500 Amerindian CSOs to be employed – Budget 2022 will push job creation

In its effort to fulfill its promise of creating 50,000 jobs in its first five-year term and the
Amerindian villages are not being side-lined in this venture, Government has been aggressively
working on this.
Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh, i8n his Budget 2022 presentation to parliament announced
that 500 jobs will be created in Amerindian villages in every region. This, he said will be done
by extending the Community Support Officers (CSO) programme. “In 2022, I’m pleased to
announce that the number of CSOs will be increased to 2500, creating an additional 500 jobs for
young Amerindian persons. And the sum of $60 million will be spent on training 660 of these
CSOs to serve in these 220 communities in a variety of areas; tourism and hospitality,
development of business plans, food safety prerequisites, good manufacturing practices and the
list goes on,” Minister Singh said.

The finance minister revealed that in 2021, $666.5M was expended on stipends to engage 2,000
CSOs under the Youth Entrepreneurship and Apprenticeship Programme, YEAP. However, he
said that $115.6M was also spent towards the training of 420 CSOs in areas such as; ICT, tractor
driving, licencing and maintenance, and solar panel installation and maintenance.
Dr. Singh noted that these CSOs are paid a stipend of $30,000 per month to support the village
council and facilitate the smooth operation of events in their villages. He disclosed that when the
PPP/C returned to Government in August 2020, it executed the promise it made while in
opposition, to return the CSO programme that was quashed in 2015.
The finance minister told the House that 31,295 hinterland students are expected to benefit from
the “Because We Care” cash grants in 2022. This grant will be increased from $15,000 to
$25,000. “Additionally, to improve access to education and skills, a sum of $93.3 million is
budgeted towards the hinterland scholarship programme, where 805 students are expected to
benefit,” Dr. Singh said.
He revealed that in total, $3.1B is allocated for core Amerindian development programmes,
which includes Amerindian Land Titling and the furtherance of the tractor initiative. “This, along
with key investments across every sector, will set the stage for a rapid improvement in wellbeing
in our Amerindian and hinterland villages,” Minister Singh declared.