— as gov’t moves to resuscitate Kara Kara Call Centre

SOME 300 jobs will soon be created as the Public Telecommunications Ministry moves to resuscitate the old Toucan Connection Call Centre in Kara Kara which lies on the outskirts of Linden.

The ministry has made provisions of $60 million for the project in its $4.4 billion 2019 budget which was approved by the Committee of Supply last Wednesday.
The project, which was under the ministry’s capital provisions, was scrutinised by members of the parliamentary opposition who enquired how soon the project will be completed.
Public Telecommunications Minister Catherine Hughes said the building needs extreme repairs but should be completed by the end of 2019.

According to a past report, the Guyana Stores building, which housed the Toucan Connection Call Centre in Linden in which scores of young Lindeners were employed before closure in 2015, remained empty and while many investors have expressed interest in setting up shop in the building, Region 10 officials had blamed the National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL) for holding up progress.

Lindeners were calling for Qualfon to establish a branch in Linden since the recent announcement of the building’s expansion and aggressive recruitment campaign.
Regional Chairman, Renis Morian had said that while Qualfon has not expressed interest, several other investors had done so and have put forward their business plans, but to date, nothing has materialised while the business centre continues to be dormant.
A top Linden Enterprise Network (LEN) official, who asked not to be named, said a section of the building had been handed over to LEN.

The official told Guyana Chronicle that several investors have seriously engaged LEN in renting the other sections and have presented extensive business proposals.
“Nothing has been realised; however, NICIL is holding the building hostage while awaiting payment from the Ministry of Finance for extensive repairs that were done.

“The roof needs changing, there are computers in there, furniture in there that is left to wet every day and you know what I am hurt about; people in Linden need jobs, even if it is minimum wage,” the official said.