–through provision of 1,000 part-time jobs, 200 small-business grants

MORE than half-a-billion dollars has been invested in the economy of Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) through the provision of 1,000 part-time jobs and 200 small-business grants to residents there.

Through the part-time jobs, some $480 million will be invested in the region annually, and another $50 million through the small business grants, which seek to get persons into business, and those already in business to expand their operations.

Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo made the announcement during a second outreach to the region on Saturday to deliver on a promise he’d made to the residents of the region during an earlier outreach in March of this year. The announcement of 1,000 jobs for Region 10 exceeds the 800 that were promised by the Vice-President during his visit in March.

Last Tuesday, the Vice-President, during an outreach to Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), also delivered on a promise to provide 200 small-business grants to the people there, and, like Region 10, he exceeded his promise to provide 800 part-time jobs to the people, increasing the number to 2,000.

The 2,000 persons in Region Two signed off on contracts for their part-time employment last Tuesday, and another 1,000 did so in Linden on Sunday. The 3,000 persons employed thus far are part of a plan by the government to provide between 8,000 to 10,000 such jobs to cushion the impact of the rising cost of living caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the current war between Russia and the Ukraine.

Vice-President Dr. Jagdeo, during separate outreaches in April, had also announced some 1,000 such jobs for residents of Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) and 3,000 for those in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne). Both of these regions were severely affected by the decision of the former APNU+AFC government to close down sugar estates within their locale.

Persons employed under the part-time job programme will be assigned work at hospitals, schools, libraries and other government offices and institutions. Only one person per family is being recruited, and that person will work 10 days per month, and receive $40,000 for their services.

Addressing hundreds of Region 10 residents on the lawns of the West Watooka Guest House, in Linden, Vice-President Jagdeo said his government delivers on its promises, and is proud of its track record while in government, particularly the significant work it has done in Region 10.

From inheriting a bankrupt country in 1992, he said the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has transformed Guyana today to a country to be reckoned with.

VIBRANT ECONOMY
“Even without the oil-and-gas sector, we became one of the most vibrant economies in the world. Throughout the global financial crisis, we grew at an average of about five per cent. Our debt now is 16 per cent down from 900 per cent of the economy. The economy has grown, the debt has been reduced, and we are using six per cent of revenues now to service debt, down from 153 per cent,” he told the packed gathering on the lawns of the West Watooka Guest House.

This turnaround, Dr. Jagdeo said, required a lot of hard work, but the government that he represents has been always committed to positively changing the lives of people, regardless of whether they voted for the PPP/C or not.

Dr. Jagdeo, in his lively speech, also registered to the gathering his view of the negative politics in the region, pointing out that some politicians there are hell-bent on pushing an agenda that is inimical to the development of Guyana, by basing their arguments on rumours and hearsay.

FERRET OUT
He urged them to ‘ferret out’ the misinformation, as he detailed the PPP/C projects that have positively impacted the lives of Region 10’s residents.

“When we got into office in the early 90s, that was before many of you were born, we had a situation where the bauxite industry was on the verge of closure. There was a company that the government at that time; the PNC government, had hired to close the industry,” Dr. Jagdeo said, adding:

“We could not let that happen, and that is why we managed, throughout the period, to get an investor to come to this region, but we lost quite a few jobs, because the bauxite industry used to hire about 1500 people; it went down to 500.

“We then decided; the new government, even with the burden to pay back the debts, we decided that we had to find a way to create employment in this region.
“And so, when I was Minister of Finance, I led a team here that did an area study, and out of that, as I explained the last time I came here in West Watooka, the road in West Watooka was opened up to agricultural lands.

“When I was Minister of Finance, we put in place the LEAF programme; that is the incubator just by the market. We put in place a small loan; a grant system. That is the LEN programme; we built the new hospital; we built Ameila’s Ward Housing Scheme, Block 22, a new water treatment plant, the infrastructure in this region. So, when we get accused of neglecting the region, I say to the other side, you show me what you have done.”

The PPP/C, the Vice-President said, has a plan for the region, unlike the ‘Coalition’ leaders who had plans for themselves, and did meagre things for the people of Region 10.
The government, he said, is investing $400 million at Millie’s Hideout to develop a new housing scheme there, and will facilitate the building of 1,000 homes in that area.

The Linden to Mabura Road, he said, is being upgraded, and the government is also looking to repair the road from Linden to Soesdyke. The Linden Hospital will be upgraded, as well as power generation in the region, the Vice-President said.
He also urged residents in the region to develop themselves professionally, through the GOAL scholarship programme, and help in the national effort of building a better Guyana.