APNU yesterday said that youths in the country are concerned about not benefiting from Guyana’s oil wealth and the opposition coalition made a series of recommendations for improvements including a $400,000 per month income tax threshold.
A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) in a statement said that Guyana’s development must be inclusive.
“The benefits of economic growth must reach every community, every region, and every demographic group. Young people should not have to abandon their aspirations or rely on political connections in order to access opportunities that rightly belong to them as citizens of Guyana”, the grouping, of which the PNCR is the main component, said.
It outlined a series of measures which could improve the circumstances for youths.
Among these it said are raising the income tax-free threshold to $400,000 per month to increase disposable income and reduce the burden on workers and young professionals. It said that the President’s recent comment about raising the tax-fee threshold to $200,000 was inadequate.
Providing a $50,000 monthly stipend for students attending university and technical institutions was another proposal made along with expanding access to scholarships, technical education, vocational training, and skills certification programmes.
It called for a national skills audit to ensure that training opportunities align with the requirements of the labour market, including the oil and gas sector.
Strengthening local content policies to ensure greater participation by Guyanese workers and businesses in the energy sector was another proposal made.
It pledged the creating of more than 40,000 new jobs through expanded economic activity, infrastructure development, and private sector growth.
Establishing a National Youth Investment Fund to provide grants and low-interest financing to young entrepreneurs was also floated.
It said that for many young people, home ownership feels increasingly out of reach. Rent and housing costs continue to soar.
It set out estimates for the average year-over-year change in market rents, particularly in Georgetown and prime rental districts:
Year Estimated YoY Rent Change
2020 -5% to +5%
2021 +5% to +15%
2022 +15% to +25%
2023 +15% to +30%
2024 +10% to +20%
2025 +8% to +15%
2026 +5% to +10% (forecast)
If a Georgetown apartment rented for G$100,000/month in 2020, applying the midpoint of the estimated annual increases would put it roughly around:
Year Estimated Rent
2020 G$100,000
2021 G$110,000
2022 G$132,000
2023 G$165,000
2024 G$190,000
2025 G$212,000
2026 G$228,000
APNU said that that implies a cumulative increase of roughly 125% – 130% from 2020 to 2026 in many sought-after rental areas, though luxury expatriate housing has often risen much more than average local-market rentals.
Using changes in public sector wages as a reasonable estimate for average earnings growth among employed youth means the following, it said:
Year Estimated YoY Wage Growth
2020 0%–3%
2021 5%–8%
2022 8%–12%
2023 8%–15%
2024 10%–20%
2025 8%–12%
2026 6%–10% (expected)
“By all estimations, there is a wide gap between meagre wage growth and larger rent rate growth as it affects youth”, the coalition contended.
It said that the APNU manifesto placed housing as a priority by:
Reducing the age for house lot applications from 21 to 18, introducing a Rent-to-Own programme, expanding housing opportunities for young professionals, providing rent and mortgage assistance, accelerating house lot allocation, improving transparency and supporting faster construction of affordable homes.
APNU, whose parliamentary team is led by Terrence Campbell, said it is particularly concerned about the growing perception among many young people that access to opportunity is increasingly determined by connections rather than merit.
“From our interactions with youth, we constantly hear that the next generation not only wants jobs. They want ownership. They want businesses. They want investment opportunities. They want to build wealth.
“APNU will establish a National Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) that will provide grants and low-interest financing for young entrepreneurs”, it asserted.
APNU lost its standing as the main opposition party at last year’s general election.
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