–1,000 to benefit

VICE-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo on Friday launched a part-time job programme at the Diamond Secondary School which will see 1,000 East Bank Demerara residents being employed for 10 days each month.

According to the Department of Public Information (DPI), VP Jagdeo reiterated that this forms part of the administration’s efforts to supplement household income, in light of the rising cost of living due to several external factors, specifically the COVID-19 pandemic.

The administration is aggressively pushing to provide 50,000 jobs over five years, as was promised in its manifesto. It has invested a significant number of resources to strategically enhance the lives of citizens, since taking office in August 2020, the release said.

“…because we were looking at the situation, so many of our people were unemployed, but then we had COVID and so we didn’t lose only 30,000 jobs after COVID, and the country was shut down. We lost maybe another 40,000 [jobs]. So, we have to get those people back to work,” he said according to DPI.

The job opportunities allow the employees to work for 10 days and earn up to $40,000 per month. Jobs are being offered in specific areas within government ministries and agencies and cater to one person per household.

So far, some 11,000 Guyanese are currently benefitting from the programme countrywide, which will cost the government some $10 billion annually.

The part-time job initiative is just one of a menu of measures implemented by the government to cushion the cost-of-living effects, DPI said, adding that along with supporting farmers and cushioning the net effect of the increased cost of freight and the Russia/Ukraine war, Guyanese are benefitting from a range of tax incentives.

Among the measures are the removal of VAT on electricity, water, and data; the reduction of the excise tax on fuel to zero, many non-tax measures such as the one-off $25,000 relief grant, the reintroduction and increase of the school children cash grant and its extension to private schools, a one-off $25,000 cash grant for pensioners and cash grants to support small businesses.

DPI added that despite the rise in the price of fuel, the government has absorbed the increased cost associated with the production of electricity, resulting in there being no increase in electricity tariff.

Further, Dr Jagdeo said the government will continue to plan incrementally for the advancement of the country and all Guyanese.

“…because if we don’t have a long-term vision of Guyana, a lot of the improvements we see now we will not be able to sustain and that is what is always characterized by the People’s Progressive Party. We have always planned for the long term,” he added.

He also called on those who signed up for the jobs to take advantage of the educational opportunities being afforded to them, particularly through the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL).

The Vice-President was accompanied by Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Nigel Dharamlall; Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat; Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Public Affairs Kwame McCoy; and Members of Parliament Jennifer Westford, Alister Charlie, and Yvonne Pearson.