Seminars in Manchester to Look at Opportunities Outside of Bauxite

The Manchester Chamber of Commerce and the Social Development Commission (SDC) will, on Thursday July 23, kick off a series of seminars, which will examine opportunities outside of the bauxite sector.
Under the theme: ‘Life After Bauxite’, the sessions will look at agriculture/greenhouse technology; tissue culture; community tourism; and the knowledge-based industry. This Thursday’s event, which will be held at the Golf View Hotel, will explore opportunities in agriculture.
President of the Chamber, Winston Lawson, informed that the seminars, which will be held quarterly, are aimed at empowering citizens in the parish. “They will seek to feature industries, we believe as a Chamber, can make a substantial contribution to the economy in Manchester and the future of the parish,” he stated.
Manchester Parish Manager for the SDC, Rose Griffiths, told JIS News that “it is prudent to host a series of seminars, in terms of the opportunities that may avail themselves at this critical time. We are choosing not to focus on the negative side of it, but to look critically at opportunities.”
Presenters at Thursday’s event will be General Manager of the Christiana Potato Growers Association, Alvin Murray; and Manchester Parish Agricultural Manager for the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Donald Robinson.
The Manchester economy has been affected by the suspension of operations at Windalco’s Kirkvine plant.
Windalco has been affected by the global downturn that has forced down the price of aluminum on world markets.