HGP Nightly News – Minister of Labour, Keoma Griffith, delivered a robust defense of the government’s employment and labour policy record during the 2026 budget debate, presenting substantial job creation figures and detailing institutional reforms to counter opposition critiques.
Minister Griffith framed the government’s tenure since 2020 as a period of active reconstruction, asserting his ministry inherited the task of “rebuilding institutions that had been carelessly dismantled” under the previous administration. He emphasized the restoration of the Ministry of Labour to a full, dedicated portfolio, stating, “This is what putting people first is all about.”
The cornerstone of the Minister’s presentation was quantitative employment data. He reported the creation of over 104,000 sustainable jobs between 2020 and 2025, a figure he stated surpasses the government’s manifesto promise and represents “real people, real jobs” across sectors like construction, mining, and services.
Minister Griffith linked this growth to specific policy outcomes, citing a 50% reduction in the national unemployment rate, from 12.8% to 6.8%, and a significant drop in youth unemployment from 30.2% to 12.1%. “These outcomes are not accidental,” he stated. “They are [the] direct result of this government’s commitment.”
Drawing a sharp contrast, the Minister challenged the record of the preceding APNU+AFC coalition, recalling its unmet promise to create 30,000 jobs and characterizing its performance as “outright failure.”
Beyond headline job numbers, Minister Griffith outlined broader labour sector reforms, referencing the implementation of a Decent Work Country Program and a “robust, comprehensive” skills development strategy through an expanded Board of Industrial Training.
His presentation positioned the government’s labour agenda as a central pillar of its economic platform, directly countering opposition narratives by emphasizing job creation volume, institutional revitalization, and targeted workforce training as primary indicators of its pro-worker governance.
