…as Govt begins $250,000 distribution to sugar workers fired by APNU/AFC
The Government of Guyana’s cash transfer of $250,000 to severed sugar workers who were fired under the APNU/AFC will, in the long term, add up to hundreds of millions of dollars circulating in the village economy.
In Enmore, one of the places the Government visited to hand out these cheques on Saturday, this will total almost $375 million.
“And at that time, many persons said we were making promises for people to vote for the PPP to get back in Government. But here we are today (Saturday). And today is very important because, as a party, when we make promises, we always deliver on our promises,” Mustapha said.
“Obviously, we are not a Government who would dictate what you would do. You have to consider how best you would utilise those resources, whether you want to invest it in a small business or some livestock, or a little garden at the back of your yard. That is a decision you have to make.”
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha and Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh visited Enmore to hand out $250,000 in cheques to severed sugar workers. In his address to the workers, Minister Singh spoke of the importance of the cash grant, and even summed up the total cash that would circulate in Enmore.
“Let us talk about what this transfer represents. It represents a transfer to each severed worker, a transfer of $250,000. Now, of course, that is to individual workers. Let us consider in Enmore alone what that will represent. The Enmore area alone, we will be distributing more than 1500 such cheques, and in total, that will see a transfer of almost $375 million transferred to the Enmore community.
“And if all 1500 persons are here and we distribute all, by the time we leave here, Enmore will have a cash injection of nearly $375 million,” the Minister said.
The Minister expressed hope that the recipients of this one-off payment would make meaningful investments that would bring in an income. According to him, it is advisable that the recipients of the cash transfer carefully consider how they would use the money.
Meanwhile, Minister Mustapha noted that the cash transfers are a further manifestation of the Government’s promises. He recalled the devastation the closure of the sugar estates caused on the sugar belt communities, and made it clear that the Government was only righting a wrong.
“We are here to fulfill a promise… when we were in the Opposition, we said that when we returned to Government, we would ensure that the sugar workers who were severed received some form of benefit, although they would have already received their severance pay.
Initially, a handful of the severed workers were called up to receive their Bank of Guyana cheques, before the main distribution began. Della Rai, one of the persons who collected her money, said she plans to put the cash to good use.
“Well, I’m planning to extend something or go in some business, some sort of business,” she explained to the media.
The main cash distribution at Enmore was not without its hiccups, however, as a crowd of workers swarmed the distribution office before the exercise could even begin. At one point, Police had to be called, and those in the crowd were warned to remove themselves from the door, lest they be forcibly removed.
The one-off payment to the severed workers was first made known by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo back in October. It was also announced that this payout would end up amounting to some $1.8 billion.
It will go towards workers who lost their jobs when the former Government closed the estates at Wales, Enmore and Rose Hall. Former sugar workers at Wales also received cheques on Saturday, while those in Berbice will get theirs on Sunday (today).
Some 7000 sugar workers had lost their jobs, when the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) moved to downsize the sector; the majority came from Region Six.
