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countrywide strike called by the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) and on Friday, Union President Dr. Mark Lyte said the strike will intensify in the new week.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Lyte said the strike will be accompanied by protest.

He claimed that some 60 per cent of teachers participated in the strike on Thursday and Friday but those figures were earlier contested by Ministry of Education officials who reported that the majority of teachers were in their classrooms attending to students.

“In the new week, we will have the strike accompanied by protest action.

“We will be very strategic this time around to ensure that there is proper balance between the strike effort and the protest,” Lyte said.

As such, the protest will only take place two days of next week at various locations.

“So come Monday, our teachers who are on strike will be protesting at various locations of importance with the hope that we can garner the attention of the administration,” he said.

Lyte maintained that a significant number of teachers were participating in the strike.

“At this juncture, a very critical time in the academic year, the GTU is cognisant of the importance of education and we are similarly aware of our members plight and struggle,” Lyte explained.

Highlighting that the union stands by the High Court ruling that the strike is legal, Lyte said they have since responded to a letter from Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Shanielle Hoosein-Outar, reiterating that they are ready to engage in talks.

The Ministry has said that those talks can only address financial matters from 2024 and beyond but the union insists that it must deal with 2019 to 2023 period also.

“We recognise that some of our teachers will stand with us and some will not but at the end of the day, the benefits that will come with our action will go to all educators who are equally affected,” Lyte further noted.

An initial five-week strike began on February 5, with teachers demanding higher salary increases and duty-free concessions, among other benefits.

After a court-mediated process in March, talks between the Education Ministry and GTU resumed.

However, discussions halted when the Education Ministry indicated that there was no fiscal space to cater for increases for the period 2019 -2023.

On April 19, a court ruling by Judge Sandil Kissoon stated that teachers’ salaries should not be reduced because of their involvement in the previous five-week strike organised by the GTU. That ruling will soon be appealed; the government currently awaits the written decision of Justice Kissoon before the appeal is filed.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal emphasised the comprehensive nature of the government’s housing drive, covering development including road construction, bridges, water distribution, electrical networks, and land preparation in both new and existing housing areas.

He was at the time responding to a motion proposed by the opposition during the 81st Sitting of the National Assembly at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre in Liliendaal Thursday evening.

Presented by Opposition Member of Parliament, Annette Ferguson, the motion called for the establishment of a Special Select Committee to review charges for house lots for Guyanese.

But Minister Croal challenged the appeal, noting a lack of evidence supporting the assertion that his ministry’s policies were responsible for the financial constraints mentioned.

“The motion makes several claims and then it sets blame on the ministry’s Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) without providing any evidence that any policy, on our part, is responsible for ‘financial constraints’ that the honourable member claims. This motion begins in vague speculation and then crashes to an illogical conclusion that is mind-boggling. There is specificity in the motion,” he explained.

Detailing the government’s housing programme, the minister disclosed that Land prices are heavily subsidised by the government, and are determined based on size, infrastructure, and market prices.

Additionally, the government’s partnership with local banking institutions has facilitated better access to loans for home construction, with significantly reduced interest rates.

In 2020, interest rates stood at four per cent, 5.95 per cent, and 6.25 per cent.

Following government intervention, these rates were significantly reduced to 3.5 per cent, in some instances, to as low as 3.2 per cent, 3.75 per cent, and 5.7 per cent.

For example, the New Building Society (NBS) processed 669 loan applications and disbursed $3.5 billion in loans in 2020.

By 2023, the NBS experienced a remarkable surge, receiving over 2,500 applications and disbursing $19 billion—a staggering 274 per cent increase in applicants and 443 per cent increase in loan disbursements over the past three years.

Previously, applicants were required to provide cash equity for loans, but this requirement has been revised, allowing applicants to utilise their lands as collateral for loans.

Furthermore, the government has introduced measures such as the steel and cement subsidy programme, which has accelerated home construction for over a thousand Guyanese across various regions.

“That is the power of this PPP/C Government. We care about the people and we have considered the constraints they might face. We did not bring a motion to parliament or ask a select committee. We knew what we had to do,” he told the National Assembly.

Similarly, many families have benefited from the government’s mortgage relief interest initiative.

Over the past three years, the government has disbursed over $2.5 billion in refunds to more than 15,000 families across all income brackets who hold mortgages for their homes.

In addition to the ministry’s land allocation efforts, significant strides are being made in nationwide house construction, with contracts being finalised for the construction of 3,607 houses.

From 2015 to 2020, the APNU+AFC Administration only developed three housing schemes in areas such as Peter’s Hall, Prospect Track ‘E’, and Providence.

In contrast, the PPP/C Government developed over 50 housing schemes in just three and a half years.

To date, over 33,000 house lots have been allocated nationwide, prioritising applicants from 2019 and prior, while only 7,534 lots were allocated under the previous administration. [DPI]

increased production and the country’s Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said the government is assured that operations remain safe.

Officials from ExxonMobil have highlighted intentions to optimise production at the Floating Production Offloading and Storage (FPSOs) operating offshore Guyana.

But Jagdeo said analysts from Guyana’s regulatory and oversight bodies- the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Ministry of Natural Resources assess whether any modifications can be carried out safely. If they can be, the consortium goes ahead with its plans.

“It is safe and it was on the basis of optimisation.

“… They’ve assured me that this was done and they had their technical people review these plans,” the Vice President said on Thursday during a People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) press conference.

So far, there has been better-than-anticipated production at the FPSOs operating offshore.

Peak production at the Liza Destiny, the first oil-producing platform offshore Guyana, was initially 120,000 barrels of oil per day. That number was later revised to 140,000 barrels and now produces beyond 160,000 barrels daily.

Then there is the Liza Unity FPSO which initially targeted 220,000 barrels of oil per day. This week, ExxonMobil Guyana Country Manager Alistair Routledge said peak production of 252,000 barrels was achieved.

The Prosperity FPSO has an initial production capacity of 220,000 barrels of oil per day but this vessel too has shown its ability to produce more oil.

Jagdeo stressed that the EPA and Natural Resources make sure that the consortium can safely increase production at the vessels.