-hints at merger involving major Guyanese company
Outgoing Canadian High Commissioner Lilian Chatterjee today said that Guyana lacks a skilled and sizeable labour force to benefit from the “explosive” oil-linked growth that is coming and she urged the country not to resist foreign investment but use its judgement on who to trust.
“This is the Canadian approach. We will not flood you with an influx of Canadian employees. We will provide Canadian expertise –– but in order to have true partnership, Canadians will rely on training a skilled workforce in Guyana. But let me be clear – that workforce does not exist right now in Guyana. You do not have the population – yet – to be the engine of your rapid growth. Many oil-producing countries in the Middle East understood that. So you should accept that others – and I suspect they will be mostly your geographic neighbours from CARICOM and the Americas – to support your growth at the outset until Guyana can supply the skilled workforce it needs. Even today, Canada welcomes immigrants to provide the skilled workforce we need to fuel our growth. Don’t resist foreign investment but use your judgement on who you can trust”, she told the launch.
She also created a buzz when she hinted at an impending merger involving a major Guyanese company and a Canadian one.
Citing Canada’s centuries-old ties with Guyana, Chatterjee said Ottawa is a trusted partner.
“So who can you trust? This is where trusted partners like Canada come in. We were here when you had no oil. We have been a strong and reliable friend for more than a century and we have supported your development all along the way.
She added that the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service laid the groundwork for approximately 20 partnerships between Canadian and Guyanese private sector organizations in the oil and gas sector. Canada also spearheaded the signing of a 3-year MOU to share public sector capacity between Newfoundland’s Ministry of Natural Resources and the Government of Guyana.
“You can rely on the Canadian High Commission to continue its strenuous efforts to promote Canadian and Guyanese collaboration in a broad range of sectors, well beyond oil and gas”, she added.
Comments
It is evident that Guyana will not have the labor force to grow its economy fuelled by oil revenue. It is high time that the government puts in some thought about the type of immigration the country needs and wants. As mentioned in the article, it would be wise to recruit skilled labor from the CARICOM nations and out of the Guyanese diaspora in the US, Canada, and the UK. The examples, such as the unfounded and unexplained termination of Dr. Adams tenure as Head of the EPA, are surely not encouraging news for the skilled Guyanese diaspora considering taking up a job in Guyana.
There is hostility towards remigrants coming from the PPP camp.
This is why Guyana will never develop. Every country in the world is begging for wealthier remigrants to return with their life savings. To retire and invest.
But not in Guyana. The crap I hear from the so-called PPP supporter when it comes to remigrants of certain ethnic backgrounds will make me angry tonight. Conflating retirees with deportees and Haitian refugees.
What does the cutlass man have to contribute to society other than the whooping US$1.5 B handouts to bail out the sugar industry?
Remigrant Guyanese are returning with investments, cars and money, and the average PPP supporter on the street has disdain for men like Dr. Vincent Adams.
Read what Freddie Kissoon writes about Dr. Vincent Adams. Who in GT knows about oil and environmental legislation? Dr. Vincent Adams made a million in America working for good jobs, returned for the PNC times, and now Dr. Adams is being treated like a deportee.
Unless the average PPP supporter understand that they either choose multi-national corporations to import cheap labour, or to encourage remigrants to benefit the locals, then only will they understand.
I believe that it’s unfair for the PPP to dream of stealing oil money and faking refugee claims in America and Canada to launder the money.