The APNU will launch its elections campaign on Sunday with a rally at the Square of the Revolution. At the launching, the leaders of the partnership are expected to lay out their plans for Guyana.
Providing a glimpse of some of those plans today, APNU Presidential Candidate, Aubrey Norton, said the APNU will directly address issues related to unemployment and underemployment, should it be elected to office.
He told reporters that although Guyana has seen exceptional GDP growth rates in recent times, and a rapid increase in the GDP per capita, there is still a disconnect between economic growth and development in the country.
Citing a 2024 Work Bank Report, Mr. Norton said approximately 22.3% of the country’s young people are still unemployed.
“If we include the adult unemployment rate, a very large number of Guyanese remain unemployed. The under-employment of Guyanese is also significantly high, as persons hold on to jobs for which they are over-qualified, or work irregularly or only as part-time workers,” the APNU Presidential Candidate said.
He said the reality is the economic growth is not fueling economic development and shared prosperity, as many Guyanese are still not earning enough or at all. Norton said too many citizens continue to live in poverty, he added.
“Some have contended that jobs are available for all Guyanese. But just a few months ago, we debunked this contention by pointing out that persons cannot fill vacancies because (a) they are unskilled and feel marginalized; (b) their skills do not match the available and accessible jobs; (c) no training in skilling, re-skilling and up-skilling is available, affordable, or accessible; (d) there is gender, racial and age discrimination in employment practices, (e) there is involuntary unemployment because of family circumstances, (f) information about vacancies is not widely and systematically disseminated, and (g) the prohibitive transportation and accommodation costs are barriers that prevent many Indigenous People from participating in the formal labour force,” Norton submitted.
He said it is time to end the governing PPP’s “haphazard approach” to national development and create and implement a job creation policy to employ all Guyanese who are able and willing to work.
Norton said once in Government, the APNU will create full-time jobs for over 40,000 unemployed Guyanese, in addition to the more than 15,000 now employed as part-time workers, as the coalition will seek to significantly reduce both unemployment and underemployment.
Additionally, he said thousands of contracts will be awarded to small contractors.
“Award thousands of small contracts each year not only for the building of village streets, but also for home construction, community sanitation and beautification projects, and infrastructure and facilities maintenance. Award large contracts for infrastructure projects to meet clear national development goals such as coast to hinterland highways, inter-regional highways (connecting Linden and New Amsterdam, for example); drainage and irrigation, social services, and community development. We will ensure that foreign contractors employ a high percentage of Guyanese workers,” he detailed.
Other plans include expanding the private sector by reducing the cost of doing business in Guyana, through tax reduction, and the establishment of a Development and Investment Bank to provide easy access to credit.
The coalition also intends to boost micro and small business development by more than doubling grants and soft loans
Norton said that Guyanese must not only have jobs but must have jobs that are well-paying; that match their skills, talents, propensities, and qualifications.
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