Guyana’s labour minister offers no specifics on Afro-Guyanese at UN forum

Last Updated on Monday, 14 April 2025, 21:44 by Denis Chabrol

The Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, on Monday offered no specific action that Guyana has been taking to improve the conditions of Afro-Guyanese at the opening of the United Nations 4th Session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent.

Instead, he broadly referred to two projects  housing and education through the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) — as two national projects that are benefitting all Guyanese. “Development of Afro-Guyanese and Guyanese, as a whole, in Guyana, a multi-ethnic nation, is a priority for my government,” he said.

Chairman of the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana (IDPADA-G) Vincent Alexander, who is at the UN event, in a brief but sharp reaction to the Minister’s remarks, said nothing was mentioned about what was being done for the Afro-Guyanese community. “Hamilton has once again focused on external reparations and Guyana at large in the absence of any specific equitable action by the Government to address the state of the people of African descent. Shamelessly, he mentioned the GOAL,” he said.

GOAL had a few weeks ago been mired in controversy over an agreement with two United Kingdom-based educational institutions that subsequently collapsed after at least one university had said it had no relationship with GOAL.

The labour minister boasted that the People’s Progressive Party Civic-led administration has embarked on a transformative agenda which is rapidly changing Guyana’s economic and physical infrastructure. “This is deliberately matched with initiatives that ensure greater inclusion and participation of all citizens in the goods, services and opportunities available to reduce poverty, geographic disparity, ethnic insecurities and inequality,” he added.

He singled out education and human resource development as one of two areas of social justice that was being used to transform the lives of Guyanese, including persons of African descent.

He said GOAL has awarded thousands of scholarships over the past four years, providing free online education. “This is aimed at creating a modern workforce, including by facilitating access for residents of rural and remote areas,” said Mr Hamilton, a former executive member and parliamentarian for the mostly Afro-Guyanese-backed People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) political party.

He added that from 2025, free education at the University of Guyana is now offered to all Guyanese, and technical vocational education and training is free at all technical institutes, “thus making more people skilled and employable.”

Mr Hamilton also said an annual cash grant is given to every child, from nursery to secondary levels.

Turning his attention to the rights to housing and shelter, the labour minister said through Guyana’s massive national housing program over the last four years alone, has distributed over 40,000 house lots benefiting 200,000 people. “Notably, 43% of the owners are women. No ethnic group is excluded. In addition, several subsidies are provided for low income households, such as mortgage relief at low interest rates,” said Mr Hamilton, a former senior member of the Afro-Guyanese organisation, House of Israel.

Mr Hamilton is now a member of the PPPC which has historically attracted the majority of its support from Indo-Guyanese. In recent years, the PPP has been boasting of being Guyana’s only “multi-racial” party that is drawing more Afro-Guyanese and Amerindian support.