The National Competitiveness Council (NCC) at its inaugural meeting last month, agreed to recruit a director and to urgently establish its secretariat within the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce.

A press release from the Public Communications Consultants Ltd said President Bharrat Jagdeo chaired the event. Among those attending were Tourism Minister Manniram Prashad, Minister of Foreign Trade and International Co-operation Dr Henry Jeffrey, Chief Executive Officer at the Guyana Office for Investment Geoffrey Da Silva and Private Sector Commission (PSC) representatives including Chairman Michael Correia Jr; Vice Chairman and Chairman of the PSC Trade and Investment Sub-Committee Paul Cheong and President of the Small Business Association Patrick Zephyr.

The release said the council is constituted with the President, or, in his absence, the Prime Minister as chairman and six government nominees, private sector members and two members representing organised labour.

Other members of the council are Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh, Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud, Minister of Public Works and Communications Robeson Benn, President of the Association of Regional Chambers of Commerce David Subnauth and President of the Trade Unions Congress Andrew Garnett and Komal Chand, representing the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana. The council agreed to convene again some time this month.