Stunted growth, stolen revenues prevail in our nation

– Granger tells business community

…while outlining blueprint for improved investment The perception that Guyana is currently in a state where stunted growth, stifled initiatives and stolen revenues prevail was communicated to the business community yesterday by Opposition Leader, David Granger.

APNU+AFC Presidential Candidate, David Granger, addresses the gathering.

The politician was the feature presenter at a luncheon hosted by the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) at the Savannah Suite of the Pegasus Hotel. The function was in keeping with GMSA’s annual initiative to listen to and query the plans of the politicians for the business community. The two-part series will see President Donald Ramotar relaying his investment plan in late April. GMSA President, Clinton Williams, said that the primary objective of this idea is to provide a platform for the production industry to obtain first-hand information on business-related issues. The fora are also intended to enable manufacturers, service providers, importers, exporters and distributors to question each candidate for the upcoming elections on matters that directly affect the conduct of their business, and to assess each party’s economic blueprint going forward. The event was one which saw distinguished guests such as Sir Shridath Ramphal, Canadian High Commissioner, Dr. Nicole Giles, Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC) Khemraj Ramjattan and A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) General Secretary, Joseph Harmon. Granger in his address, described for the audience, some of the depressing observations he made during trips to the “neglected” North West Region. The politician then made reference to a popular saying, “Lions led by donkeys,” which was initially used to describe the British Infantry of World War I, which saw the demise of

A section of the audience at the luncheon yesterday.

numerous soldiers (lions) because they were led by incompetent leaders (donkeys). Given the context of the metaphor, Granger said that Guyana is a nation of not lions but “jaguars led by jackasses.” Emphasizing that he did not mean to be unkind, the Opposition Leader said that his remarks are given much support based on his observations made from visits to the interior region in relation to the exploitation of Guyana’s resources. The APNU Leader made it clear that he was not speaking on behalf of the new coalition, APNU+AFC, as the two are still in the process of merging their policies and programmes. On that note, he said that his vision is that once the party assumes power, it would seek to create a world class environment for business in Guyana and provide every Guyanese with a good life. In achieving this, the politician said that the coalition plans to improve the education system by transforming the University of Guyana into a five-star institution. Granger said that the new partnership will suppress banditry, piracy, money laundering, execution-style murders and gun smuggling, while he admitted that this can only be done with a reformed police force. The politician emphasized, too, that the “winner-takes-all politics” is inherently unsafe and an APNU+AFC alliance will create a government of national unity. Granger asserted that the new coalition will endeavour to reduce clashes in Parliament, improve political instability, hold Local Government Elections, ensure that bills are assented to, establish an institutional framework and ensure that the National Assembly is free from Executive control. The Opposition leader posited that the coalition also intends to establish conditions for a truly independent judiciary, Elections Commission and Auditor General’s Office; ensure that the Ombudsman’s Office is fully equipped and the Police Complaints Authority is effective. He also spoke to the APNU+AFC’s intentions to establish the Public Procurement Commission and a favourable business environment by leveling the playing field with certain agencies such as the Guyana Forestry Commission and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission. Support for agro processing, Granger said, will also be given, as he acknowledged that the problem of cheaper energy needs to and will be addressed. “People want to prosper, but the jackasses won’t let them,” he added. The strategy, he said, will be centred on reducing Guyana’s dependence on the “six sisters” – sugar, rice, timber, bauxite, gold and fish – and making moves to diversify the industry. During the question and answer period, entrepreneurs quizzed the politician on various areas. He was asked about his plan to craft laws to guide the construction and management of funeral homes, promote security in the hinterland areas, details of APNU+AFC’s energy plans, and how it intends to liberalize the telecommunications sector and tackle corruption. Further, GMSA President Clinton Williams related that while the Private Sector has been long considered the engine of growth in Guyana, its full potential is yet to be realized in the face of quite a few inhibiting factors. These he listed to be the high costs and unreliable supply of electricity, road, marine and air transportation costs, logistics and cargo handling facilities, and high trade transaction cost for import and export cargo, etc. Williams told the political leaders present that the local business community, the true engine of the nation’s growth, wants to be able to produce and earn. “We want to be able to utilize and ultimately benefit from the wide range of natural resources that this country is blessed with, and to see our respective environments blossom with a cleaner, healthier, better equipped, more educated and more committed population. We’d like to see Guyana’s GDP and per capita statistics skyrocket, because we know that they can. It would be an enormous achievement if Guyana could be listed in the top 10 in the World Bank’s Report on “The ease of doing business” in the not too distant future,” the GMSA President asserted. He said that the Private Sector wants to be reassured that the political engagements this year would be characterized by informed and objective discourse. The business community, he said, believes that the pre-election interactions will pave the way for candid, rational and pertinent discussions, which hopefully will continue into the post-election period, thereby ensuring some level of trust, consensus, and/or compromise that is necessary for continued economic growth.