During Thursday’s consideration in the National Assembly of the estimates of expenditure for the Ministry of Labour, the question of unemployment statistics arose. Unsurprisingly and in line with the patent government intention to ignore this crucial stat, Minister of Labour, Dr Gopaul was not able to supply any information. His answer as reported in the April 20 edition of Stabroek News was “No one knows the exact figure but we are working to establish it”.
It continues to astonish that the PPP/C, after having spent more than 20 consecutive years in office, can without any hint of embarrassment tell the people that it doesn’t have general unemployment figures, let alone segmented information e.g. for youths. The employment/unemployment number is one of the most important indicators in determining the health of an economy and establishing whether growth is leading to more jobs or is simply a jobless phenomenon. How does any Ministry of Finance prepare a budget without factoring in what the unemployment figure is and the measures to be taken to bring it down? Surely one of the most fundamental benchmarks at the centre of any budget must be the creation of jobs either through the private sector or public sector initiatives.
Aside from a few bald references to jobs in his budget speech, there was nothing in Finance Minister, Dr Singh’s presentation which addressed the issue. Based on the continuing refusal of the government to present regular data on unemployment one can only infer that the level of unemployment and underemployment is high, unchanging and that the government doesn’t have a plan to reverse it. Guyanese should not have to await the completion of a census or some other cycle to be told what the unemployment figure is. They know it anecdotally from their daily interactions but they want to be sure that the economic planners and those holding the reins of the economy are well aware of the figure and that they craft programmes with it in mind.
By contrast, one doesn’t have to seek far in relation to fellow Caricom countries. The statistics are available from a multiplicity of sources and the relevant ministers speak about them openly. Just a month ago Trinidad Minister of Trade and Industry Vasant Bharath listed the rate at 5% amid a series of other important data. In Jamaica the figure was given as 13.7% by their statistical body. Barbados’ latest figure is 11.6%.
While both this government and Caricom have recognized that statistics are vital for intelligence about the economy and other essential indicators, action has not matched words. In the same session of Parliament, Minister Gopaul was also not able to provide convincing information on the training programmes offered by the Board of Industrial Training (BIT). Large sums are allocated each year for the purposes of training with the expectation that this would lead to young persons securing jobs or becoming self-employed.
Impressive numbers were reeled off by Minister Gopaul when questioned about the training: 7,000 in the youth empowerment programme, 1,274 single parents etc. When asked how many of them had sewn up employment Minister Gopaul’s response was that all of them had. This is hardly a credible and believable response. As APNU MP Mr Basil Williams attempted to do, Parliament has a right to know how many of these youth actually secured a job, in which sectors, whether it was long-term or short-term and the follow-up measures instituted by the BIT and the ministry to keep track of the progress of these trainees. This is the depth and quality of information that should underpin outlays in each sector and which data would inevitably enrich, illuminate and lift the quality of debate.
It would be a fantastic achievement if all those in these BIT programmes found jobs but the reality is likely quite different. Still, the BIT should provide as much information as it can to the public on the numbers who have gained employment or gone into business for themselves as there must be a correlation between the appropriations for these programmes and their achievements.
In the same April 20 edition of SN it was reported that Minister Gopaul had also been asked in a separate news item about child labour. His answer was that there were no official statistics. The question had arisen in the wake of a 16-year-old perishing in a mining pit. Mining and fishing are two areas where the worst forms of child labour are present and Guyana ought to have a fix on the extent of the problem as it has been highlighted in various studies and is one of the transgressions that the International Labour Organisation is very concerned about. Only with adequate data, which regions, times of the year etc. could a plan of action be developed to address the child labour the scourge. In this interview, the minister did acknowledge that the ministry has to do a better job of gathering data in collaboration with the private sector.
These examples from the Labour Ministry are likely reflective of what is happening across the board and there must be a sea-change towards statistics for policy coherence and effectiveness.
In an address at the March 6th 2013 launching of the `International Year of Statistics 2013, Guyana’s Chief Statistician Mr Lennox Benjamin had this to say “The Objective of the ‘Year of Statistics 2013’ is to promote Statistics, both as an enhanced source of knowledge as well as a comfortable and practical tool in our everyday lives. It must no longer be something abstract to most or viewed as something so hard to grasp and understand. It affects us in our everyday lives from weather forecasts, to predicting areas for high crime activity, to emergency preparedness…”
He added that his office “intends to utilize the dissemination of its preliminary Census results later this year as a first step of bringing information back to communities, back to households, back to individuals and teaching how the understanding of and utilization of statistical data can empower each one of us in our daily lives.” It will be interesting to see how this commitment translates into real results from both the bureau and the government. Unemployment figures would be a good start.
