Plummeting business sinks all sectors  

… from malls to markets

Several months after the post election tension has presumably died, citizens as well as business owners are crying out as Guyana’s economy continues to be at a standstill, so much so that business in general has began to plummet, thereby affecting the growth of all sectors.
Local commentators have stated that the health of Guyana’s economy is deteriorating and are calling on the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) Administration to focus on introducing new and innovative measures to stimulate the country’s economy.

Political Commentator and Economist, Ramon Gaskin has been very vocal in this regard, saying that Guyana’s economy is at a “dead standstill… It is not moving,” he stated. According to Gaskin, this economic downturn has had a negative impact on the production levels of the major industries, such as rice, sugar, gold, bauxite and mining.

“Rice is in problems, sugar is the same, gold price is low and bauxite production is down,” he pointed out. Moreover, Gaskin highlighted that investments are also at a standstill in Guyana currently as the country is unable to attach any new investors of recent. “People are not investing as much as they used to,” he said.

Nevertheless, the Economist outlined that the small local communities can be the gateway for the upward movement of the country’s financial system. Gaskin noted that if these are not sustained, then it will be a great disaster for Guyana.

Gaskin went on to point out that a lot of monies were approved in the 2015 Budget to be spent on projects and programmes that would see the development and boosting of the country’s economy. However, the Economist opined that one of the main reasons for this standstill is the fact that contracts are not being awarded to get projects going.

“Government is taking too long to award these contractors… We see them publishing invitations for tenders and people applying but then they do not award any of the contracts,” he stated. According to Gaskin if Government continues to stall the process then the country’s development will also be put on the standstill.

“In my view, if Government starts awarding contracts for projects like roads, defences, bridges and so on, then things will start to move a little,” he posited.

This seemingly stagnant pace of the economy has resulted in businesses in Georgetown facing the harsh realities of economic slowdown for the past few months. Business owners have since been calling on Government to tend to the situation urgently as they grapple with a decrease in sales as well as the increase in the prices of goods.

Guyana Times recently spoke with some of the entrepreneurs along Regent Street who complained bitterly about the economic crisis they are facing. Dave Lall, a large scale fisherman who was shopping, expressed his dissatisfaction with the way the new Government is handling the situation as he stated that they are not putting enough effort into reviving the economy.

“For the past two years business in the entirety has been on a constant slope, as of mid May, 2015, that slope escalated into a downward spiral with no visible intentions of a parachute upwards.  One has to wonder why the sudden drop just as we welcomed a new Government after 23 years? Is it because the majority of people who spend money and keep the economy afloat are awaiting the decisions and actions of the new Government before they start spending again? Is it because people naturally don’t have money to spend? Surely it cannot be because of a new Government.”

As of now, the new Government has not instituted any new policies or regulations that would cause such a drastic change towards the spending pattern of the Guyanese people.

Lance McPherson, a handicraft vendor explained that he is facing the negative impacts of the slowdown as it is throwing him on the breadline. “For the past three months business has being slow… money circulation was here when they were school shopping but not as normal, certain bills are challenging to meet,” the man related.
Furthermore, some persons have even expressed their views that the chances of the economy improving are low if the Government does not find ways of assuring and coercing investors’ confidence.

However, this issue is not limited to the Georgetown area alone as the Berbice and Essequibo economies have also been taking a thrashing, especially with the struggling rice and sugar industries.
At the Leonora, West Coast Demerara Saturday Market, there were large swathes of empty spaces where vendors would normally throng and jostle for space to sell their vegetables, groceries or clothes. Upon enquiry, one vendor said about her missing colleagues:

“business bad and den na gat enough money fuh buy more goods fuh sell”.A quick survey of several Malls in the city and the suburbs showed that traffic was down significantly and several owners said that even those persons walking around but not buying.