Guyana: Minister of Labour Hamilton meets residents of Muritaro on April 4

Guyana: Residents of Muritaro and Malali, Region Ten, were paid a visit on Monday, April 4, 2022, by Joseph Hamilton, Minister of Labour, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Board of Industrial Training (BIT), Richard Maughn, and Senior Technical Officer with responsibility for the Region, Leon Greaves, among other officials.

Community meetings were held in the villages to introduce the residents to the services offered by the bit and the ministry. The first meeting was held at Muritaro, then Malali, located more than 50 miles up the Demerara River from Linden, with a population of 325 and 600 people, respectively.

Minister Hamilton and his team were welcomed by the Toshaos of the villages before the meeting followed. The villagers conduct logging to sustain their livelihood, and through this, the minister informed them that the measures would be put in place to introduce Small Engine Repairs, Heavy Duty Equipment Operation, and Garment Construction courses offered by the bit.

The residents from both Guyana villages applauded the initiative and informed the minister that a few persons from each village were fortunate to be a part of the 440 Community Service Officers that received theoretical and practical training by the Ministry of Labour in collaboration with the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs.

After hearing such great news, the minister hinted to the gathering that bit’s work would be much easier since there are already existing beneficiaries in the villages trained by the BIT.

“We will use those trained to become tutors and train others; if this was not the case, we would have had to select these persons and enrol them to receive training from the bit done at the Linden Technical Institute. However, this is progress, and the technical officer in the region will be revisiting the community to start the process to deliver these Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to you, the people of Muritaro and Malali,” Minister Hamilton explained.

Region Ten, Technical Officer, Tenesha Dennis, accompanied by Senior Technical Officer, Leon Greaves, is scheduled to visit the villages in the future.