Some 1,000 persons on the East Bank of Demerara are the latest beneficiaries of the government’s part-time jobs initiative, the Department of Public Information (DPI) reported today.
Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo launched the programme at the Diamond Secondary School.
DPI said that he reiterated that the programme forms part of the administration’s efforts to supplement household income, in light of the rising cost of living due to several external factors, specifically the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to DPI, the Vice President said, “Because we were looking at the situation, so many of our people were unemployed, but then we had COVID. And so we didn’t lose only 30,000 jobs after COVID, and the country was shut down. We lost maybe another 40,000 [jobs]. So we have to get those people back to work.”
The job opportunities allow for the employees to work for 10 days and earn up to $40,000 monthly. Jobs are being offered in specific areas within government ministries and agencies and caters for one person per household.
So far, some 11,000 Guyanese are currently benefitting from the programme countrywide, which will cost the government some $10 billion annually, DPI said.
The part-time jobs initiative is just one of a menu of measures implemented by the government to cushion the cost of living.
Jagdeo also called on those who signed up for the jobs to take advantage of the educational opportunities being afforded to them, particularly through the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL).
DPI said that the Vice President was accompanied by Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall; Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat; Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy; and Members of Parliament, Jennifer Westford, Alister Charlie and Yvonne Pearson.
