The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), while congratulating the Minister of Finance on the presentation of a fair and comprehensive budget, has expressed concerns over governmental interventions in various industries.
In a press release issued on Friday, the Chamber noted the subventions being offered by the government to the rice and sugar industries in Guyana as well as the waiver of custom duties within the gold industry.
Minister of Finance Winston Jordan, in his maiden budget presentation, announced planned allocations of $12B for the sugar industry and $23B for the rice industry. He said too that gold miners would be provided with exemptions from the payment of custom duties on fuel and mining equipment.
“It would be indeed unfortunate if the nation is faced with continuing to provide subventions of this size. The need to decide whether or not GuySuCo can operate under an economic model that can contribute to the national economy is paramount,” the Chamber, however, noted on Friday.
The release added that “this concern also pertains to the rice industry in terms of its ability to compete pricewise on the international markets.”
It urged that a review of the functions and overall effectiveness of the Guyana Rice Development Board be part of the support given to the industry, since “we can ill afford to run the risk of subsidising rice as well.”
On the relief for the gold industry, it said it is still not certain if the move will completely solve the problems of the industry since the price of the commodity continues to decline. “It is hoped that efforts continue to be made to produce gold more efficiently,” it added.
Meanwhile, the Chamber noted that at $221 billion, the budget is fairly large, especially when there is only four and a half months left for the year. “The Chamber hopes therefore that all agencies understand that there must be an agile procurement and project implementation process to ensure that these funds are spent effectively,” the release noted.
It expressed its support for the government’s planned enactment of legislation for e-commerce/e-transactions, the recognition of electronic signatures for document certification and data protections and asked for a definitive commitment on the modernisation of the intellectual property legislation, all of which it hopes will be accomplished way before 2020.
The Chamber further said that it supports the distribution of laptops to educators, students, institutions and community-based organizations. This, it said, “will address the issue of not enough students having access to tools critical for their education and development.”
It added that “the creation of an Information Technology School of Excellence is welcome” and urged that any such school be positioned carefully, while taking into consideration the critical role the University of Guyana plays via its Department of Computer Studies.
