Renowned Ghanian oil expert sees value in training Guyanese, not providing cash transfers

A Ghanian oil expert and industry veteran is advising Guyana not to go in the direction of cash transfers as some Guyanese are suggesting, arguing instead for training of the population to give them better access to wealth.

“I don’t believe in subsidies and giving people cash. You have to work for it. I would rather spend the money on training, so that their income level will go up,” said George Owusu, who is credited with spearheading the team that made the first significant commercial oil discovery offshore Ghana.

He made the comment on the sidelines of the International Energy Conference and Expo at the Marriott Hotel, Kingston on Tuesday.

“If you’re a welder and you don’t have any training, and you are trained and you get certified, automatically, your pay goes up, instead of sitting at home and getting paid. That doesn’t make sense to me. So, train, if you have to send them overseas for training, fine. If you have to bring trainers here to train them, fine. But whatever you do, when you improve the quality of the person, his skillset, he’ll be able to make the money. And stop their sitting down, and somebody giving you money.”

The government’s policy on this matter is that Guyana’s proceeds from the development of its petroleum resources should be used to build out infrastructure for the future, including roads, bridges, hospitals, schools and energy projects, which improve the quality of life for Guyanese and stimulate growth across the non-oil sectors. The government remains adamant that the economy must be diversified within the framework of the low carbon development strategy.

Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said Tuesday, that the government has seen how other countries have splurged their windfall on current expenses, to such an extent that they could not sustain them when their oil windfall went.

He provided the example of Trinidad & Tobago, which spent 99 per cent of its fiscal revenues between 1999 and 2015 to increase transfers and subsidies. Guyana has been cautioned by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) not to take this route.

Guyana’s plan includes providing access to world class healthcare and welfare, quality education, building infrastructure, and access to affordable and quality training.

The government is facilitating training for Guyanese to take up jobs in the oil and gas, and non-oil sectors.

It intends to make tertiary education free at the University of Guyana before the end of its term.

It has also commenced the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) programme, with the aim of providing 20,000 scholarships to Guyanese throughout its term. Already, 6,000 scholarships have been granted and the application process is open for   4,500 more. Among the diverse array of programmes offered are technical curricula in oil and gas.

Government will also be building a national oil and gas training institute, with the goal of training 1,000 people a year. The initiatives are meant to help Guyanese capitalise on opportunities under the framework set by Local Content Act 2021.