Fuelling the economy

Nov 21, 2015 Editorial, Features / Columnists

The new government has been in office a mere six months but it is being asked to perform as though it has been there for an eternity. The society is demanding two things, jobs with good pay and an end to crime. The government must do both or run the risk of being accused of stalling national development.
Admittedly, when it came to office the government found that there was a lot wrong with the country. For one, money was being spent but there was no concomitant return. Money was spent on infrastructure that was either not fashioned to the desired result or was left incomplete.
In fact, the nation is still counting the vast sums that went down the drain. Millions of dollars went into the construction of the Specialty Hospital that was designed to offer an unprecedented medical service to Guyanese. It was also intended to launch what was to have been known as medical tourism. Medical tourism is simply the case of people travelling from overseas to seek specialised medical attention here at costs far lower than operates in their own country.
The contractor took the money and literally ran. The previous government moved to the courts to recover the money but it never stood a chance of getting anything back. The nation lost.
Money was spent on roads and within months the roads were back to their deteriorated states. The government, under fire from the media, threatened to blacklist the contractors but never did. Word soon entered the public arena that there were people who actually got money from the contractors so they could not say anything.
Schools and centres were being constructed at astronomical costs that could not be queried. Even the e-government programme saw money being thrown away. Millions of dollars were spent on bringing a communication cable from Brazil. That cable project has had to be abandoned despite the expenditure of at least one billion dollars.
The society now argues that those things are in the past and that the government should press ahead. It must not only complete those projects that were left hanging, but it must also fashion its own programmes.
Then there is the issue of creating jobs. Guyana is caught up in the situation where people want to pursue specific jobs despite their absence of qualification. There are numerous vacancies in the Guyana Police Force, in schools and in the hospitals but there are few takers.
Those less academically inclined may be among the hardest pressed to gain employment. There are not too many industries and for certain, there are not many construction jobs that would require labourers. Many have ventured into the goldfields and a few where necessary are seeking their fortunes operating public transport systems.
That being the case, the announcement of a large injection of cash into the national infrastructure should spell good news. All over the country contractors would be undertaking road and bridge programmes.
The Minister of the Presidency said that the government recognized the need for an injection of cash into the economy. More than that, there is a need for employment opportunities so all the contractors are being tasked with employing people from within the area of the job. It has not escaped notice that a large number of people are already employed in the city as the enhancement programme continues.
Truth be told, this has not only added a spark to economic life in the city, but it has also given people a new sense of being. There is not the pessimism that was once a permanent aspect of people’s lives. Yet the government needs to do more. People want the promised developments on the electronic field; they want to see the housing programme continue at a fast pace and above all they want the crime to end.
The latter is easier said than done when there are so many young men who refuse to seek employment in the main stream.

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