APNU yesterday called for a national framework addressing youth employment, professional advancement, entrepreneurship and affordable housing, while contending that Guyana’s record economic growth has not translated into better opportunities for many young people.
In a statement, the party said young Guyanese continue to struggle to secure meaningful employment, afford housing, establish businesses and become financially independent despite the billions of dollars being earned from oil.
It said university graduates and skilled professionals were frequently unable to find employment in the fields for which they had been trained, resulting in engineers, economists and information technology professionals accepting unrelated jobs or leaving the country.
“Young people are being told to get educated, acquire skills and prepare themselves for the opportunities of the future, but when they become qualified, the opportunities are either unavailable, poorly compensated or inaccessible without the right political connections,” APNU said.
The party also raised concern about what it described as a growing perception that political loyalty was becoming a prerequisite for accessing employment, contracts, appointments and other opportunities.
It said young people should not have to attend political activities, publicly endorse politicians or establish political connections to improve their economic prospects.
“If that perception is allowed to become the accepted reality, then we are not building a meritocracy; we are building a system of political patronage,” the statement said.
According to APNU, qualifications, competence and work ethic should carry greater weight than political affiliation or personal connections.
The party questioned the value of record economic growth if it could not be converted into improved living standards for young Guyanese.
It said development should not be assessed solely through gross domestic product, oil production, government revenue or the number of projects announced, but should also be measured by wages, purchasing power, employment opportunities and citizens’ ability to accumulate wealth.
APNU pointed to the rising cost of food, rent, transportation, vehicles and home construction, saying salaries had not kept pace with the cost of living. Starting a business also required substantial capital, it said, while many young workers earned too little to save or invest.
“A young professional should not have to earn a degree, accumulate experience and work full-time only to remain financially incapable of renting a decent home, purchasing property, starting a business or supporting a family,” it argued.
The party said the Government could not continue celebrating national wealth without demonstrating how it was improving the lives of young people.
“If Guyana is truly experiencing transformational development, then young people must be able to see that transformation in their pay cheques, their opportunities, their communities and their ability to build a future here,” APNU said.
It also warned against treating migration as the solution to limited opportunities for youths, noting that the departure of highly trained Guyanese represented a loss of national investment, talent, innovation and productive capacity.
APNU said young people should be treated as an economic constituency and not merely as an electoral bloc.
It called for improved access to financing, fair recruitment practices in the public and private sectors, transparency in public employment and appointments, stronger safeguards against political discrimination and salaries that reflect productivity and the cost of living.
The party also called for oil revenues to be used to create sustainable opportunities within Guyana.
“Young Guyanese are not asking the government to hand us success. We are asking the government to stop putting barriers between our qualifications and our opportunities,” the statement said.
It added that development should ultimately be judged by whether young people could remain in Guyana, work in their chosen fields, earn decent incomes, afford homes and establish businesses without surrendering their political independence.
Discussion