The “indicators of recession” have already been seen in Guyana, the Alliance For Change (AFC) says and the party is calling on the government to display honesty on the issue while proposing that the Value Added Tax (VAT) be suspended or reduced for 12 months.
Reading from a prepared statement at a press conference held at the Sidewalk Café on Wednesday, AFC Chairperson, Sheila Holder, said the party is of the opinion that the worldwide financial crisis would affect Guyana in more significant ways than the government has stated.
She said the effects of the crisis cannot and would not escape Guyana. “Already Guyana is beginning to see signs of economic recession as remittances decline, the falling away of gold and diamond prices; the reduced world market demand and falling prices of Guyana’s primary export products such as rice, sugar, bauxite and timber products and the marked decrease in spending power of the Guyanese working class; much to the consternation of the business community especially at this time of year,” she stated.
Holder said the AFC proposes that the VAT be suspended or reduced for 12 months or a time to be determined until the world’s financial crisis abates. She noted that the United Kingdom government had recently reduced the VAT rate in that country and a similar initiative is long overdue in Guyana.
She said the party also recommends the reduction of the GPL tariff on the basis of the reduced price of oil on the international market.
Holder said the government was being hypocritical by calling on the transportation industry to lower its fares, while not displaying the same sense of responsibility and concern it is demanding of others. “The AFC will be approaching the Public Utilities Commission with a complaint to have the tariff structure reduced in view of the drop in fuel prices,” she stated.
Moreover, Holder accused the government of displaying naivety, complacency and bankruptcy of ideas by informing the public that the local financial system is sufficiently insulated from the shocks of the global crisis. She declared that this was in stark contrast to the situation in other Caribbean countries whose governments and stakeholders have already began examining ways of staving off the harsh effects of the ongoing global financial meltdown.
The AFC chairperson stated that a multi-partisan approach initiated by the government to address the inevitability of the effects of the financial crisis on Guyana is the only strategy towards finding a local solution and like other countries; a dialogue of relevant national stakeholders should be convened.
