The “political uncertainty” that has enveloped the country will continue to affect the business climate in Guyana until the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) delivers a final ruling on the no-confidence vote against government, newly-elected President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Nicholas Boyer said yesterday
“The faster that we can get to a steady environment, the faster all of us can really be more strong and firm in our planning processes back in our offices, because it is really hard to set out a two-year or three-year strategic plan when you open the newspapers and you still have that uncertainty hanging over,” Boyer told the media yesterday after introducing himself and the other members of the newly-elected executive.
Boyer questioned what will happen if the CCJ upholds the High Court ruling that the motion was validly passed on December 21st, bearing in mind that the constitutional three months deadline for elections has passed. “It would mean in this problematic scenario that the Court of Appeal was wrong and you should have had elections then by March 21st. So what happens in that scenario because I don’t have an answer for it and that’s what causes me the uncertainty…,” he said.
He stressed that the most immediate thing on his mind is the decision of the CCJ and the implications of a possible reversal of the Court of Appeal’s recent ruling.
The Appeal Court in a split decision ruled last Friday that the motion was not successfully passed since there was a simple majority of 33 votes as opposed to an absolute majority of 34. The decision is to be challenged in Guyana’s final appeal court, the Caribbean Court of Justice.
Asked for his views on Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo’s statement that the opposition, PPP/C, which had sponsored the motion, will not participate in parliamentary sittings until the final determination of the matter, Boyer said that he would have preferred the party to be part of the parliamentary process. “Given where the country is going and the partisanship, if you are the minority, how much input are you really going to make? I see what their thought process is,” he said before noting that his main focus at this point is the opposition’s intention to take the case to the CCJ.
“Whether they participate in parliament or not, right now, is not the biggest cause for consternation. It’s what will happen to this case at the CCJ,” he said, before stressing that what happens at that final court will have more of an impact on the business community,” he said.
Boyer earlier pointed out that he is taking up the presidency at a time where there is some uncertainty because of the incomplete judicial process concerning the challenge of the passage of the motion.
He reminded the media and the other members of the newly-elected executive that the Chamber had done a survey in which it found that this uncertainty is really affecting the business climate. “There was no if or but about it,” he said.
Immediate past president Deodat Indar would later inform that neither the president nor the opposition leader have responded to the letters penned to them last week regarding the effects of this uncertainty on the business environment, based on the findings of that survey. “We have said to both of them that we avail ourselves to them to lend support to whatever outcome to better the situation. I think at the end of the day, all we want is that businesses have a stable environment to operate in,” he said.
According to Boyer, the “back and forth” in the political arena, is not going to be helpful to the business community. “
Senior Vice-President Timothy Tucker, in adding to Boyer’s comments, stressed that the “political uncertainty” continues.
He said that the Chamber made its position clear since the business and investor climate is being massively affected by the political situation facing the country. He said that GCCI has met with members of the diplomatic community, who themselves have seen the “evidence” that it is affecting “business as usual.”
According to Tucker, it is very difficult for any business community in any country, once there is political uncertainty, to plan and move forward with the signing of contracts and doing business.
“Political uncertainty, until we get to the end of this, continues to be a major deterrent to doing business in Guyana or investing in Guyana and it’s very difficult for each and every one of us to plan and invest….the political uncertainty is affecting business,” he said.
Asked what plans he has for advocacy among the political players between now and the CCJ’s decision, Boyer said that this will take the form of meetings with “as many people as we can.” He said that the GCCI will work through the Private Sector Commission. “In this effort, I believe that the wider private sector has to be unified and really approach the players in the arena to try and reduce uncertainty as much as we can,” he said before adding that people often try to paint the PSC as being beholden to one political party. He made it clear that this is untrue, while stressing it all about creating an environment where business people can go about their day to day lives.
Aside from Boyer, Indar and Tucker, the other members of the executive are Shaleeza Shaw (Junior Vice-President), Anije Lambert (Secretary) and Kester Hutson (Treasurer). They have been elected to serve for one year.
According to Boyer, the GCCI will soon embark on an “ambitious” work plan for the upcoming year and he noted that there is a lot of energy and youth in the new council. “We expect to make a very lasting and indelible mark upon the business community. We are hoping that our interaction with regulatory authorities, with government and other members of the community set us in a position where we can continue to do or carry out the mission of the chamber…to improve the business environment for all its members,” he said.
GCCI, he reminded, is the oldest business lobby body in the country.
