–greater emphasis to be placed on youth, skills development, President Granger tells Bartica rally

EVEN as he urged Barticans to further diversify their local economy, President David Granger announced the establishment of a Government Technical Institute (GTI) in Bartica that will create a window of opportunities for residents of the town and the region at large to acquire the requisite skills and knowledge needed to advance in various sectors.
The Head of State was at the time addressing a large gathering of A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) supporters at an elections rally held at the Bartica Sports Centre on Friday evening.

“Bartica needs a technical institute to train the young people to boost the economy of this region, and during the next 10 years, during our ‘Decade of Development’, Bartica will have its own technical institute to train young people,” President Granger declared to loud cheers and the blowing of horns.

Since taking office in May 2015, he said, his Administration has been placing major emphasis on youth development. The Sustainable Livelihood and Entrepreneurial Development (SLED) is one of several programmes initiated under the Granger Administration to finance businesses developed by young people through the provision of grants. To date, over 2,500 young men and women have benefited from SLED.
Complementing the SLED initiative is the Hinterland Employment Youth Service (HEYS), another avenue created to financially empower young people within the hinterland. Under the APNU+AFC Government, 3,800 young people have received grants totaling millions of dollars. These programmes, President Granger explained, have been addressing the vexing issue of unemployment in the country. Noting that the decision by the PPP/C Administration to dismantle the Guyana National Service (GNS) in 2000 resulted in a surge in the country’s unemployment rate, President Granger said that in order to remedy the situation, the National Youth Corps was re-established in March 2019.

NO TO BULLYISM
Turning his attention to the region’s gold and diamond industries, the Head of State assured the crowd of supporters that the APNU+AFC, once re-elected, will continue to protect mining in the country. “We will protect miners, but we will prevent bullyism,” he said. “We will ensure that small and medium-scale miners are not put out of work,” he assured Barticans and residents of other Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) communities at the rally.

While the gold and diamond industries continue to contribute significantly to the national treasury, and have thousands of Guyanese in their employ, President Granger underscored the importance of Bartica, and the region by extension, to diversify its local economy, by investing in such areas as the food and manufacturing industries. Warning that mining will not last forever, President Granger urged the people of Region Seven:

“You must train your children to get other jobs; let us try to diversify our economy.” Meanwhile, on the topic of local governance, the president recalled that one year after his election to office, he declared Bartica a town in 2016. At the time of his election, he noted, Bartica was managed by an Interim Management Committee (IMC), a system imposed on residents by the former People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration. It was after a 22-year hiatus that Local Government Elections were held in Guyana in March 2016, a process that effectively resulted in the dismantling of the IMC, and the election of local leaders within municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs).

On the national level, the president alluded to the fact that his administration has invested significantly in the education sector, and that under the Public Education Transportation Service (PETS), communities and villages across the country have been given buses, boats and bicycles to ensure that school-aged children can easily access their schools. Under a similar programme, the Public Education Nutrition Service, children are provided hot meals in schools.

WINNING STREAK
Given the track record of the APNU+AFC, President Granger is confident that the ‘Coalition’ will win the March 2020 elections, and the next two General and Regional Elections to follow. “We won in 2015; we will win in 2020; we will win in 2025, and we will win in 2030!” President Granger declared to loud cheers.

While the APNU+AFC won Region Seven by 59 per cent in the 2015 General and Regional Elections, President Granger said that this time around, the ‘Coalition’ is aiming to secure 89 per cent.

Noting that the PPP/C has been on a downward spiral since 1997, President Granger said, “In Region Two, they are losing their grip; in Region Three, they are losing their grip; in Region Six, they are losing their grip. In Region Seven, they never had a grip, and they will never get a grip,” he told the APNU+AFC supporters, the majority of whom were decked out in green and yellow, the colours of the ‘Coalition’.

According to President Granger, the PPP/C, the main opposition party, is losing mass support due to its poor leadership skills, and self-serving traits. “The PPP does not demonstrate leadership,” he said, adding: “The PPP does not believe in partnership; the PPP does not believe in stewardship. When they get into power, it is for themselves.”

First Lady Sandra Granger; Minster of State Dawn Hastings; Minister within the Ministry of Infrastructure Jaipaul Sharma; Minister of Social Cohesion Dr. George Norton; Minister within the Ministry of Labour Keith Scott; Director-General of the Ministry of the Presidency Joseph Harmon; Mayor of Bartica, Gifford Marshall; Chairman of Region Seven Gordon Bradford; and Mayor of the City of Georgetown Ubraj Narine were among officials present at the rally.