Dr Nanda Kishore Gopaul while speaking with Guyana Times International during an exclusive interview said he believes that if the clause is revised, more benefits and value as well as a higher commitment to nation building would be derived from the students who receive training at the expense of the state. He was at the time responding to questions about his plan for reducing the alarming level of brain drain while creating an environment in which Guyana’s skilled and semi-skilled labour would be motivated to stay, work and serve the country.
“We are unhappy about our trained personnel leaving the country,” he said, as he explained that in the past, once persons received skills and qualifications through government, they were expected to serve the state for a minimum of five years before recommencing the process of paying back their loans and study expenses.
He argued that during this time, they were not allowed to leave the country unless they were released from their respective contractual obligations by the government or had fully repaid their loans.
“I believe we have to relook at that situation. We must say that these people must serve Guyana, thereby giving them the freedom to serve every employer, or any of their choice here once jobs are available so you don’t tie them down to the government as their first and sole employer,” he reasoned.
Dr Nanda Kishore Gopaul
The labour minister explained that many times the trained and qualified personnel become “unhappy” and “frustrated” at their government jobs because they soon find out that over the years, there are “no real scope for opportunities and limited challenges”. He opined that if this compulsory clause was reviewed, government would be able to get the best out of their skilled and trained labour, noting too that the risk of their leaving shortly after being trained would be minimised.
“We should say in their contracts that they must serve Guyana and not necessarily the government of Guyana,” he suggested, while stating the issue will be taken to Cabinet shortly. Dr Gopaul hinted that if all goes well, very soon Guyanese can see results from his dialogue and negotiations on the issue. “We don’t want people to serve Guyana having been trained by tax payers’ money because they are obligated to. We want them to see it as a sterling commitment and the position where they serve with pride and dignity and for the joy of it… they must want to stay and be part of our country’s transformation,” Minister Gopaul said.
Brain drain
He argued that brain drain comes at an expense to the state and when you quantify, the amounts that are invested in training persons only to have them leave “is substantial”. He did agree like many others scholars that brain drain cannot be stopped especially in a globalised world, arguing that it was not a “Guyana phenomenon” only, pointing out that countries such as China, India and Singapore are having the problem.
Dr Gopaul said that Guyana was way ahead of its Caricom and Caribbean counterparts with respect to training people in critical areas, including the technical and vocational areas, agricultural, health and education sectors among others. The labour minister said government was cognisant that it would take more than just patriotism and nationalistic postures or positions to motivate skilled people to stay and serve. He alluded to the fact that over the past decade, government has consistently been revising the minimum wages, delivering increased salaries which surpass the level of inflation to the Guyanese workers, improving their conditions of service while piloting new legislation that seeks to protect them.
“There is still a lot more that we can do to keep our workers happy” as he committed to doing as much as he can to ensure that there is a reduction in the numbers that leave the shores of Guyana in search for greener pastures.
Dr Gopaul was adamant that brain drain wasn’t “all bad” as some persons have seen another phenomenon developing simultaneously with it. He spoke of “brain gain” where as people leave the country to take up jobs in other countries and they return later and invest in their home country, or send back through remittances large amounts of monies for their relatives which contribute to the country’s development. He said while this is happening, in the case of Guyana, it has not been consistent or taking place at an alarmingly high rate. The labour minister is confident that if the clause is revised, more will be accomplished.
A review of the compulsory clause which binds students who are trained and qualified by the state to serve the government for a particular time is expected to be undertaken soon, if the new labour minister is able to convince his Cabinet colleagues of the need to do so.
