First Lady pushes for greater attention to corporate social responsibility by investors

First Lady of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, H.E Arya Ali, on Thursday, met with Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest), Mr. Peter Ramsaroop, to discuss areas for future collaboration.

With foreign companies lined up at Guyana’s doors, the First Lady underscored the need for these potential investors to recognise their role in helping to improve the lives of the Guyanese people.

“Foreign investment, in any part of the world, can be a very good thing. What must accompany that investment though is a conscious effort to give back to the country and people you are benefitting from,” she noted.

As such, the First Lady charged the CEO to ensure that when companies express their interest in investing in Guyana, they must be made aware of specific areas where they can give back.

She explained that one area of focus should be employing persons with disability.

“For instance, we need to look at how we can engage these companies to guarantee employment for persons with disability. A quota system can be introduced where, perhaps for every 50 employees, at least two must be persons with disability,” she suggested.

She also pitched her adopt-an-orphanage idea, where her Office is seeking to have businesses cover the expenses for underfunded orphanages for a minimum of six months.

“So, we have to look at incorporating these things into our agreements with foreign and even some local companies. At the end of the day, we must ensure that all of Guyana is taken care of,” the First Lady stressed.

She also provided an overview of her National Beautification Project which seeks to provide a ‘face-lift’ for Guyana, as the country prepares for massive economic transformation and an influx of tourists.

For his part, Mr. Ramsaroop expressed his desire to work closely with the Office of the First Lady to support those initiatives.

He highlighted too, that GO-Invest ensures that it prioritizes corporate social responsibility when engaging potential investors.

“When we engage potential investors, we make sure that we discuss how they can fulfil their corporate social responsibility. Many of these companies are happy to do it. They want to invest, not just to make a profit, but to improve the lives of people,” the CEO revealed.

The CEO also added that any effort made to enhance the scenic qualities of Guyana – as is being done with the National Beautification Project – will receive the full support of GO-Invest.