Jagdeo calls for Gov’t to support children of fired sugar workers

Government parliamentarian, Charrandass Persaud had called for fired sugar workers to be prosecuted for not sending their children to school but Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo today upbraided him for making such uncaring remarks.

Jagdeo said instead of making such insensitive comments, the Government should put measures in place to support the children of sugar workers who would have been rendered jobless following the closure of estates across the country.

Persaud posted on Facebook several days ago that the fired sugar workers who complain of financial difficulties should be charged for keeping their children away from school.

Persaud suggested that those parents are only keeping their children from school for political reasons, to please the Peoples Progressive Party.

But the Party’s General Secretary labelled the parliamentarian’s remarks as uncaring and insensitive.

When asked by the News Room to comment on the matter, Jagdeo said instead of making unhelpful comments, the Government should put measures in place to assist the fired sugar workers to send their children to school.

“This Government took away the $10,000 grant from school kids, they could easily restore it for the sugar workers and their kids because we had 167,000 children they took it away from, in this case, it would be just a few thousand that they will have to restore it to.”

Jagdeo added: “Granger has been getting all these buses and putting his name on the buses everywhere else. He could get some buses and put his name on them for those communities.”

In fact, Jagdeo said the PPP councillors in Berbice passed a motion for the government to provide some sort of support so affected children can go to school but he alleged that the Regional Executive Officer is refusing to write the relevant ministers on the matter.

On the issue of the sugar industry, Jagdeo also expressed concerns that the government can’t seem to get right the simple task of appointing a new Board of  Directors of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo)

“Imagine this government can’t get anything done well, so they screwed up the industry…now just appointing aboard, they have so much confusion, it’s as though they can’t get the simplest things right,” he posited.

NICIL had published in the local dailies that Cabinet has approved the appointment of the new Board of Directors. But Minister of State Joseph Harmon subsequently informed the media that he had an issue with the announcement of the decision but he did not give reasons why. The Stabroek News reported too that Harmon said the appointments have not been approved as Cabinet is still discussing the matter.