EMPLOYEES of the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) project protested outside the Office of the Leader of the Opposition and in front of the Public Buildings on Thursday, after its budgetary allocation was reduced in Parliament. The protesters said the reduction will have dire consequences, not only for the affected employees but the entire country, as it would create an even greater economic burden on the country.
They also lamented that the move by the opposition was, literally, putting hundreds of qualified young professionals out of employment.
Some deemed the cut as direct betrayal of the working-class people and pleaded with the opposition to rethink.
One employee said:“It will have many implications for the workers and it will also affect the country at large, since Guyana is a growing nation and moving forward with technology is necessary in this day and age.”
The woman underscored the necessity for every family in Guyana to have the requisite knowledge to participate in development, especially in the area of information technology (IT).
As such, she said the acquisition of a computer is necessary, moreso a free laptop that not many are in a position to purchase.
“The ICT training is one area where we are aiming to ensure that those families who are not in a financial position can acquire a laptop to be able to participate in worldwide discussions to put themselves in a better economic position. That cut is a barbaric act by the opposition.”

Create unemployment
Another angry employee declared that the leaders of the opposition are cruel and their action will create unemployment at a time like this and added that those leaders have betrayed the citizens who have given them their support.
“I would like to ask Granger and Ramjattan if they will hire us from the OLPF office. We are expected to move Guyana forward in this regard. I believe that APNU and AFC have betrayed their people, because they are the ones on platforms talking about creating jobs and opportunities for youths and it is these same people they are taking jobs from,” she charged.
The protesters said the combined opposition has not taken into consideration the future of families who will be affected by this decision to snatch  livelihoods from breadwinners in families.
“I don’t think that the APNU and AFC are taking into consideration the little people. They are holding personal biases (and) grudges, so I’m pleading with them (to) put those aside and let’s look to the future and put Guyana’s best interest at heart.”
A father of two opined that, if nothing is done to reverse this move by the opposition, he was unsure of his next step forward in fulfilling his financial obligations to his children and family.
“This has serious implications for me as a father of two. I would not be able to provide anymore for my children and the OLPF would not be able to deliver what we were mandated to deliver to the less fortunate Guyanese,” he posited.
On Wednesday evening, Moses Nagamootoo of the Alliance For Change (AFC) mentioned that over four billion dollars had already been spent on the OLPF and the cut would not kill its functions.
He said the opposition saw the OLPF as an excess of funds.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh and Minister within the Ministry, Bishop Juan Edghill had tried, desperately, to convince the House of the importance of the project in their attempts to have the cuts reconsidered.

Reckless & irresponsible
The budget cuts to the government’s One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) initiative have been dubbed “irresponsible and reckless” by parliamentarians of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic.
Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, in defending the 170 million dollars allocated to this project, said the opposition was creating more harm than good in cutting the allocations.