-MP Veerasammy highlights gov’t policies that are empowering women

EMPOWERING women has been one of the hallmarks of the government and its policies are significantly changing lives, Member of Parliament (MP) Bhagmattie Veerasammy has highlighted.
Veerasammy, in her presentation on day one of the 2025 budget debate during the 92nd sitting of the National Assembly, spoke extensively on how the government’s policies are outpacing the previous coalition administration’s own.

While there has been a lot of commentary on this year’s $1.38 trillion budget by the opposition, Veerasammy refuted these claims and boldly stated that it is about “people and country.”
She said, “It has something for everyone and its gender-mainstreaming component ensures that women benefit equitably. In the four years prior from 2020 to now, the PPP/C government has fulfilled its manifesto and promises and delivered beyond our people’s expectations.”

Speaking on the A Partnership for National Unity +Alliance For Change’s (APNU+AFC) stint in office, she said that their failed promises and draconian taxes suppressed the Guyanese people and strangled the economy. Giving more insight into how dismal commercial life was, the MP stated, “Businesses closed their doors and scaled down their operations and thousands of people lost their jobs. They shut down the sugar estates and forced thousands of people on the bread line.”

She then pointed to the hardships that Lindeners faced, especially those who were employed in logging, call centre and bauxite industry.

“With the PPP/Civic at the helm of our government, our people know that life is easier because they could have celebrated democracy and freedom. We don’t go about fooling people and we do not give them promises of a good life. We are working night and day to give them a good life.”

Addressing the rhetoric by the opposition that people cannot “eat” roads, she said this is true but, what is not being looked at is the time and money families are saving because of the infrastructure being constructed. She spoke about how the taxes that were imposed by the former administration have been removed and sectors have improved.

“Our prudent measures instead put billions of dollars in disposable income each year into the hands of our people. Over the last four years, people can see development and progress in every sphere.”

She also stated that the government has recognised the importance of empowering women and thus, there were investments to create education, training and job opportunities.
The Ministry of Education (MoE) has invested heavily in training teachers across Guyana in the last four years, she said. The MP noted that approximately 43,78 teachers were trained, and MoE is introducing new teaching methods and smart classrooms for students.

She also said that the Guyana Women’s Leadership Institute, under the Women Innovation and Investment Network, developed courses for women and girls who dropped out of school.
Those courses aim to empower women and girls with accredited technical and vocational training, entrepreneurial skills and access to financing opportunities.

She said: “The very long list, of course, offered is accessible to women across Guyana. From 2021 to 2024, over 12,000 women have been trained.” The Board of Industrial Training also trained 5,077 males and 7,688 females.

“Again, we have seen that 60 per cent of women benefited from these courses, taking women to another level in our country, this is promoting gender inclusivity in a male-dominated profession,” the MP stated.

When the National Pathway Workers Programme was created since 2022, 10,751 persons were employed and more than 75 per cent were women, she said.
In the last four years with 40,290 house lots and over 2,000 homes built for new homeowners, 18,530 house lots or 46 per cent were allocated to women, the MP said.