New infrastructure accelerates creation of more and better jobs

Dear Editor,
The need to invest in Guyana’s infrastructure has never been more clearer after listening to the Honorable Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill during the edition of “Insight”, giving an update on a number of projects being undertaken by the new PPP/C Administration and addressing several issues, making it all the more critical to take a fresh look at infrastructure’s importance to the labour market, both to drive long-lasting growth and to expand economic opportunity across the entire workforce—improving Guyana’s infrastructure can lead to better connectivity, which in turn can create more jobs. According to Minister Juan Edghill, “Infrastructure is a priority for job creation, by prioritising infrastructure investment, our Government can provide direct employment in large numbers and can enable the Private Sector which is impeded by absent or poor infrastructure”. New infrastructure will accelerate creation of more and better jobs, however, elements are missing from the current narrative on infrastructure and jobs. Infrastructure is not limited to short-term construction. Beyond “shovel-ready” projects, thousands of workers are critical to providing timely transportation, reliable water, efficient energy, and other public services over several decades. Engaged in the construction, operation, governance, and design of infrastructure, these workers—from bus drivers and civil engineers to air traffic controllers and telecommunication line installers—play a key role supporting the economy across every region. Infrastructure jobs usually represent long-term, well-paid opportunities for the two-thirds of Guyana’s workers who lack degrees. These jobs not only boast competitive wages and have relatively low barriers to entry, but they also have enormous replacement, primarily due to an impending wave of retirements. In turn, infrastructure has the potential to promote more durable and equitable growth as the labour market picks up steam after COVID-19. It is widely accepted that investments in infrastructure can lead to direct and indirect jobs, and usually have spillover effects into other economic opportunities. For example, good transport systems and agro-logistics services help move freight from farms to locations where value can be added (like intermediate processing, packaging and sorting of agricultural produce) and ultimately to consumers. However, the anticipated benefits of these investments are not always fully realised, or sometimes they happen much later. How can investments in infrastructure have a multiplier effect in stimulating the economy and, eventually, facilitating job creation?
The PPP/C Administration and the Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill has a comprehensive approach that will accelerate economic benefits for poor farmers and create jobs along targeted value chains. Storage and logistics will be key since the existing storage facilities are insufficient to fulfil the increase in our agriculture production and often don’t have temperature control facilities. Cold storage facilities are located far from farms and transporting produce is challenging due to limited alternatives. Developing regulations to encourage private investments in cold storage facilities, promoting the use of warehousing financing, and moving government storage facilities close to farms could facilitate smoother logistics and storage of produce. While the quality of produce from the regions may meet international standards, the produce is only sold in local and regional markets where there is limited quality grading. The packing materials used are not durable and sometimes unfit for longer trips throughout the country. Adopting national grading standards and implementing best practices for packaging will improve the marketability of produce and fetch higher rates in national markets. Additionally, juicing and bottling of mandarin has a huge potential to generate employment in the processing sector
As more consumers in the various regions look to online – rather physical markets, new opportunities are emerging. Acknowledging this change in the market structure, our Government is also engaged with innovative start-ups in the agro-industry to understand the trends and direction in which the sector may develop in the future, paving the way for more and better Jobs
Targeted investments and enabling regulations along strategic value chains can better address the bottlenecks identified in an end to end manner. When functioning seamlessly, such value chains anchored on integrated infrastructure can help farmers tap into new markets, receive higher prices, access quality inputs and ultimately increase household incomes, and improve livelihoods. Additionally, investments in infrastructure can benefit from partnerships with private and public stakeholder.

Sincerely,
David Adams