FLASHBACK: My Address to GuyExpo 2014

Your Excellency, President Donald Ramotar; Madam First Lady, Ms Deolatchmie Ramotar; Honourable Prime Minister, Samuel Hinds and Ms Hinds; my colleagues of the Cabinet; members of the diplomatic community; foreign delegates and exhibitors; ladies and gentlemen, especially the pioneers of the Private Sector of Guyana, led by the President of the Private Sector Commission, Mr Ramesh Persaud; good evening and welcome to GuyExpo 2014.
I would like to take a special moment to acknowledge the more than 115 foreign delegates present here at GuyExpo 2014 – by far the largest foreign contingent of any previous GuyExpos. Our brothers and sisters, we welcome you.
Indeed, transformation is relevant. The fact that Guyana today can attract 115 potential investors and potential business partners speaks to the fact of transformation. Transformation in the way Guyana is viewed; transformation in the outlook Guyana presents itself to the international community today.
Yes, I recall when the first GuyExpo was held I was in secondary school. I also recall that when visiting North America people would ask me “is Rebock and Nike in your country?” Today the situation has changed. Persons come into Guyana to shop. Persons from Barbados come on the Liat flight on weekends to shop in Guyana. This is the transformation; this is the partnership we should be proud of; this is what we should all applause ourselves for. A strong and resistant Guyana is what we are building – a Guyana that would ensure s sustainable, bright and productive future for all our young people and for the generations to come.
Transformation itself requires critical thinking. We cannot be static and be part of a transformational process at the same time. We must be able to think, act and work beyond what appears to be confined boundaries that can limit the development of our country. In thinking in this transformational manner, we must be bold. We cannot be risk averse. Boldness in decision making must never be compromised. Boldness in decision making is a critical tool for the advancement of any society. If you are a Minister and you are elected to lead your sector in a country, but you are afraid to be bold and you are risk averse, then you will not be able to make the decisions that will transform that sector because you will always believe that you have to play it safe.
The time has come for us to understand that good decisions, good policies, and major transformation come with risks. Every project you engage in comes with some amount of risk. Our brother from Australia told us about the calculation of risks in making their decision. However, in our calculation of these risks we must not become static in our outlook. We must be able to present an outlook that shows to the world that we have an expanding and growing economy with a diversified portfolio that would create economic benefit and economic opportunities for wide ranging sectors.
Whilst the mining sector is growing, we must not be risk averse in investing in mega farms because they will complement each other in hard time. Whilst rice is growing, we must not be risk averse to ensure the sustainability of the sugar sector which is very critical for an economy like ours because in calculating the risks of investing to sustain this sector we have to take into consideration the social benefits and the future potentials of the sector. That is why the investment in the packaging plant is critical for the sugar industry as part of the transformational thinking.
The process must not stop here; it is continuous. It is for these reasons that tonight we are also launching a new rice brisket factory so that Guyana would be producing its own rice brisket cereal for the international market. This is the type of transformation that is taking place.
Ladies and gentlemen, as I said earlier, we cannot be successful if we are risk averse. It must come with a high degree of innovation. It must be relevant to where we are today as a country. That is why the Amaila Falls Hydro Project is so relevant to us today. It is relevant because whilst every sector of our economy is being transformed to move into industrial state, we need the cheap and reliable energy to support it. Therefore, transformation must also address our political ability to transform from a selfish partisan manner to a nationalistic and open manner that sees certain transformational projects beyond their political boundaries. This is what makes transformation such an interesting topic for our discourse.
We have to be bold and I want to say that in the transformation process we have to re-examine our geographic location and context. That is why I want to congratulate the Minister of Education who is leading the effort to have Portuguese introduced in the secondary school system of CARICOM countries. We must fight for this because it is important for the transformation of CARICOM economies – Brazil is one of the largest trade area that we can tap into. All the other transformational projects, including the Speciality Hospital, are important for national development.
Our business thinking must be transformed also. If we are sitting on natural assets that have been idle for years and the international market can bring capital that could be merged with our local natural assets to give us outputs that will result in the expansion of the economy then we should embrace this. This is the direction in which the global economy is heading. We cannot be afraid of competition. We cannot be afraid of merging assets. We must not apologise for doing these things because they are important for the diversification and expansion of our economy.
Look at the world today. Investment flows are changing globally. Trade relationships are changing. Investments continue to rapidly pour out of Asia. Should we continue to sit in a static mode of thinking and not go after the capital that is available out there? We need to be transformative in our thinking and innovative and bold to go after the capital out there to build a strong and sustainable economy for our young people.
When Limacol, a local brand, is used as a major sponsor of a global event, it forms part of the transformation process. It has become a part of a new Guyana – a transformed Guyana that can take its place in the international markets of brand name products.
The process of transformation is not one that is easy. It is not one that comes without risks. Indeed, it is one that requires partnerships to confront the challenges that come with it. It is for this reason that the theme of GuyExpo 2015 emphasises that an important ingredient for successful transformation is partnership.
I want to say that we stand committed not only in partnership with the private sector but also in partnership with every single Guyanese in developing a strong and healthy economy.
Brothers and sisters, if you are looking for an investment destination that has had consecutive positive economic growth at an average of 4.7 percent over the last eight years; if you are looking for a market that has seen inflation kept in single digit with 2013 being 0.9 percent; if you are looking to invest in a market where Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reached 11 percent in; you are in the right market. This is what Guyana offers your businesses. So, in transforming our country, I appeal to all of us to transform our mode of thinking and our approach to business, both government and private sector, as we develop a strong and sustainable economy for the future generation of Guyanese.
Thank you very much.