Business leaders urge gov’t to address high business costs, customs hurdles
July 22, 2015 | By KNews | Filed Under News, Source
Manufacturers are urging the new administration to take steps to address business hurdles, including the high costs of doing business in Guyana.
Speaking at Monday’s mid-year business luncheon of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) at the Pegasus Hotel, President of the body, Norman McLean, noted that it is common knowledge that the pool of vocational and advanced skills in the country remains small.
It would indeed require significant input from both the Government and the private sector to increase the availability of trained skills which would in turn enable Guyana to attract huge foreign investments.
“Apart from a limited labour force, the high cost of doing business in Guyana also keeps the investors away. We’re referring here to astronomical energy charges, high Customs fees and long, undue delays to process import and export documents. We were pleased to learn that the new government is going to confront these issues in the short term.”
Present at the meeting were several top business leaders and Government officials including guest speaker, Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge and Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan. Also there were members of the diplomatic community and representatives of funding agencies.
According to McLean, a former army chief, who has worked closely with a number of international mining companies, the country’s services spectrum which included fashion design, music, tourism and the fast-growing ICT sector, have become all major revenue earners.
“In fact, in Guyana and the wider Caribbean, this sector is becoming more and more lucrative. It actually accounts for about 62 percent of the accumulative revenue generated across the region.”
He disclosed that the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA) has taken the next logical step towards consolidating the burgeoning industry.
“CEDA has created the Caribbean Network of Services Coalitions and now each country is required to register its body of Services Industries with the CNSC. Guyana, the GMSA in fact, is currently in the process of consolidating our national body and we hope to secure membership of the Caribbean Network before the fourth quarter of this year.”
At that point, Guyana will become eligible for funding and technical support to develop the music industry, specialty health care, ICT and a range of other industrial and social services. This funding through Caribbean Export is provided by the European Union.
McLean noted that Guyana, positioned as it is on the Atlantic Coast, has a distinct advantage in terms of access to foreign markets.
He stressed that the private sector is now more committed than ever to changing the business landscape from reliance on the sale of raw products to promoting new businesses that process rice, fruits and vegetables, meat and milk, wood, bauxite by-products, and the “amazing” variety of medicinal plants into secondary and tertiary products.
“Our in-country market is small by comparison, so the emphasis has to be placed on sourcing external markets alongside improving procedures at the GRA (Guyana Revenue Authority).
Congratulating the new administration, McLean pledged GMSA’s “unreserved support” for the national development programmes, “even while we hold your feet to the fire.”
He noted that the new Government is experiencing the proverbial baptism by fire with the simmering border controversy sparked by the claims of Venezuela on resource-rich Essequibo, the largest county.
“It is unjust, it is illegitimate, barefaced, and to use local parlance, rank eye-pass. I’m referring to our neighbour to the west who recently upped the ante in its mission to bully Guyana into submission so they could take what is rightfully ours. This latest Venezuelan attempt to annex our Exclusive Economic Zone has the potential to create more multilateral difficulties (for them) than they bargained for since it also threatens the Eastern Caribbean and Suriname’s wealth, their peace and security.”
