Guyana Needs to Develop Its Human Resources Before Importing Cheap Labor from Overseas

4th of April, 2022. Georgetown, Guyana, South America. GSA News.

An Inews article published on the 4th of April, 2022, states, “Guyana is working on Holistic Immigration Program – Pres. Ali.” According to the article, this is in an effort to address shortages in the local labor market that have left several projects lagging.

This publication is of the opinion that the government should leave no stone unturned in upgrading and drafting Guyanese citizens into the workforce before looking for competitively priced labor overseas. Since contracts are profit-driven, jobs are often sold to the lowest bidders – paying more attention to net profit than development of human resources. This is a backward trajectory that could lead to the unforeseen destruction of Guyana’s economy and people in the future.

Too large a percentage of Guyana’s population is currently unemployed, and this problem is compounded by the influx of Venezuelan and Haitian refugees. The government needs to ensure that all Guyanese are employed before looking abroad for cheap labor. Programs need to be put into place to draft unemployed Guyanese workers and salaries need to be raised considerably so as to incentivize performance.

Keeping Guyana’s currency circulating more strongly within Guyana’s borders is the key to a healthy economy.