President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Clinton Urling has disclosed that he intends to contest the chairmanship of the Private Sector Commission (PSC); elections are due to be held early next month.
The announcement by Urling could mean that the race for the chairmanship of the country’s key private sector body pits him against incumbent Ron Webster, who told this newspaper on Wednesday that he had been approached by “a number of private sector functionaries and urged to run for a second term” and that he was currently giving the matter “profound thought.”
Urling, who was recently re-elected to serve a second term at the helm of the GCCI, is, by virtue of his position in the chamber, a Vice Chairman of the PSC and Deputy Chairman of its Trade and Investment Committee.
According to Urling, elections for the PSC leadership are due within seven days of the first council meeting of the PSC which is scheduled for June 25. He said discussions on his decision to contest the chairmanship of the PSC had taken place at the level of the GCCI and he was contesting the post with “the full endorsement of the chamber’s leadership.”
Urling said the establishment of the PSC was intended to facilitate discourse among sectoral heads and that he felt that this should become a reality. He added that once he was elected to the leadership of the PSC he would seek to bring “a different style of leadership to bear” within the organisation which would seek to continue the pursuit of the goals of “democracy and good governance.”
Webster, meanwhile, told Stabroek Business in a telephone interview that he felt the PSC had “gained a lot of ground” over the past year. “Some of our success has had to do with the fact that we have been able to establish good relations with all of the political parties,” he said. “We were pleased with the fact that several of our proposals for this year’s budget were endorsed by the government.” He said it was his wish that the private sector focus on “the development of business, wealth-creation and job-creation.”
