Senior executive member of the Guyana Manufacturing & Services Association (GMSA), Ramsay Ali has described Sunday’s UNCAPPED IV event staged at the Providence Stadium as “very successful,” asserting that the achievement was a manifestation of one of the accomplishments of the ongoing public/private sector discourses that have been ensuing for some time. In an informal interview with the Stabroek Business during the winding down phase of what turned out to be the largest of the four UNCAPPED events staged in less than a year, Ali said that UNCAPPED IV had attracted 75 agro-processors, the highest number so far and that between three and four thousand visitors had passed through the aisles to see and purchase a bewildering array of local products.
When asked to comment on what he believed was the standout feature of the event, Ali said that there could be no question that the “huge improvement in the range and quality of the products” as well as the “improved packaging and labelling” had lifted the Providence event above the level of its predecessors. That apart, he said that the organisers had been “more than a little heartened” by the number of new agro-processors who had put in an appearance at this year’s UNCAPPED event.
Against the backdrop of what he described as the success of Sunday’s event, Ali disclosed that the ongoing high level discussions between state agencies – Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Agriculture – and the GMSA, centred on taking the sector forward, are currently examining what he described as “the distinct possibility” of establishing an agro-processing facility (plant) in Guyana. Accordingly, Ali disclosed that engagements at the level of the public/private sector forum are currently
focussed on a visit to Belize, a country which he told this newspaper, “has a good working model of such a facility.”
Based on the success which the public/private sector forum has yielded, Ali said that the GMSA “will continue to work with Government using the roundtable process.” The next discussion, according to the GMSA executive will centre on services, including construction and the extractive minerals segment. He said that the GMSA is also vigorously pursuing engagement with government regarding the possibility of the Association having the administration of GUYEXPO being restored to it.
