–Labour Minister tells National Assembly; says PPP/C government focused on investing in right areas to enhance skills, create opportunities for all Guyanese
MINISTER of Labour Joseph Hamilton in his powerful defence of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s (PPP/C’s) $1.146 trillion Budget 2024, compared the comprehensive projects and the massive investments made by the incumbent party to the questionable decisions of the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) during its tenure in office from 2015-2020.
Amidst chants of support from his colleagues and heckling from the Opposition members, Minister Hamilton reminded the National Assembly that the APNU+AFC administration had spent a large amount of taxpayers’ dollars on scholarships for former ministers and relatives of a former minister.
He said the total amount of money spent on scholarships for four coalition ministers and the family of one minister amounted to some $90.8 million.
Minister Hamilton said that in the case of Annette Ferguson, who served as Junior Minister of Public Infrastructure and Junior Minister of Communities, the funds spent by the APNU+AFC on her scholarship could have been used to train some 18 persons in various Technical, Vocational, and Educational Training (TVET) courses, while in the case of former Education Minister Nicolette Henry, another 70 persons could have been trained with sums that went towards her scholarship.
“The fact of the matter is Mr Speaker, 610 Guyanese were denied training by five ministers of the previous government and they come to this noble House with all kinds of pittance that they care about the Guyanese people,” he lamented.
Hamilton was, however, confident that the people of Guyana have not forgotten and will not forget those acts.
Contrary to the coalition’s philosophy, he contended that the government will continue to invest in Guyanese through upskilling and reskilling by providing significant training opportunities for them.
The Labour Minister drew attention to the Board of Industrial Training (BIT), which are pertinent to the training of Guyanese.
Accordingly, from the period 2020 to 2023, through the Board of Industrial Training, some 11,275 persons benefitted from training, particularly through the implementation of some 549 projects across all regions of Guyana.
“Through the project implementation, training was done in areas such as welding and fabrication, heavy-duty equipment operation, plumbing, general construction, commercial food preparation…,” he said.
Hamilton said too that from 2020 to 2023, the government has invested some $982 million in the lives of Guyanese through skilling, upskilling and reskilling with TVET programmes.
The government has recognised the role and the importance of BIT and as such, will continue to prioritise and support ventures through this agency.
Further, he said that as a government, they have kept their promises to enhance opportunities in TVET and he further emphasised that these programmes were implemented in regions across the country.
