Some 200 residents of Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), will be employed once the refurbished call centre is fully operationalised.
This is according to Prime Minister Ret’d Brigadier Mark Phillips, who toured the refurbished Toucan Call Centre building, located at Kara Kara, Linden, on Saturday.
The call centre was refurbished at a total cost of $142 million.
Speaking on the issue of development, the Prime Minister said that Linden will not be left out of his Government’s development plans.
“It is our intention, as part of the overriding principle, to create employment for the people of Linden…So Linden will not be left out of the plans for Guyana. The focus now is on the development of all Guyana and all Guyanese,” he is quoted as saying in a release from the Office of the Prime Minister.
Phillips added that “we will put out Expressions of Interest for investors to come to inspect and to set up their businesses here—by doing that, they will create employment.”
He said the aim is to ensure that Lindeners benefit from the project, adding that the refurbishing of the call centre is in keeping with the Government’s plan of furthering social and economic development within the region while providing a conducive environment for investment.
Such initiatives, he noted, will be accepted and committed to not only in Region 10 but throughout the length and breadth of the county.
Meanwhile, Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton, who was present at the facility, said that the Ministry through its the Board of Industrial Training, is currently exploring having training programmes and other opportunities available to residents in the region.
“We have a responsibility as the Ministry of Labour to create conditions regarding stabilised employment, so we have an interest in this matter [Toucan Call Centre], and so I am here to lend support to the Prime Minister.”
Additionally, Regional Executive Officer for Region 10, Dwight John, who also toured the facility, lauded the initiative and posited that it would bring much-needed economic development to the region.
“I am thankful to the Prime Minister’s office and the Government of Guyana for the fast rehabilitation of the call centre after being in disrepair for a while. It is a wonderful initiative by the Government, and I am thankful that the Prime Minister has stated that other such developmental activities will be coming to the region,” the REO said.
