, and shows that the Government is both innovative and caring.
Let me inform all of us that job creation is necessary simply because the more people work the more the economy becomes stable. Economic stability is needed before people can start making big investments in themselves and their children. So, when we create jobs, we cannot go wrong. I add that job creation and economic growth are related. It doesn’t only allow us to develop more individually, but it can also benefit our country’s economy by uplifting the Private Sector. In this way, we are empowering the communities by reducing unemployment rates and improving the life of our citizens. So, the details show that 250 small businesses will receive grants, and $600 million will be invested to dredge the mouth of the Pomeroon River, as after all, Region Two is primarily an agriculture-based region and the Government is actively looking at ways and means to increase employment in the region.
This current situation takes me back to the “US$35 million Enmore manufacturing facility, which is to create over 500 jobs,” when it is fully up and running. What is so commendable is that, according to the President Irfaan Ali, the progress of company will be tracked to ensure locals benefit adequately. This is great indeed as “accountability” is vital in this new Guyana that is emerging. I recall back in 2021, during the budget debate, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, SC, explained the job creation scenario, saying that the Government has to lay the foundation and prepare the local economy to be conducive to job creation for Guyanese. He carefully explained that “You can’t have a policy in the budget call ‘job creation’ and just create jobs in isolation. What a Government has to do is to prepare the economy, prepare the country to make it conducive for jobs to be created, and that is what the Government is doing… We have specific programmes to target specific communities to attract investments to those communities to create jobs”. So, this Enmore thing is just another example.
In the offing is that the Government is aiming to employ some 1000 Region Two residents through the establishment of call centres there. This year, it has allocated some $1 billion in the budget for road projects in the region, and this will also create hundreds of jobs for these Region Two people.
Let me close by reminding all Guyanese that for five years, our country was on the back foot by “poor and spiteful” economic policies implemented by the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government, which saw thousands of Guyanese, from public servants to farmers, put on the bread line. The figures are there for examination, as some 30,000 workers lost their jobs under the APNU/AFC Government and about 40,000 during the COVID-19 pandemic’s initial onslaught. Right now, the task is quite onerous, as the Government has to fill these many job breaches, then start to really add new ones, and so far, the story is quite good. These 800 temporary jobs for Region Two residents are just one in a series of measures that the Dr Irfaan Ali-led Government has implemented to support Guyanese in need of help, since assuming office two years ago. Lots of things, job-wise, are co-occurring, and it is just a matter of time until there will a wave of benefits to enjoy.
Yours truly,
H Singh
