–Minister Hamilton says; challenges opposition’s ‘hollow rhetoric,’ sudden ‘care’ for Guyanese

CHALLENGING the opposition’s sudden “care” for Guyanese, particularly the working class, Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, in his defence of the government’s achievements and Budget 2025, pointed to the former APNU+AFC administration’s policies that obstructed the progress of citizens.
He reminded the public that it was the previous coalition government that had disbanded the Ministry of Labour, undermining their supposed dedication to workers’ rights and welfare.

“They love the workers they say, yet they disbanded the Ministry of Labour. They say they love the workers, first time for this country, no Ministry of Labour since independence, from since 1966 but they love the workers,” Hamilton countered.
Accusing the opposition of political grandstanding, Hamilton wasted no time exposing the “incompetence” and “failures” of the past administration, pointing to the disastrous collapse of several programmes.

“When you listen to the utterances within this parliament, it can be characterised by three words, hollow utterances and a lot of banality,” the Labour Minister said during Monday’s budget debate.

In contrast, the PPP/C government expanded the work of the Labour Ministry, training 12,765 persons in the last four years.
“Y’all care about the young people?” he questioned rhetorically, as the opposition heckled across the floor.

TESTIMONIALS
The Labour Minister further highlighted the significant strides made by the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) in transforming the lives of thousands of Guyanese.
The minister pointed to the vast number of individuals trained across all regions, with thousands of women and men now equipped with new skills that have opened up job opportunities.

He said: “I can speak to testimonials of persons whose lives have been changed, whose lives have been transformed by the intervention of the Board of Industrial Training.”
The minister also outlined the various collaborations BIT has forged with international organisations, including the IDB and the World Bank, to fund training programmes that have benefitted hundreds of individuals.

One notable success was the training of over 300 heavy-duty equipment operators, the majority of whom were women. Many of them, according to Hamilton, have now found employment with the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA).
Looking ahead, the minister spoke about future initiatives, including plans to train an additional 4,000 people in 2025, with a focus on partnerships such as a MoU signed with GMIN to train workers for the mining sector.

These efforts, he argued, underline the government’s commitment to providing practical, life-changing training that directly benefits workers and the economy.
These initiatives, Hamilton noted, are a stark contrast to the “convolution and confusion” of the parliamentary opposition.