By Melina Harris

IN my last column, I postulated a few notions about the Guyanese work ethic at home and in the diaspora and the effects that mass migration has had on our society, institutions and overall economic development. I also looked at the effects of the brain drain and need for

human capital development if we are to enjoy the benefits of a growing economy.
The importance of human capital development cannot be overstated enough, as it forms part of the country’s natural wealth and is closely tied to economic development. According to the government’s Green State Development Strategy (GSDS), “Human capital, however, measured as the value of earnings over a person’s lifetime, is considered the most important aspect of a country’s wealth. It accounts for the present value of the future earnings of a country’s labour force and may be disaggregated by gender or employment status. It is also a composite of the population’s years of completed schooling, actual learning during or after the school years and the value of health investments. The quality of a country’s labour force is, therefore, an important asset for and harbinger of its future development.”

We are fortunate to have a very young population in Guyana with those below the age of 35 years accounting for nearly 70% of the population. However, according to the Guyana Bureau of Statistics, in 2018, one-third of the Guyanese population was either unemployed, underemployed or not actively seeking employment. Furthermore, the high levels of employment in the informal sector (48.2%) are also concerning. Women are disproportionately affected and represent 56.4% of the inactive labour force.

Unemployment is also high among youths between the ages of 15-25 (21.6%). The reasons for the high rate of unemployment are complex but mainly fall into the categories of limited availability of decent work, low skill levels, limited job creation and commercial investment, this according to the International Labor Organization.

The link between employment, education and human capital development is quite clear and, in order for us to have a workforce consisting of knowledgeable, skilful and creative persons, there must be a coordinated effort to recruit, retain and train key personnel.

According to the government’s Green State Development Strategy, it should be considered “a priority” to recruit “top quality personnel in the health and education systems with better compensation packages, associated with performance measures. The health and education sectors must attract the most skilled in Guyanese society and elsewhere, in order [to]raise and maintain standards and provide quality services. More sophisticated compensation packages tied to performance outcomes could help attract new talent.” Not only must we strengthen our endeavours to find suitable candidates for key roles through competitive recruitment processes, we must also foster a culture of continuous training and professional development which will be essential in transforming our economy into one that is productive and diversified.

Furthermore, the GSDS recognises that “A healthy, educated and socially cohesive population provides the foundation for human capital development.” Consequently, the need to ensure equitable and universal access to quality healthcare and education is closely tied to realizing the goal of human capital development. Therefore, the disparities that currently exist in health and education outcomes between certain sections of our society must be eliminated. For instance, disparities in education outcomes for coastal and hinterland students, private and public school students and between students from high and low income households.

Of course, when we look at human capital development, we must also consider our institutions ability and capacity to properly fulfil their mandates and execute their duties accordingly. The two are closely interrelated, for the people make up the institutions and if the workforce isn’t sufficiently knowledgeable and well trained, then the institution is usually unable to fulfil and execute its mandate due to an incapable workforce.

The task of building institutional capacity is a very important one. We are currently seeing the outcome of weak institutional capacity as it relates to the Guyana Elections Commission and the many internal and external impediments which have hampered its ability or inability to execute its mandate. If we take GECOM as a case study, we might be able to illustrate some of the notions we have probed thus far. For instance, throughout the political impasse, we have seen almost everyone at GECOM come under attack from what many perceive as an inability to get the job done. The Chair, Chief Elections Officer and Returning Officers have all been viciously attacked in the execution of their duties. And whilst I do not wish to proffer any undue criticisms against GECOM or its workers, we would be remiss if we were not honest in our assessments of how GECOM has handled matters under its purview. There are many areas which require improvement, not only in regards to personnel, but especially in relation to the institutions ability to execute its mandate lawfully.

Whilst there are many different forces at play which have had an influence on the protracted and litigious nature of these elections, citizens are left wanting as we enter our 8th week since the March 2 Regional and General Elections, with still no results declared. What’s more, after weeks of deliberations on how to conduct a national recount of votes cast in the elections, citizens are now advised that the recount will be conducted within a further 25 days.

Building institutional capacity is not only about ensuring that institutions are able to execute their mandates, it is about them being able to do so in a transparent and accountable manner. It is about enshrining an ethos of integrity and credibility which speaks to the overarching goal of creating good governance through strong and capable institutions. The first quarter of 2020 has created many challenges for the Guyanese economy, with “the mother of all elections” and COVID-19 all but ensuring an economic downturn. And although we are currently in the midst of handling the fallout from both events, we must, at this point, identify all the requisite areas and opportunities for future improvement and development.