Almost 3,000 Berbicians have been identified for the part-time jobs currently being offered by the government, and Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday in New Amsterdam stated that these jobs were developed to better regional services.
In Region Six between New Amsterdam – Mara, Upper East Bank Berbice 811 persons signed on; Kilcoy/Hampshire to Macedonia/Joppa including Black Bush Polder 709 persons; in the Upper Corentyne Area 976 persons; and between Fyrish Village, Corentyne – East Canje, Berbice 571 persons.
According to Jagdeo, persons will be utilized around the region in government offices, libraries, daycares, and other agencies to better roll out the services being offered regionally. Persons selected will have to work about ten days per month to earn $40,000.
“We are hoping that the ten days that you work, this is not free money too, you’re getting money from the government to work, you’re working for the government now so you have to have the attitude in those ten days that you work, that you are there to serve people for the ten days.”
He then stated that the present government will always forge ahead and do whatever it takes to change people’s lives in Guyana, “so I’m not deterred by the negative comments we received about this programme”.
He told the gathering, that recently the Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton, and members of the Opposition questioned why citizens were being hired on ‘temporary jobs.’ However, Jagdeo clarified that “these are not temporary jobs, they are part-time jobs, this can go on for many, many, years…”
He stressed, that the contract will not end in one year, “once you get on to the programme it stays for a number of years. Its part-time jobs, not temporary jobs.”
Meanwhile, he said, questions were also raised as to what were the necessary qualifications needed for the part-time jobs, “Well Mr. Norton the qualification is that they are Guyanese, they don’t have to have any other qualifications”, Jagdeo said to applause coming from the hundreds of persons gathered at the New Amsterdam location.
He then encouraged the recipients gathered to use the opportunity as a stepping stone in developing themselves and securing better employment. “We expect all of you who are on this programme to utilize the other opportunities provided by the Government of Guyana to study, to upgrade yourselves.”
According to him, any person who wants to partake in an online scholarship from the recipients or anywhere in the country “the government will pay for their studies.”
Meanwhile, Jagdeo also spoke of the effects of Covid–19, while he opined that people also suffered due to the policies of the last government which saw some 7,000 sugar workers being laid off over the five years under the previous administration.
He then sought to explain the ripple effect this had on the regional economy and how drastically shop owners, hire car drivers, and others providing goods and services were affected.
Meanwhile, Jagdeo said that jobs were also lost in the bauxite and other industries noting that they discovered Kwakwani and other areas practically looking like “ghost towns” and “we now have to find employment for people there.”
Furthermore, according to the Vice President, while in their manifesto they had promised 50,000 jobs, they realized that more are needed and as such are looking at creating 80,000 – 100,000 jobs. “We have to do so across all regions”, he stressed.
However, he pointed out, that in regions Four and Three there are labourer shortages due to the oil and gas sector and other projects that are happening. He said, that while a lot is happening in those regions they have to look at ways to “shift investments to the other regions.”
He then stated, that there is a plan for regions five and six with them working to already shift some of the “oil and gas activities to this region”. He pointed out planned massive investments at Palmyra in the form of a stadium, mall, and hotels – which will generate thousands of jobs.
“We already have investors who will start maybe two new major hotels just here at Palmyra, new hospitals and new shopping mall, new housing areas so that it becomes a growth pool for this region too”, he said.
However, Jagdeo then pointed out that while those projects will take time, they must ensure that people are being employed in the meanwhile and earn some sort of a living until they can find better for themselves hence the part-time jobs.
Jagdeo then assured parents that both public and private school students will receive a $25,000 per child cash grant this year, pointing out that the school uniform grant has since risen from $2,000 to $5,000, therefore, students will each receive $30,000 in total this year.
According to him, “Until two or three weeks ago we did not transfer a single cent of the oil and gas money or utilize it in the budget until a couple of weeks ago, and they know this.”
