Georgetown Chamber President Komal Ramnauth said that Guyana has the ingredients to develop successfully but the challenge is how to put them together correctly and “how to add them in the right proportions.”
He said this country needs to generate wealth, which translates to results in social development and also development that builds on human resources, among other things. He stressed that while generating wealth is important, it needs to be accessible and put to work for all Guyanese. “If the people can’t prosper, businesses can’t prosper,” he told the annual Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) dinner and awards ceremony on Tuesday. He underscored that development here needs to be handled in such a manner that prosperity meets every Guyanese at their doorstep “regardless of their ethnicity, their gender, their age, or whether they live in the city or in rural areas.” Ramnauth added that this is the type of prosperity that will naturally squeeze out crime, build a strong consumer base for businesses to flourish and result in a population of skilled and capable workers who are self-motivated and productive.
Guyana has come a long way in the past few years, he said, citing the performance of the private sector, particularly this year, in addition to oil exploration and the development of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).
He added that that a lot has been put in place to enable the business community, which is
faring much better than in past years. Ramnauth pointed to the banking system, noting that credit to the private sector recovered strongly from the marginal growth recorded in the first half of 2009, with an increase of 7.9% in the first half of 2010.
Ramnauth said also that the increased level of economic activity suggested by the expansion of credit to the private sector was to some extent reflected in the higher level of merchandise imports during the first half of 2010. Merchandise imports moved from a 16.4% contraction in the first half 2009 to an increase of 22.6% at the end of June 2010.
In terms of investment, he said that 99 new companies were registered and 3,246 new business registrations were made in just the first half of 2010.
According to him, this country needs to pay attention to the lessons learned in other countries that have relied on a heavy natural resource base for development.
Further, Ramnauth provided updates on projects which GCCI was involved in this year. He mentioned that the Chamber launched a Code of Conduct in September and described it as “an important expression of intent to conduct business ethically.” He said also that GCCI, in collaboration with the Private Sector Commission and the Guyana Police Force, held a Crime Prevention Workshop in September, allowing stakeholders to share ideas on how to reduce crime in the society. He added that the Chamber held discussions with USAID on several areas of collaboration, including crime prevention and security awareness earlier this year. GCCI is also currently finalizing its Corporate Social Responsi-bility Programme, which is expected to be implemented in the first quarter of 2011.
At the ceremony, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company copped the Business of the Year Award; Acme General Store received the Lifetime Achievement Award; and the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry was awarded the GCCI’s Long Service Award.
Additionally, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards picked up the Public Service Award of Excellence; Demerara Distillers Limited received the GCCI’s President’s Award; Safeway Security and Clinton Urling shared the Chamber Award; Courts Guyana Limited received the Corporate Citizens Award; and Hits and Jams Entertainment Group won the Young Business Executive Award.
