THE management of the Giftland OfficeMax mall, as part of their mega plans, will put special features and systems in place to accommodate persons with disabilities. 

This is according to Chief Executive Officer of the company, Roy Beepat, who spoke with members of the media on Friday.
According to Beepat, the Mall will designate a special place within the facility where all the services that would be available to persons who are not disabled will also be available to persons with disabilities in a manner that best suits them.
He referred to money transfers, game arcades and access to the complex, among other things. At present, the Guyanese society has not fully adapted and adjusted to dwelling in the same spaces with disabled persons and some businesses in this country are even constructed and designed in a way to disenfranchise persons with disabilities.
Saturday was the final day for the recruitment drive by Giftland OfficeMax, which on Friday commenced a three-day interviewing and hiring drive for its soon-to-be-opened Giftland Mall located at Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown.
Up to late Saturday, interviewers related to the Guyana Chronicle that between Friday and Saturday just over 2,000 persons had been interviewed and of that number, 90% have been shortlisted to join the team.

This publication was told by a representative of the company who asked to be unnamed, that the recruitment drive has brought another issue to the fore, which has surely got the attention of the company.
Based on the applications which were submitted and the applicants who were present at the interviewing sessions, it was realised that the bulk of persons who sought employment were from the East Coast of Demerara, specifically between Plaisance and Mahaica.
The Chronicle was told that among them are male and female single parents; retired professionals; university graduates and a large number of high school graduates and drop-outs.
The discovery has signalled the need for more job creation, and also highlights the difficulties that persons from between those areas have in finding employment.
When the Chronicle spoke with persons who live along the East Coast about their inability to secure jobs, many cited distance from the city as the problem.
Others disclosed that they had been employed, but were laid off from jobs for untimely arrival at work and in some cases absenteeism, on account of transportation woes on the East Coast, especially in the mornings.
The company employee said that there will not be an extension of the interviewing process, even as more persons are expected to show up today, the final day of the three-day recruitment drive.
Many persons were immediately confirmed to be part of the part-time pool of employees, while others were hired for long-term and full-time employment. The recruitment drive was also able to bring another aspect to the fore, according to officials who spoke with this newspaper.
Company CEO, Roy Beepat explained that the company will revolutionise the way Guyanese go about shopping. He spoke of the opening hours and benefits to employees.
According to him, there will be close to 1800 persons who are expected to be directly employed as a result of the opening of the mall, while thousands more would be able to earn through the mere existence of the facility.
The Giftland Mall will also be operating its own electricity plant which has the capacity to power thousands of homes, according to the company CEO.

(By Leroy Smith)