–distancing itself in 2015-2020 from generating employment opportunities
–pledges to keep part-time workers after criticising them

AFTER pushing tens of thousands of citizens on the breadline, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)/A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) is now campaigning on job creation ahead of the September 1st General and Regional Elections.

The party posted on its Facebook page, promising high salaries and worker training after spending five years, from 2015-2020, crippling Guyana’s workforce and failing to deliver on their manifesto promises.
The APNU+AFC 2015 general elections campaign manifesto had stated: “The aim of your new government is to create jobs, jobs and more jobs in the shortest time possible. Our young people cannot wait “five more years” for jobs for which they could be adequately trained and could get better pay and greater job satisfaction.”

However, just one year after being elected to office, then President, David Granger was on record saying: “There is no magic wand. The government cannot provide jobs in the government service, in the police force or the defence force.”

Granger had said: “Employment is not something to be provided by the government. There is self-employment and we are working with the villages to generate more employment in those villages but it is going to be agro-based employment.”

The APNU and its coalition partner, AFC, however, took persons out of jobs instead of creating opportunities, as was seen for example in the sugar industry.
Under the APNU+AFC administration, sugar workers were begging for their livelihoods to be spared, even going so far as to hold pickets with heartfelt pleas in the scorching sun, at the time. However, the then government turned a deaf ear to the cries of those workers.

In 2017, the coalition government had announced the closure of several sugar estates across the country, leaving thousands of persons without jobs or sources of income. The move saw four sugar estates being closed and over 7,000 sugar workers losing their jobs.

It is important to understand that research funded by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) had revealed that the closure of the sugar estates under the APNU+AFC government severely affected the livelihoods of the laid-off workers, resulting in increased instances of suicide, alcohol consumption and crime.
While the administration at the time promised retraining and alternative employment for those affected, such efforts failed to materialise in any meaningful way. Severance payments were delayed for months, deepening the hardships for thousands of families.

Since its election to office in 2020, the PPP/C government has restored over 4,600 jobs within the sugar industry.
While the APNU’s last term in office left thousands of persons unemployed, the current People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has restored and created in excess of 60,000 jobs since entering office in 2020; this included

the creation of part-time jobs which served as an impetus for community growth, where many persons started small businesses, invested in agriculture, among other things.
The PNCR had made the part-time workers a target, accusing them of hooliganism. Persons, however, clapped back at those allegations and said the opposition knew full well that what they were saying about the part-time workers was untrue.

In an ironic twist, APNU is now campaigning that it will continue to employ part-time workers, train and place them in full-time jobs.
APNU promised a “good life,” in 2015 and have now returned in 2025 with flashy promises, although their track record speaks for itself.
Further, the question of sincerity looms as it was under the APNU+AFC from 2015-2020 that more than 350 new taxes and onerous measures were placed on the backs of Guyanese.

The opposition is now back to waving promises to the electorate, with hopes of them forgetting the economic carnage in 2015-2020.
It should be recalled that it was under the previous APNU+AFC administration, water and electricity subsidies for pensioners was removed and Value Added Tax (VAT) was placed on water and electricity.
By the end of the APNU+AFC’s term, not only were there thousands of job losses but also sectoral collapse.

Since assuming office, the PPP/C has reinstated and introduced programmes to improve the lives of citizens.
Key programmes include the part-time job initiative, which currently supports more than 14,000 persons, where primarily women are employed.

The Community Support Officers (CSOs) programme in Amerindian communities has also been reinstated, with nearly 3,000 now employed, reversing job cuts made under the previous APNU+AFC.
Further, over 30,000 scholarships have been awarded under the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) programme, with an additional 20,000 trained through Women’s Innovation and Investment Network (WIIN) and the Board of Industrial Training (BIT).

It was reported by Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo that under the APNU+AFC, only 1,000 scholarships were awarded, “mainly for friends and family”.