Guysuco donates $13M in critical equipment to National Archives
History was created yesterday when the National Archives received a camera and accessories worth $13 million from the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) to help in preserving the country's history. The micrographic equipment which was acquired from the company GKL of England will be used in reformatting documents for their preservation. The acquisition of the equipment, which is expected to have a life expectancy of 300 years, is the greatest achievement thus far of the national archives, according to Archivist (ag) Ivor Rodrigues. The archivist also described the machinery as the most up to date of its kind and said it was currently being used at the United States Library of Congress. Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Gail Teixeira, under whose responsibility the department falls, and whom the archivist said played an integral part in ensuring the project became a reality, received the gift on behalf of the National Archives. In brief remarks after the handing over, she stated that the government was indeed grateful to GUYSUCO for its assistance in acquiring the product. Teixeira noted that because of the type of project, it was difficult to access funds to run it off since spending would naturally be directed at other sectors considered vital in the public domain. She also stated that a further $12 million had been garnered from the Lotto funds to complete structural works at the site of the national museum annex and to pay for technical assistance which came in the form of a consultant from the Cayman Islands. Also speaking at the ceremony were former chairman of the National Archives Advisory Committee, David Yhann Jr, who traced the conception of the project which he stated was one of the goals of the committee. The other initiative which he said the advisory body was interested in seeing achieved was the construction of a multi-purpose archives. He thanked the GUYSUCO board, especially its former marketing director Dr Ian McDonald, who was part of the advisory committee, for the assistance in making the dream a reality. Chairman of GUYSUCO, Vic Oditt, stated that the corporation's board had to take a number of factors into consideration in determining the sustainability of the project. These, he proudly stated, "all scored full marks". The history of Guyana, according to Oditt, is intertwined with the history of sugar and as such the corporation found no difficulty in approving funding. He urged the persons who have been trained to operate the equipment not to entertain thoughts of migration. GUYSUCO, which has a substantial archives had also requested, as part of the agreement for funding, that its documents be prepared for posterity.
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