Sugar workers warned against hasty investments

By Devina Samaroo

Private Sector officials on Monday, January 29, 2018, cautioned the retrenched sugar workers against investing all their monies into business ventures they may know little about.

The business moguls addressed the former employees at a business forum organised by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) in collaboration with the Ministry of Business.

Prominent Guyanese proprietor, Captain Gerry Gouveia told the workers not to make a hasty decision and invest all their severance into a business venture without understanding the risks.

“Do not go rushing into any project that you haven’t thought out. I urge you, think about it clearly, the people who are urging you to become entrepreneurs, they have good intentions, but people need to know how things work. We need people who understand the sleepless nights entrepreneurs go through and you need to understand the same things,” Gouveia charged to the former workers.

President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Deodat Indar – who is the Finance Director at Sterling Products – also told the former workers to manage their money wisely.

“Be careful how you spend it, it is little, it is a scarce resource for you, spend it wisely. In fact, don’t even spend it, try your best to make sure you do it in a way that can sustain your family first because if you go an invest it in the bank, you can get 1.5% interest and that you’ll have to deduct 20% withholding tax form, it’s nothing,” Indar advised.

During their presentations, the private sector officials reminded that they never supported the closure of estates.

With thousands unemployed, the Private Sector Commission undertook to host various forums to connect the retrenched workers with the human resources department of companies under its umbrella with the aim of finding them jobs.

Also at the business forum, Chief Executive Officer of the Small Business Bureau Dr Lovell Porter encouraged workers to visit the entity to learn about how they can receive grants and loans to start up small businesses.

In addition to helping the former workers gain meaningful employment, GuySuCo committed to setting up counseling groups to assist them socially as they transition during this period.