Should the APNU+AFC coalition be voted into power at the upcoming general elections, women can expect the labour laws to be amended to cater for them working from home and to promote increased part-time employment opportunities.
This is according to an excerpt of the coalition’s manifesto, seen by Stabroek News, which focuses on women and gender equality.
The coalition organised a women’s rally last Saturday to focus on issues affecting women and the manifesto excerpt seen by Stabroek News states that it recognizes that women are the custodians of the fundamental values that sustain families and are critical for the success in generating social wealth and creating an environment of peace, justice, security and stability.
In the excerpt, the coalition pointed out that in Guyana several constraints limit women’s collective capacity to transform the principles of peace, justice, security and stability into everyday practice. Some of these constraints, it argues, include violence and physical abuse against women, limited access to finance for the promotion of entrepreneurial activity and insufficient protection under the current legal system.
“APNU+AFC also recognises that the plight of other vulnerable groups including the disabled, children, orphans and senior citizens are all intrinsically intertwined with the position of women in our society,” it states.
The coalition promises to support and celebrate women’s participation and contributions to society by striving to uphold and promote the dignity of all women and creating a greater voice for women and children within the broader society.
Speaking about economic empowerment programmes, the coalition promises to:
- Work closely with local, national and international bodies to increase women’s entrepreneurial activities.
- Increase microcredit programmes and access to small business loans/grants.
- Establish job centres in each administrative region to facilitate job search and employment matching.
- Advocate the introduction of lower interest rates at financial institutions for female headed households and first time home owners.
- Promote gender-friendly banking services especially in the area of loans to women.
- Implement a child tax credit programme.
- Introduce tax credits for companies providing in-house daycare facilities.
- Increase government-funded childcare centres to support women, especially estranged mothers, single mothers, victims of various forms of abuse.
With the May 11 elections just 20 days away, neither the coalition nor the incumbent PPP/C has released a manifesto. The coalition has, in particular, been criticised for the delay in releasing a manifesto to let the public know what its plans are if it is voted into power.
Following the coalition’s launch, presidential candidate David Granger said that within its first 100 days, an APNU+AFC government would announce a date for local government elections, free up the telecoms and ICT sectors and set up a constitution reform body and the Public Procurement Commission, among other things.
He had explained that in addition to the agreement signed between the two parties, the alliance will make a public commitment to address priority areas during its term in office, such as a programme for the reconciliation of the people.
“These priority areas include a programme for healing and reconciliation and the introduction of a meaningful constitutional reform programme geared towards improved governance and their fair representation, the sustained improvement of crime prevention and the security environment, local government reforms and the holding of local government elections,” he had said.
