(Trinidad Guardian) Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday told a group of ANSA McAL executives that there were huge business opportunities in his country. Speaking yesterday at the Tatil boardroom before a business luncheon with the conglomerate’s executives, Jagdeo said his country had emerged as a “basket case” in the Caribbean to become one of the safest. Noting that he hoped to stimulate the already high interest the group has in his country, Jagdeo said ANSA McAL Group Chairman Norman Sabga had visited Guyana recently and left with a very good impression of how things were going.
“Guyana had a very difficult time. Our debt situation was one of the worst in the world,” he recalled. “There was a sense of hopelessness in the country. A report from the Caribbean Council of Churches said there was no sense of identity in Guyana.” He said he had fixed the economy and improved infrastructure. Jagdeo said his government has spent quite a bit on infrastructure, fixing 800 of the 1200 schools and constructing eight new hospitals. He said his government had given out 80,000 house lots in Guyana where there are 200,000 households.
“Everybody is building, even the cleaners and security guards. Interest rates have gone down and the country is becoming more politically stable.” One area of opportunity lies in Guyana’s connection and growing relations with South America, in particular, Brazil. He said Guyana has a free trade agreement with Brazil and has extended the list of items they can export into that country. He said there were plans to build a bridge connecting the two countries, as well as a huge power plant and a deep-water harbour in Guyana.
“I am seeing several Guyanese firms and some foreign ones building warehouses,” Jadgeo said. Further, there were plans to expand the rice industry and move peasant farming to large scale agriculture. “We are exploring for oil and gas now,” he added. After he concluded his address, Sabga moved a vote of thanks and presented a token to Jagdeo and minister in the Guyana government, Irfaan Ali, who accompanied the President on the trip to T&T.
