The Government of Guyana’s ambitious 2022 infrastructural endeavours appears threatened as contractors complain about their inability to find workers. The issue is now being addressed by the President, Dr Irfaan Ali, who has cited the need for a “holistic” immigration policy.
According to him, contractors are hinging their failures to meet deadlines on their inability to find labour.
“I had a meeting on Friday with the contractors, and they’re all behind schedule now because they can’t find labour. They can’t find workers, and this is a major problem that we’re going to be faced with. Some may say it’s a good problem to have, but it’s a very troubling problem. So, we are working now on a holistic immigration policy, not only for the diaspora but understanding critically what the demand will be in three years, five years and ten years,” the President was quoted as saying by his Press and Publicity Unit.
The President added that a leading expert has been hired to work along with the country’s local team to examine the issue and provide an analysis that will be used to form a policy.
“We need people badly and we need them now, and with the type of infrastructure that we’re investing in, the type of healthcare service we’re investing, the type of education services that we’re investing in, guess what? Those services, when they’re fully built out in five years to 10 years, will require people to consume the service,” he said.
