CGX Energy Inc. yesterday donated more than $14 million in Morning Glory Cereal to the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) to assist Guyanese who have been affected by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
During a brief ceremony yesterday morning at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue, Executive Director of CGX Energy Inc., Professor Suresh Narine, revealed that the company in collaboration with its partner, Frontier Energy, has donated 40,000 boxes of locally manufactured cereals, to the CDC. Each box, he said, contains five rice cereal meal replacements.
He noted that they were motivated to make the donation by the president’s call for the private sector to assist in the COVID-19 response. However, he said, they decided to include a local food product because it is very important to sustain local agro processing ventures, which are hard hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Narine also revealed that they will be donating $10 million later this week that will aid CDC’s task of addressing the needs of the citizenry during this time.
Meanwhile, the Minister with the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar, who was present at the ceremony, expressed thanks on behalf of the Prime Minister Mark Phillips, who has been tasked with overseeing the CDC’s COVID-19 response.
Indar also expressed thanks to those businesses that have been assisting citizens over the past four months but stressed that initiatives such as this one need to be ramped up so that communities that are affected by the pandemic in the hinterland can also benefit from those donations.
Director-General of CDC Lieutenant-Colonel Kester Craig, while expressing his gratitude, said that the donations will bring meaningful relief to citizens.
“Those companies that have come on board so far are ExxonMobil, Tullow Offshore, SBM Offshore and today, CGX Energy Inc. It is good to see the Oil and Gas Companies supporting humanitarian efforts,” Craig added before calling on all the private sector to continue supporting this vital effort that can help to flatten the curve.
He noted that CDC will work closely with the new Task Force and Cabinet Sub-Committee to ensure these items get to the people that are mostly affected.
