Investment in Our Citizens

Our people are our most important and transformative asset. In this regard, we are committed to releasing the potential of our citizens by investing directly in their capacities. Incomes and unemployment issues have been placed at the center of our economic policy framework. Workers have over the decades struggled under the burden of depressed incomes, which has severely restricted their ability to enjoy basic welfare needs in many instances. Government under the DNC will work closely with workers’ unions to develop a plan for addressing workers’ income issues by aligning these with what our negotiations can agree on as a ‘living wage’. That is, the incomes of all publicsector workers willbe adjusted by an amount which will raise the wages and salaries of the lowest paid public servants up tothelevelwherewe canagreetheycanlive comfortably. Wewillalso work closely with the private sector to address bottlenecks to investment and job creation as a means of addressing our pressing national unemployment situation.

Government Services

The Democratic National Congress recognizes that much of the corruption ingovernment services results from the depressed incomes of public servants. We intend to address this directly by paying increased wages and salaries to our public servants. Further, a national governance framework is integral to eliminating corruption, minimizing waste of taxpayers’ dollars and maximizing growth and welfare possibilities. In this regard, more weight will be given to the independence of the Public Procurement Commission. All government ministries and agencies will be tasked with drafting governance guidelines for their respective organizations with external assistance where necessary. These will be integrated into the operations of the respective organizations. All staff will be provided with training to ensure that regulations on governance are adhered to.

Our Communities

“A national governance framework is integral toeliminatingcorruption, minimizing waste of taxpayers’ dollars and maximizing growth and welfarepossibilities.”

Realizing our vision of bringing Guyana into the 21st century necessarily involves investing in our communities. We will work with regional and municipal administrativebodiestoensurethattheyembracethesoundgovernancepractices established for central government. They will be consulted regarding their respectivebudgetsandtheresponsivenessoftheseindeliveringonenvironmental standards for cleanliness and other physical and social infrastructure necessary for increasing the standard of living in these communities.

Our Productive Sectors

Investment inourproductivesectorsis crucial for realizing our vision for Guyana. In this respect, we encourage all Guyanese to examine their available productive assets and consider what resources they need to generate wealth. The government of the DNC will hold consultationswithallproductivesectors,from agriculture to manufacturing, mining and IT, to ensure that every sector has the necessary support to increase production and wherever possible, facilitate access to export markets.