Georgetown, GINA, July 2, 2003

Social development the central focus

The national budget outlined allocations for millions of dollars for improving the lives of persons and these allocations are not specific to any one area.

In his Independence speech, President Bharrat Jagdeo emphasized Government’s commitment to provide better quality services for the people of Guyana. He said, “We must further enhance the delivery of education, health care, housing and other social services.”

After this Administration’s accession to office in 1992, several measures to improve the standard of living of all Guyanese, have been implemented. With a population of over 700,000 although relatively underpopulated, the Government has worked assiduously to reduce poverty status.In the early 1990s, there was approximately 80% of the population living in absolute poverty at the year 2000. Today, this has been reduced to less than 40%.

A National Development Strategy (NDS) Paper and a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) were drafted to improve the performance of the country to influence macro and micro economic growth and improve social services.

Out of these plans, the Social Impact Amelioration Programme (SIMAP) and the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF), the Secondary Schools Reform Project (SSRP) and the Basic Education Access and Management Systems (BEAMS) were introduced.
In the 2001, Guyana was presented as one of two countries in the Caribbean to realize positive economic growth. Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 1.1% and is expected to grow by 2.2% this year.

The Ministries of Education, Health, Labour, Human Services and Social Security, Housing and Water and Local Government are working to strengthen social services to all Guyanese. This will open opportunities for persons to own their homes, have access to better water and education.

In the Education Sector, through the SSRP and BEAMS, infrastructural and curriculum developments were realized. Hundreds of schools were repaired and secondary and primary school curriculum revised. Specialists for literacy and numeracy and teacher assessment in the classroom were acquired. Curriculum materials in the areas of art, information technology, spanish, mathematics and science were also implemented at the primary level in a number of schools.

Approximately 2500 teachers were trained over the last two years, including 168 which graduated last month. As it relates to infrastructural development, 800 of 1200 schools were built and rehabilitated over the past 10 years. Rehabilitative work is continuing on schools countrywide.

Guyana has also achieved outstanding results from national examinations such as the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) exam. Passes in 1997 at CXC were 57.4%, and this has increased to 77.1% in 2002.

As regards social development programmes in the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, there are a number of programmes to address the needs of the country. Some of these are the school uniform distribution, women empowerment programme and financial and food support.

Through the Social Impact Amelioration Programme (SIMAP) and the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) will expend $4.2 and $5.7M to develop the Hinterland. Santa Rosa, Arakaka and Parishara are some of the areas to benefit from this investment. Both SIMAP and BTFN are committed to developing social and economic infrastructure of the Hinterland. Persons in these communities will benefit from training and health centres and new schools.

The Ministry has already expended in excess of $700M on poverty related activities.
This Ministry manages programmes with particular emphasis on women, children and the elderly. Training, counseling, financial and other support are provided for persons seeking such services.

The Ministry of Housing and Water made available low-income houses in areas such as La Parfait Harmonie, Grove, Diamond, Haslington, Enmore and Tuschen. Government is working to fulfill its commitment to provide affordable houselots and access to finance to the citizens of Guyana.

Government has already distributed some 50, 000 houselots and established 95 housing schemes. The Ministry has also initiated systems where persons may acquire loans. The Ministry will distribute between 8000 to 10000 land titles countrywide, with these titles, new homeowners may secure loans to build their homes. They have also developed basic infrastructure and provided potable water countrywide.

In the area of health, numerous programmes were introduced to provide better health care to the nation. Hundreds of health centres were erected countrywide, and immunization, HIV/AIDS awareness, breast-feeding and other programmes launched. There are presently 295 health centres countrywide.

The People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Administration has contributed substantially to the social development of the country in light of numerous challenges over the last ten years.

The Linden Economic Advancement Programme (LEAP), another programme with the intention of stimulating economic growth in Region Ten, was introduced in 2000.
LEAP will focus on business development where the total business structure is addressed. They have planned and executed programmes for redundant workers of the Linden Mining Enterprise Limited (LINMINE), including farmers, youths and small and budding entrepreneurs.

This $2.2B project has assisted farmers of the Region Ten through training and other strategic support. Presently, farmers in the area are producing more for the local market than was produced ten years ago.

Every Administrative Region will benefit from the social programmes in all sectors. All programmes were designed to show positive results in the long and short terms.
Minister of Finance Saisnarine Kowlessar in his National Budget presentation this year, said the focus will be on growth, poverty reduction and employment creation.
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