FOR as long as I can remember, there has always been a picture of high youth unemployment in Guyana, but the CDB’s recent report, “Youth are the future: The imperative of youth employment for sustainable development in the Caribbean” has added colour and graphics to that picture. It is reported that Guyana’s youth unemployment hovered at around 40% throughout the last decade-and-a-half. Efforts to quantify that mind-blowing statistic have yielded estimates as high as 60,000, alarming considering the age category used, 15-24, and our small population.The duration of 15 years over which unemployment of 40% consistently precipitated is a stark statement on the depth of this problem, the solution of which will require a multi-pronged approach. That report emphasised the point that our youths are marginalised.

It is time agencies functioning in the interest of our youth stop operating in silos, and propose a collaborative engagement towards empowering youths. No quick fix will work; call centres are not the solution, but entrepreneurship is an avenue.

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor project reports a 70% correlation between entrepreneurship and economic growth. Regionally, the private sector creates 70% of total employment, according to “Role of SMEs in the Caribbean, Pamela Coke-Hamilton”. Locally, SMEs account for 40% of total employment, as stated by the chair of Micro & Small Enterprise Development (MSED), Mr. Sukrishnalall Pasha.

Guyana is nowhere close to realising the potential of its SME sector; we are yet to implement (Praying models have been designed) policies geared towards the development of that sector. Our inability to realise the employment generating and revenue earning potential of SMEs for the last decade falls squarely at the feet of the Small Business Council (SBC). The 10-year timeline is specific to the SBC, since it has been in existence for that period.

The Small Business Act of 2004 (needing substantial amendments) makes provision for the establishment of the SBC, the primary function of which is to promote the development of small businesses. The 11-member Council began its work in 2005, a decade after SMEs as a sector is yet to reap from the tree. For some time, the Council has pointed fingers in various directions for their inability to perform, or lack thereof, to execute its principal function effectively. Excuses are likened unto failure; entrepreneurs aim to succeed. I may be out of line to question the competence of the Council’s members, but it is evident that the membership should be revamped in the best interest of SMEs.

The SBC must focus on equitable policies directed towards the productive and conducive economic progress to ensure development of SMEs, in the interest of generating employment, and making a contribution towards economic growth.

Unquestionably, the SBC has potential to meaningfully contribute to a process that would lead to reduction of youth unemployment. But the question is: Are the current SBC members the right fit for the job?

DENNIS MAYERS