A/HRC/10/11/Add.2 page 16 extent that former workers will not receive an adequate pension. In contrast they point out that the Government injected G$ 1.1 billion into the Guysuco pension fund to ensure the pensions of predominantly Indo-Guyanese sugar industry workers. 47. The Government refutes any accusation of discrimination in employment practices and economic activity. It asserts that Guyana’s challenges relate to it still being a poor country with scarce resources. Guyana’s debt in 1992 was over US$ 2 billion, and it had one of the highest per capita debt ratios in the developing world. The Government says it has advocated and practised a pro-people pro-poor policy and instituted programmes to reflect this policy in health, education, water, housing, social safety nets, etc. 48. The Government affirms that unemployment is not specific to Afro-Guyanese but results from a combination of various factors, such as the state of the economy and investments, continued reliance on primary products for export, educational levels and cultural norms. Labour force participation among the 15- to 64-year-old population is only 60 per cent. One of the reasons contributing to this has been the low participation of women in the formal labour force (only 37 per cent women versus 84 per cent men); however, this has not been found to be specific to any ethnic group. The Government notes that regarding the ethnic composition of the public service, the representation of Afro-Guyanese has reduced from 90 per cent to 70 per cent. In the Disciplined Forces other ethnic groups have always been in a minority, from the 1960s until present. It notes significant investment in education as well as in two major programmes fully financed for second chance opportunities for youth up to the age of 29, run by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, and the Ministry of Labour as well offers training and job placements for youth and youth at risk. B. Land and housing 49. Concerns were expressed regarding the issue of ownership of lands by Afro-Guyanese. In the post-slavery era many Africans pooled their capital to collectively buy lands. Issues including lack of title documents, complexities related to shared ownership and lands subsequently leased to others (non-African) have created a complex situation in regard to proving and regaining ownership. Some who have leased lands now claim ownership rights over them. The PNC supported a motion in Parliament to establish a commission to address Afro-Guyanese ancestral land rights, which however was defeated by the PPP Parliamentary majority,18 and the issue has faced continued neglect. 50. Neighbourhoods and villages such as Lusignan and Buxton are virtually ethnically homogeneous and clearly identified as Afro- or Indo-Guyanese. Commentators noted that historically there had been a greater ethnic mix but that distinct ethnic enclaves had emerged from the social unrest of the 1960s onwards. Visits to Buxton and a tour of the Georgetown area revealed visibly poorer Afro-Guyanese neighbourhoods, some of which lacked basic facilities such as adequate toilet facilities. Allegations persist of discrimination in allocation of housing 18 The Government notes that the motion was amended and passed in the National Assembly in July 2007.