Construction, service sectors to drive job creation – President Ali

His Excellency, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali is confident that there will soon be new opportunities for jobs in the construction and service sectors in Guyana as plans are implemented with the passage of Budget 2020.  

During a recent interview with Jamaica’s CEEN-TV, ‘The Conversation’, the Head of State said he expects those two sectors to become the leaders in job creation as the work programme is implemented, and the economy starts to recover.  He is confident the Government can deliver 50,000 jobs in keeping with its election Manifesto promise. 

“You will see greater emphasis on the construction sector. For example, we are looking at having 50,000 new house lots out of which there will be 25,000 home construction. So, the construction sector is going to a greater segment of the employment,” President Ali said.

The Head of State noted too that steps are already being taken to revitalise the hard-hit service industry, with plans to provide training, in collaboration with the Tourism sector, and special incentives for new hotels and businesses.

“We have just launched an Expression of Interest for new hotels, but we are looking in the next five years to have four new branded hotels in Guyana,” President Ali said.

The President also outlined plans for infrastructural development. 

“You have the infrastructure transformation that will take place, including the new Demerara River bridge, the Corentyne River bridge linking us by bridge to Suriname; the opening up of new agricultural lands, the building of business incubator services. Those are some of the new things that you will see. So, the services sector would see an up-flow in terms of employment,” Dr. Ali stated.

Further, the Government’s drive to diversify and produce cheaper electricity, will also see the jobs opening in the manufacturing sector.

The Government will also be offering 20,000 scholarships to prepare its human resource for the jobs of the future, the President said.