CDB President Dr Compton Bourne has called for a change in the existing relationship between the University of Guyana and the business community saying that critical private sector investment is lacking at the campus.
The contemporary business sector has to regionalize and internationalise, Bourne said while pointing out that direct private sector support of university education and training here is limited. At the time, he was addressing the annual dinner and awards presentation of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) on Wednesday night at the Pegasus Hotel. Bourne was inaugurated yesterday as the Chancellor of the University of Guyana.
He noted that a free-rider situation currently exists in which employers benefit from the production of graduates without directly incurring any of the cost of producing those graduates, and underscored that the private sector should help to ensure there is an adequate supply of highly educated and skilled human resources by investing in the university. According to him, the relationship between the university and the business sector has to be transformed from a loose connection in the market for graduates into one of cooperation and partnership.
Explaining that the relationship has to be one which helps to mutually define the output of the university, Bourne referred to some regional states where the business sector has responded by financing several initiatives such as endowed professorships, sponsorship of academic programmes and scholarships. “There is no good reason why a similar relationship should not be forged in Guyana,” he observed. Additionally, he said there is enormous scope for the business sector and the university to define an agenda of mutual interest and mutual participation.
Bourne, a long-serving President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), addressed economic issues in the region as it continues to grapple with challenges. He said new standards governing international trade such as those pertaining to the environment, labour conditions in producing countries and health requirements warrant a response from business enterprises in the region, particularly in Guyana. According to him, businesses have to become more productive and more cost-efficient while developing new product lines and penetrating new markets within their own countries and internationally.
He said part of the problem of enterprises in the region and elsewhere is over-leveraging and too high ratio of debts to assets, particularly liquid assets. He cited the Clico debacle as a regional example and the recent crisis facing Dubai World saying, “both the case of Dubai World and the case of Clico should cause enterprises here in Guyana and elsewhere in the Caribbean not to be too carried away by the euphoria and herd instinct which tends to be typical” of investors.
He said too that the region faces structural impediments to accessing most of the new facilities at International Financial Institutions (IFIs) for liquidity support, noting that the CDB has been modifying its operations and policies to provide assistance in such difficult times. Bourne said the bank is currently embarking on two major initiatives, first to provide bridging support to some regional banks, particularly in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), and second to provide along with the IFIs some liquidity support to hotels in the region whose viability is temporarily compromised.
In addition, he referred to the World Bank’s annual ‘Doing Business’ report saying the picture for most Caribbean countries is a poor one. He said if there were improved administrative and legal processes, the region would be a better place to do business.
Speaking on the judicial machinery, he noted that it takes a long time to get a legal matter settled in Caribbean courts. Bourne suggested that regional governments need to identify what the major problems of doing business are and set a target to try to address the problems. This, he said, is followed by measuring progress over the years.
Changes
Chandradat Chintamani, GCCI President, referred in his address to changes in the operations at customs such as the continued efforts to remove bottlenecks. However, he said technological advances are still lacking in the system, noting that electronic processing would have a tremendous impact on the flow of business in the country. He again raised the issue of fraud saying that the business community needs to resist the temptation to bribe custom officials because they are frustrated with the system.
He also spoke of fair competition on the market and the need for businesses to pay taxes. He found overwhelming support when he touched on the electricity supply in the country. His call for a reliable and affordable supply of electricity drew resounding applause. Chintamani even quipped that the GCCI had written to the power company on the issue and had received a response that the supply would be stable by November 5, adding “unfortunately that communication didn’t say which year”.
The GCCI President also used the forum to decry the introduction of bus stops on Regent Street, which he said were creating serious problems in an already chaotic space. He suggested that Regent Street become a one-way street and that an alternative route be found to offload the traffic that would be affected. According to him, it is a suitable solution to the current problems on the busy downtown street.
Further, he said the Ministry of Public Works’ ongoing campaign to “knock down this and knock down that” is uncalled for. He added that roaming animals, speeding on the roads, drainage and garbage issues and poor road projects should be priorities among the strategies being undertaken in the country.
Awards
With respect to the awards, Guyana & Trinidad Mutual Fire and Life Group of Insurance companies received the Long Service award; Chief Executive Officer of Go-Invest Geoff Da Silva received the Public Service Award of Excellence; Scotia Bank received the Corporate Citizenship Award; E-Networks secured the Young Business Award and Chamber member, Kumar Ragnauth received the Chamber Award. Additionally, Digicel received the GCCI President’s Award; Rabindranauth Beharry got the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Business of the Year prize went to Demerara Distillers Ltd.
