President Bharrat Jagdeo said Guyana has a liberal policy that would shorten the time it takes for foreigners interested in investment, employment and citizenship to obtain permits here.
He was delivering an address at the 121st AGM of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GICC) held on Thursday.
According to Jagdeo within weeks any person entering Guyana who requires a visa for business or pleasure will be granted one as the country aims to create a favourable business environment. “Those who come to work will have a higher requirement…but they will get an automatic three-year work permit… any person who lives here for more than seven years, once they are doing so legally, will get the citizenship, this is not only for Chinese,” he said.
According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release, the president said that at the discretion of the Minister of Home Affairs, citizenship may be granted even if an application is made within four or five years. Jagdeo also said he expects “that at some point, the country will be challenged by a labour shortage at certain levels as Guyanese (are) gravitating to other shores for better paying jobs” but he believes that foreign business interests and job seekers can offset this challenge.
The president said, “The wage level both in the private and public sectors may not be as competitive with what they can get in North America… so we have to let others who will be prepared to work for that come here, whether they are from Nigeria or South Africa, India, China or Brazil.” To facilitate this process, he called for certain immigration regulations to be waived so that the issuing of visas can be speeded up. The president said that too often prosperous businessmen interested in Guyana are discouraged by the laborious transit points they have to go through before reaching the country’s shores. “We need to make things easier for people in this country to come and live and I think they (foreigners) create wealth,” he said.
Jagdeo also said he was optimistic that the local business environment is seeing and continues to see a proliferation of entrepreneurs and “credited this achievement to the evident growth in the economy and wealth of the population.” He said more people are entering the business sector “so this kind of environment, open, liberal market requires you to be constantly looking for different means to be competitive and outsmarting your competitors.” In the light of this, the president told the gathering that he believes that such a business approach is necessary to meet the demands of consumers who have become more discerning as a result of the growing economy and will demand better services.
In addition, Chairman of the Private Sector Commission, Ramesh Dookhoo spoke of the favourable partnership between government and the private sector when the GICC met to discuss its accomplishments in 2010 and the Chamber’s goals for this year.
He also made reference to addressing the issue of container parking in the city, the National Competitiveness Strategy (NCS) and the recent lowering of corporate taxes. The latter issue, Dookhoo said, is one which the private sector had been seeking for many years with the belief that it will impact investment in Guyana.
