By Ariana Gordon

A STABLE political environment is necessary for jobs to be created here, says Finance Minister Winston Jordan, who also noted that no investor would come to Guyana if the country’s political environment is unstable.He explained that for the past 50 years the country has been dependent on “two or three products”, and there is no resilience, despite constant discussion on the subject.
“No matter what we talk about resilience, there is no resilience… In all the talks about jobs and jobs and jobs, many of these jobs are temporary,” Jordan told reporters on Friday following the opening of the new Student Loan Agency at the University of Guyana (UG) Turkeyen Campus.

Asked what the APNU+AFC coalition government is doing to create jobs, Minister Jordan said the creation of permanent jobs requires the local sectors to diversify. He made specific reference to the agricultural sector, noting that it should not be solely based on rice and sugar.

“It has to be far more diversified in terms of the crops we plant and what we do when we plant these crops…in terms of adding the second, third and fourth stages of production,” the minister disclosed.

He deemed it unacceptable that Guyana, a country with much agricultural potential, is importing sugar cakes from Barbados. “What is stopping us from selling sugar cake?” he asked.

He noted that measures are being put in place to ensure that young people are provided with financial backing to explore their many business ideas, reminding that jobs are not easy to come by.
“The long and short of this…don’t let nobody fool you…jobs just don’t just come like that…then you have to look at the quality of jobs…”.

The Finance Minister explained that many times those employed are low skilled workers. He believes there is great need to build a strong foundation to ensure that the trials of today do not exist in the future.

Asked to provide a time frame by which “major jobs” would become available to Guyanese, Minister Jordan said, “I don’t want to put a time frame…we have to get a stable political environment, then look at the economy and get that stabilized.”

He noted that the coalition government is working to ensure the atmosphere is conducive to investment. He said, “We are working with different sectors”, with major emphasis (being placed) on the agriculture sector.

President David Granger has tied job creation with education. He has said that if children remain in school, it would make it significantly easier for them to become employed as they mature.

“The economy has not been able to produce sufficient new jobs. On one hand, I believe the young people have to stay in schools, so they are better qualified; and on the other hand, I think investors must allow micro-enterprises to flourish, particularly agro-processing,” President Granger had said earlier this year.

The Head of State said Government wants “to help people to help themselves”, so that even while young people are in school, they would be encouraged to enter into businesses, rather than to look to the private sector for jobs.

Describing Guyana as a promising country, the President has said that with new opportunities presenting themselves daily, there is need to change the mindset which thinks that Government owes citizens employment. Instead, efforts should be made to “create in the minds of young people the desire to go out there and work and do well; and I think that Guyana has probably got greater prospects than other Caribbean countries in that regard,” he said.

Before being elected to office, the APNU+AFC coalition had promised that, should it get into power, much emphasis would be placed on job creation.