By Cathy Richards
Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud has pledged to make representation for a trained school teacher to be deployed to Bamboo Landing.
Persaud made the commitment during a visit to Variety Woods and Greenheart Ltd (VWGL) at Bamboo Landing along the Berbice River in Region Ten on Wednesday.
The request was made by the owner of VWGL Sheik Niamatali.
According to Niamatali, his wood-producing company employs persons from far-flung communities including Kumaka, Manawarin, Annai, Wowetta, Rupertee, Canje, Nappi, Lethem, Linden, Moblissa and several other locations.
The company is keen on maintaining close family bonds and has put in place facilities to accommodate the immediate family members of its staff including nursery and primary schools, medical facilities, telephone service among other necessities. He said the management was forced to close the school because of a lack of teacher. Appeals to the Department of Education of Region Ten to send a teacher to the area have gone in vain, he said.
Consequently, school-aged children and their mothers were sent back to their respective villages in order to access schools in those areas.
During the one day visit to the area Minister Persaud toured the concession and was high in praise of the standards and practices being upheld by the company’s management. He said the operations of the company fit into the Low Carbon Development (LCDS) framework and showed that the programme can work.
He also alluded to the fact that no one on the workforce complained of maltreatment. He complimented the management for this saying that whenever he visited other concessions this was not so.
Briefing the minister and his delegation on the operation’s challenges and progress, Director of VWGL Rommel Niamatali said the company valued the contributions made by employees. He said it was convinced that in order to achieve the goals and objectives set, it is necessary not only to have a satisfied workforce on also one which was trained to carry out the various operational activities in a safe and satisfactory manner and in accordance with rules and guidelines set out by the Guyana Forestry Commission.
“General workers from hinterland communities are given opportunities to develop skills and move to higher categories within the scope of our operation. This is a policy by VWL to improve the skill levels of all its employees. In the event of emergencies VWL has the facilities to effect evacuations immediately and arrangements are in place with private hospitals to deal with emergencies which may arise,” he stated.
He went on the state that over the years, improvement of the physical and social infrastructure had not been easy; nonetheless the company has decided to make substantial capital investment and keep pace with technology relevant to its operations.
As an integrated company, VWGL is involved in the construction and maintenance of some main roads and infrastructure works to production sites, the development and upkeep of spur roads, bridges and crossings to the extraction/harvesting areas and transportation of the raw materials from the forest to the sawmill site where cutting, dressing and further processing is carried out.
Niamatali pointed out that the annual harvesting targets are set by the GFC and internal operational difficulties for failure to meet targets are not considered acceptable. “The consequences of a breakdown are not unlike those of a sugar estate where if harvesting operations in the field are disrupted then the factory operations are adversely affected,” he said adding that some workers do migrate or seek employment in other avenues.
Over the past four years, VWGL has exported an average of 85% of its produce. Recently shipments were made to a large company in Japan and VWGL is currently in negotiation for a long-term contract with the Japanese who have emphasized quality, continuity of supplies on a timely basis and set out in an agreement which will provide penalties for non-compliance.
Niamatali said that over the past few years demand for wood products from traditional markets have fallen substantially.
He said that on difficult and challenging occasions VWGL has sought the assistance and guidance of the government and in particular the relevant agencies including the GFC and Go Invest. “We must point out however that decisions on a timely basis are important since no industry, no undertaking can keep 140 persons on its payroll for a prolonged period without any production,” emphasized Niamatali.
Persaud said that his visit to the area was overdue by more than a year and he was very happy to have made the trip on Wednesday he said through the GFC efforts would be made to ensure that VWGL remains in existence and hope that the company would be a model for others to follow.
Among those who accompanied the minister were Commissioner of Forests James Singh who said that his officers conduct routine and impromptu visits to the concession and Credit Manager of Demerara Bank Ltd Andre Lam who described the company as an excellent customer that has been with the bank since 1994.