Minister of State, Joseph Harmon has disclosed that the government received 70 “unsolicited Expressions of Interest” from investors to turn around the ailing sugar industry.
Assuring residents at the opening of the New Amsterdam Town Week on Wednesday evening (November 22, 2017), Harmon said that the Government took sugar workers into consideration when it made decisions regarding the industry and that interests were expressed from countries as far as Australia.
“I will say this to you that in spite of all of the noise and confusion being made since this was made known, since the Government established a Special Purposes Unit (established under the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited to divest GuySuCo’s resources) for that purpose I can say to you, after the last month or so we have had over seventy unsolicited bids or expressions of interest in the sugar industry of Guyana,” the Minister was quoted as saying in a statement from the Ministry of the Presidency.
The statement added that Minister Harmon told those gathered that the Special Projects Unit has received promising responses from the unions-Guyana Agricultural Workers’ Union (GAWU) and National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE), to work with the Government to ensure that the industry remains viable.
On this note, the Minister of State said that sugar workers can look to a bright future as the Government is prepared to do whatever it can to ensure that their livelihood and the industry are protected.
“We will continue to work with GAWU and NACCIE and we will continue to work with all of the people, all of the stakeholders in the industry, to ensure that the welfare of the workers is paramount and I am confident that with the expressions of interest that we have received that we are going to turn this thing around,” he was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Minister Harmon urged the Town Council, Regional administration and citizens to work in a collaborative way so that together they can move the town forward.
This year’s New Amsterdam Town Week commemorates the 126th anniversary of the Town and Harmon said it is an opportunity to celebrate the Town’s heritage and history at the community level as well as to reminisce on those good things, which have taken place in the town.
