As the Private Sector Commission (PSC) reported an overall decline in nearly all economic sectors over the past ten years, Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin yesterday assured that government is working aggressively to address the sluggishness of the economy.
“I have heard from a number of businesses and this morning also that business has slowed. I don’t have a precise date of when this slowdown occurred but know that it began before last year’s change in government,” Gaskin said, as he delivered the feature presentation at the Annual General Meeting of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), which was held yesterday at the Marriott Hotel.
“But we are now the government, for better or for worse… and we have a responsibility to provide the best possible conditions for the growth and development of our economy and by extension the businesses that operate in our economy,” he further added.
Head of the PSC’s Economic Services Committee Ramesh Persaud, in a presentation on the state of the economic sector from 2001 to 2015, reported a decline, especially over the past three years. These included declines in imports and exports, commodities, loans granted to the private sector and overall Gross Domestic Product. “You might be hearing a very consistent term there—that everything has declined. This is not my interpretation, this is the numbers alright,” Persaud said as he pointed to a series of illustrations of the country’s economic scales.
Pointing specifically to last year, outgoing Chairman of the PSC Norman McLean said that especially because it was an election year, there was increased skepticism over the economy. “This was manifested in many ways which saw reduced purchasing generally and particularly in the private business sector. The economy was slow and not growing. There was also hesitancy on the part of investors, which adversely affected the economy,” he said as he presented his report.
“The year 2015 and moving into 2016 was nevertheless marked by challenges both in the economic social and political life of Guyana. For example… telecommunications liberalisation, revision of our tax regime, anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism legislation, to name a few, continue to be unresolved and haunt us,” he added.
He said that much more is still needed to enhance the environment for doing business in Guyana and making the private sector the ultimate engine of economic growth. As a result, he promised continued collaboration with government and all stakeholders as the PSC works towards building a sustainable development path.
The PSC pointed to a host of recommendations that could help in building that path, chief among which was government sharing its economic vision and plan and having more engagements with the business community.
Also, it was recommended that government should make improvements in business conditions a top priority and try to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the public service while rethinking the enforcement of some regulations and modernise them where necessary.
Partnering
Gaskin said he wouldn’t labour on what was inherited by his government, which he said must be held responsible for the state of affairs of the country.
“One year has gone since the change in government and as far as I’m concerned the honeymoon period is over and we are accountable for the current state of the economy because we are the current government, he noted.
He once again lamented that when it comes to the business environment and the ease of doing business in Guyana and the general competitiveness of the economy, Guyana has been languishing for too long at the bottom rungs of the Global Competitiveness Index and the World Bank Doing Business Index. “There is nothing that our government can do to influence global demand which drives the commodity prices that affect the well-being of our economy. We must accept that. However, there is a lot that can be done to improve the ease of doing business in Guyana and the competitiveness of our economy. The effort has to be a joint effort and our government is committed to partnering with the private sector to bring about these improvements. I have no reason to believe that there is any reluctance on the part of the private sector to work with our government towards the achievement of common goals and objectives,” he added.
Gaskin pointed out that from conversations he has had and heard, Guyanese generally want better safety and security, better jobs and opportunities, better education and health care, better homes and communities, better infrastructure, better governance, and above all more fairness and greater equity in the exploitation and distribution of our natural wealth.
He said that it was his government’s vision to also see the development of healthy and structured public-private partnership in Guyana and one where all citizens are afforded the necessities to thrive.
He stressed that sustainable economic development requires an economy that can withstand fluctuating international demand and that local businesses need to insulate themselves. He also mentioned the need for greater value added production. “Higher value must be sought through processing and manufacturing of local raw materials. This requires enhanced productivity from our small, medium and large enterprises alike. I was hoping to avoid the use of the term ‘value-added’ today, because I worry that people are becoming tired of hearing this term and not seeing a tangible demonstration of what it actually means to have a strong value-added sector. But I must say that this is where the most effort has to be directed and it has to be done in the context of export industries because our local demand is insufficient in most cases to enable the development of competitive manufacturing industries. This is especially so when it comes to high-end products which are beyond the reach of the local consumer but well within the range of consumers in larger and more developed economies,” he advised.
“Guyanese businesses must take pride in the goods they produce and the services they provide, and I know many who do, so that the Guyanese people can be proud of Guyanese products whether or not we can afford them. Most of us are proud of our premium rums. I certainly can’t afford to drink some of them. The use of innovation, technology and standards to achieve the range of benchmarks that make products and services more competitive must be integrated into the strategic plans of our businesses,” he added.
