Gov’t incentives boosting job creation, economic growth – CB Group

The incentives and policies laid out by the PPP/C Administration for the private sector have been boosting job creation and propelling economic development across Guyana.

The government has been investing heavily in the sector, which it believes is a critical link in the chain of economic advancement.

Businesses, in return, have been doing their part to invest in Guyana’s economy through the provision of jobs and essential services.

Speaking during a recent interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI), Amar Chetram, co-owner of the Chetram Brothers (CB) Group of Companies in Linden, Region 10, said the business, which has five subsidiaries, has been able to provide some 250 jobs.

“The CB group of companies have set themselves up in a way where they are able to capture the construction sector when it blooms, and it is blooming. In terms of job creation, being an owner for five companies which are part of the CB group of companies… we employ in the vicinity of 100 to 250 workers, depending on the projects,” he expressed.

He said due to the number of developmental projects being undertaken in Region 10, it was difficult to find workers as they were involved in those projects.

“Kurupakari for example, the Linden to Mabura road… you’ll find workers moving from Linden to the highway to Georgetown,” he said.

Chetram stated that there were now several jobs created due to the recent boom in the construction sector.

The businessman also expressed hope that the company would be considered by the government for larger construction projects.

The homes will target low to moderate-income earners, as well as young professionals.

“We have set up for big projects. We have a facility we are setting up now, which is a facility for pre-fab houses. We have pre-fab walls and so on…. We are trying to get a house finished from start to finish, within 21 days,” he explained.

Just recently, the company officially commissioned two new companies: Caribbean Concrete Guyana Inc. and Linden Medical Supplies in Amelia’s Ward, Linden.

The two companies will bring the total investments by the CB Group of Companies in Region 10 to approximately $400 million.

Their other companies include a sawmilling entity, a roofing company and CB Housing Development Inc.

CB Housing Development Inc is responsible for the construction of 20 houses as part of the government’s commitment to providing 1,000 homes in Region 10. Two of those have been completed and sold thus far.

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh earlier this month said Guyana’s 36.4 per cent GDP growth in the first half of this year and its projected annual growth of 56 per cent are reflective of the PPP/C Government’s policy stance and private sector investment.

He said the government has attached the strongest level of importance to the achievement of sustainable economic growth, which he noted is also testimony to the efforts being made by the private sector to continue to invest and expand. He relayed that the private sector’s willingness to invest is a direct response to the policy environment the administration has created.