— Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce urges Gov’t

PRESIDENT of the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce (CCCC), Mohamed Raffik, has called for the establishment of a mini-Ministry of Agriculture headquarters in Berbice since the county is the breadbasket of the country.

He made the call during his recent address at the CCCC annual dinner and award ceremony held at the CCCC headquarters at Williamsburg, Corentyne, Berbice.

“The Ministry of Agriculture should be the foremost movement in this country; it should be working more closely with NAREI [National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute] and helping to identify which variety of crops are better suited in each area. We need to be more serious about agriculture. If you look at New Amsterdam, the Ministry of Agriculture building is old and shabby; the same can be said for the building at No. 63 [Village]. It is high time we get serious and
have a mini-Ministry of Agriculture headquarters right here in Berbice,” he told the gathering of mostly businesspersons to a thunderous round of applause.

Raffik said the chamber would like to see in the 2018 budget more resources directed towards non-traditional agriculture crops and products to promote diversification and food security, given that the sugar industry is failing miserably.

The dinner and awards ceremony was held under the theme “Ensuring Food Security and Economic Growth through Agricultural Development,” which the chamber president said was carefully chosen because Berbice, which traditionally depended on sugar, needs to diversify to remain economically viable.

He also used the opportunity to reiterate the chamber’s call for a delay in closure of the Rose Hall Estate until mid-2018, contending that more time is needed for the 2400 plus workers to find other avenues to earn incomes.

Raffik also suggested that local businesses with a successful track record should be given an opportunity to run the estates if they expressed an interest.

“We say to the government, open up the monopoly and give businessmen like Nand Persaud the opportunity to run the estates. We know those who are managing it has failed, it is not profitable but give these businessmen a chance to see if they can make it profitable as a last-ditch effort and see if they can make it happen then we know for sure it can’t work,” he told the gathering.

Also speaking at the event was Captain Gerald Gouveia, who spoke on behalf of the Private Sector Commission.

He called for greater partnership between government and the private sector, noting that both need to work together in order to create jobs and help young people to stay, invest, live and develop Guyana.

“I say to you the single greatest challenge facing Guyana is job creation. We need to create proper paying jobs for our young people where they can live their lives, buy house, car etc. But who will create those jobs? The government don’t create jobs, the private sector does. All we are asking is that the government create the right environment and move out of the way.  We don’t want a government to pressure the people or the private sector where we can’t be certain about tomorrow,” Gouveia said.

He also called for more serious marketing and allocation of more money to the tourism sector, pointing out that the more the word spread about the beauty of Guyana, the more visitors will be attracted to this country.

The awards ceremony and dinner was brought to a close with the presentation of awards to businessmen Poonai Bhigroog, Imran Hamid and Tejpaul Adjodea of the CCCC for their sterling contributions to the economic development of the region.

Director of the University of Guyana Berbice Campus, Dr. Gomathinayagam Subramanian, was also awarded for his contribution towards agricultural development in the region.

Certificates were also distributed to members of the business community for their contributions to the business sector in the region.