The Opposition, A Partnership of National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition, is proposing to implement a National Family Policy when they return to Government.
Speaking at the coalition’s last press conference, Member of Parliament, Ms. Coretta McDonald, said recent observance of two major international events, that honoured women and families, calls on the nation and people to reaffirm the centrality of mothers and families in society and address their well-being, aspiration and unmet needs.
McDonald touched on the need to address a livable income, early childhood education, housing, cash transfer, poverty, maternal and infant mortality, gender equity/equality, prison reform among others and argued Guyana can afford to establish such a policy because the financial resources are there given the nation’s wealth.
Guyana is ranked the world’s fastest growing economy. This year has produced the largest budget in the nation’s history. Guyana is also expected to earn more than US$1.5 billion from oil and gas in 2023.
According to the member of parliament “we, as the next government, announced that we will look to design and implement a National Family Policy. Such a policy will uphold the family as the basic unit of society and include a wide range of initiatives that directly and indirectly improve the quality of family life.”
The coalition’s vision is for Guyana to become one of the best places in the world to start and raise a family, she emphasised.
The full statement follows: –
Sunday (May 14th) and Monday (May 15th), Guyana joined the world society to celebrate Mother’s Day and International Day of Families, respectively. These two observances call on us, as a nation and a people, to reaffirm the centrality of mothers and families in our society, and to address their wellbeing, aspirations, and unmet needs.
Despite these obligations, we did not hear any reports by the government to inform us of the state of the family in Guyana. International Day of Families would have been a fitting opportunity for the government to report, especially after spending hundreds of billions of the country’s oil wealth.
After two “National Oil Budgets”, the nation would have expected to hear from the government (i) how much have the incomes of families increased, if at all? (ii) how many families have crossed the poverty line and have attained economic security, if any? (iii) how many additional mothers have access to childcare facilities, if any? (iv) to what extent have maternal and infant mortality rates dropped, if at all? (v) when would government cash transfers stop being sporadic, one-off, inadequate, unpredictable and politicised?
And (vi) how does the government plan to address wider issues that impact families, such as opportunities for vendors (most of whom are single mothers); the excessive and unnecessary incarceration of husbands and breadwinners; domestic violence; workplace practices; and gender inequality? The PPP cannot report on these issues because they are only concerned with enriching themselves.
Not surprisingly, we heard no such statements from the government. And we do not expect any from the PPP. This is where we starkly differ from the PPP’s approach to national development. The PPP sees infrastructure development as the salvation for Guyana. While the APNU+AFC will promote infrastructural development, our key focus will be on putting people first and investing in them. We will pursue our “peopled-centered” development strategy.
Already, we have publicly announced several family-oriented plans. Our Early Childhood Care and Education policy (proposed in November 2022), for example, speaks about such benefits as (i) stronger and happier mothers and families; (ii) greater social justice through gender parity or equity, (iii) better socially-adjusted children—who are less likely to engage in deviant and criminal behaviors as they age, and (iv) expansion in GDP through greater female participation in the workforce and higher productivity from female workers.
Our Minimum Livable Income Guarantee is aimed at eliminating the curse of the working poor and poor families from our society. Our Rent-to-Own and Rent Assistance Schemes are aimed at increasing the living standard and quality of life of families.
Addressing the wellbeing of families will require a holistic and sustained effort. That is why in our International Day of Families message, we, as the next government, announced that we will look to design and implement a NATIONAL FAMILY POLICY. Such a policy will uphold the family as the basic unit of society and include a wide range of initiatives that directly and indirectly improve the quality of family life. Our vision is for Guyana to become one of the best places in the world to start and raise a family.
