DEVELOPMENT is about people. It is about raising the material and cultural conditions in which people live. It is about creating jobs and new opportunities for people, especially young people, to realise their dreams and to grow and develop to the full limit of their potential. It is about having access to better education and health care. And yes, it is about enjoying a bigger basket of goods and services to ensure a better standard of living for all.

A cursory look at life in Guyana since the PPP/C administration took office just over a year ago would suggest that the government has been doing its best to promote a culture of development, one that is intended to benefit the entire population and not one that is skewed in favour of any particular group or segment of the population.

Take housing as an example. Since the ascension of the PPP/C to office on August 2020, close to 10,000 house lots have already been given out at highly subsidised costs, especially for low- income earners. This is in addition to the over 100,000 (one hundred thousand) house lots given out under the previous PPP/C administrations. Indeed, the entire housing landscape has changed significantly with the opening up of housing schemes all over the country. The number of house lots given out so far and the development of new schemes have already surpassed that of the previous APNU+AFC coalition, not to mention its dismal housing record when the PNC was in government during the 1964-1992 period.

The same could be said for job creation. The massive capital programme undertaken by the government, coupled with that of private individuals, has impacted positively on job creation. This is further boosted by new job opportunities created by the oil and gas sector. The reopening of grinding sugar estates which were closed by the previous APNU+AFC administration has also absorbed hundreds of sugar workers who had lost their jobs and as the industry becomes more consolidated, thousands more jobs will be opened up.

The fact that more job opportunities are being opened up is one clear indication of a better and brighter promise, especially for the young people. Under the National Youth Empowerment Programme administered by the Ministry of Labour through the Board of Industrial Training (BIT), thousands of out-of-school youths have been trained in a wide range of courses. The idea behind that programme, initiated by the PPP/C administration, was to inculcate life and entrepreneurial skills to enable young people to earn livelihoods on their own. The government has a fixed number who could be placed on its payroll and the private sector, even though expanding, cannot at this stage of its development absorb the full cohort of new additions to the labour market. This is why micro-enterprise development is of such great importance, especially at this time when new investment opportunities are on the horizon and the service sector is experiencing rapid expansion.

Economic expansion is indispensable for job creation. This is why it is so important for the government to expand its capital works programme which, in addition to job creation, also lays the foundation for sustainable growth and development. The key to economic development is investment in massive mega projects which require a significant amount of capital formation in order to lessen dependence on borrowed money.

This is why there has to be the right balance between consumption and investment. While wages and salaries are important to ensure a decent standard of living, it is also important to expand and upgrade the social and physical infrastructure of the country, so vital for all-round development.

This is why those who are critical of the recent wages and salaries increase offered by the government are at best short-sighted, or have their own political agendas. And these include some who purportedly claim to have the interest of the nation’s workers at heart. They fail to see development in all its dimensions and ramifications and in a holistic and comprehensive way. The government has offered increases that are above the inflation rate, which in effect translates to greater disposable income and, more importantly, to a bigger basket of goods and services.

As pointed out by President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, we have to guard against those who seek to play politics with the country’s development and by implication with the future of our people. Many of those who are today clamouring for higher salary increases were either silent during the days of depressed wages, or were responsible for the pauperisation of public service employees.