Saturday, December 16th Sugar layoffs to hit 4,000 by yearend
By December 29, approximately 4,000 employees across the sugar industry will be without a job, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) says. Speaking to Stabroek News on Thursday, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the sugar company, Audreyanna Thomas confirmed that around 4,000 workers across the various estates are going to be made redundant before the end of the year. At last count, the industry was said to have had approximately 17,000 workers. When questioned about the breakdown of numbers for each estate, Thomas related that the sugar company is currently in the process of auditing their figures and is only able to provide an industrywide number. In a bid to assist the retrenched workers and the sugar dependent communities and their surrounding environs which will suffer from the imminent mass layoffs and closure of estates, Thomas emphasized that GuySuCo will still be pursuing their Sustainable Communities Development Programme, Alternative Livelihood Programme and the Social Resilience Initiative.
Three charged with gunpoint robbery of bus passengers at McDoom
Three men were yesterday charged with robbing a minibus driver and several passengers at gunpoint of cash and valuables at McDoom, East Bank Demerara. City Magistrate Leron Daly heard the charges against Anthony Daymon, Eon Trotman and Kevin Abrams. The first charge against the trio stated that in the company of each other and armed with a firearm they on December 13, at McDoom, robbed Lilawattee Persaud of a $50,000 Blu phone, a bag, a purse and $1500 cash, the total value of the items being $55,000. They also allegedly robbed Saheeda Azeez of a $40,000 Samsung phone, documents and a purse, totalling $43,000 in value. Another charge stated that the three defendants robbed Ryan Thomas of $4,000 and Dawnette Francis of a bag and a purse, totalling $6,500 in value. Anthony was then read a charge which alleged that on the same December 13th at Agricola he had a .38 Taurus revolver in his possession without being the holder of a licensed firearm. He was also charged with having four live .38 rounds of ammunition in his possession without being the holder of a licence.