Recently-accredited United States Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch says there have been no complaints to the United States Embassy about the current political environment negatively impacting American business interests here.
While saying a speedy resolution of the litigation stemming from last December’s no-confidence vote against government would be beneficial for all parties, Lynch yesterday said the United States would continue to encourage its businesses to invest in Guyana as it believes the expected proceeds from the oil and gas sector would provide opportunities for them to thrive.
“Yes, definitely still encouraging US investments and, again, with the 5.5 billion barrels of reserves, and that’s just one sector, but what that will do for the country in terms of other industries being able to do spin-off of that and thrive and grow is really tremendous,” Lynch told reporters during her first interview with the local print media at the US Embassy in Georgetown. “So we’re very much interested in looking at improved trading and investment opportunities for US businesses and we will be encouraging them to look at Guyana,” she added.
The US State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs in its 2018 Investment Cli-mate Statement (ICS) lauds Guyana as a country ripe with investment opportunities. “The Government of Guyana (GoG) actively encourages foreign direct investment (FDI). According to the Bank of Guyana’s Mid-Year Report for 2017, Guyana’s FDI increased by USD 66.9 million to USD 96.1 million, up from USD 29.2 million in 2016. Increasing FDI in Guyana is a recent phenomenon, bolstered by expansion in oil and gas exploration and gold mining. Guyana offers potential investors (both foreign and domestic alike) a broad spectrum of investment choices such as mining, sugar, rice, lumber, petroleum, aquaculture, agro-processing, fresh fruits and vegetables, light manufacturing, and value-added forestry products,” the ICS says.
“Additionally, there are opportunities to invest in service sectors, such as tourism, call centers, and information technology enabled services. Many products receive duty-free or reduced-duty treatment in destination markets. The GoG continues to promote inbound FDI but with limited success outside of the extractive industries sector,” it adds.
It points out that in March 2015, ExxonMobil began exploratory drilling off Guyana’s coast, initially investing roughly USD 300 million into the project. “ExxonMobil has since reported significant findings of offshore petroleum that, as of April 2018, are estimated at over 3.2 billion barrels of oil-equivalent, with exploration continuing for the foreseeable future. This venture would generate billions in revenue for the country and could potentially transform the social, political, and economic landscape,” it further says.
According to Lynch, the report on Guyana is still “very much valid” and her country would continue to push for its businesses to come here to invest as it would be beneficial to both investors and Guyanese.
She said she has not heard that the political climate has affected or dissuaded any businesses coming here. Nonetheless, she believes that the faster there is a resolution to the matter, the better it would be for all parties. “I haven’t heard that and I have predominantly been talking to local businesses since I’ve been here. And the ones that are already existing, I don’t see that there is an issue right now,” she said.
“So although I haven’t heard that I think the faster there is a resolution, I think the better. I think that’s probably best for everyone. The democratic process is being followed and the democratic institutions are being used and a swift resolution would be great. But I understand also that the CCJ [Caribbean Court of Justice] has given a date of May 10, so we should hear more then,” she added.
If the CCJ upholds the validity of the motion, it would result in the holding of early general elections.
The US envoy was asked if corruption as an issue in Guyana had been discussed either at the business level or during her engagements thus far and she pointed to a 2018 State Department report on corruption globally.
“The report applauds Guyana for the positive, for the gains, it has made and the political will to address these issues but it also says that there are things to work on. Across the globe, we work on several things—what we call barriers to trade and investments—and certainly on the government’s side, corruption is one of them. On the security side, it’s the existence of transnational criminal organisations, crime and violence; on the prosperity side, it might be the ease of doing business and transparency,” Lynch said.
“So we look at those trade barriers holistically and we want to continue to work with the government of Guyana to address all those. But I would say, it’s not just the government, citizens have a responsibility, too. So we also very much want to continue our work with civil society organisations, the private sector, all kinds of institutions and again, like we do all around the world, hold the government accountable for being transparent, for being reliable, for delivering services to its citizens. So corruption, I would say, is just one of the visions that we’re working on and that we have seen some progress there in Guyana,” she added.
She also said that no US business has raised the issue of the perception of corruption in Guyana but she noted that in doing business anywhere, it would be a concern for investors. “I have not spoken with any businesses that mention that as a concern, but that’s always a concern of any business across the globe. Generally, the private sector want stability and predictability; they just want to do their work and work on the businesses and make a profit. So, those are very specific areas, I think it’s something that Guyana should want and make sure that they do continue to make improvements and get a handle on so that trade and investments can thrive here and I think that there is a great possibility that they can do that,” she said.
But the U.S Ambassador pointed out that while she has not been in “deep discussions” with either the American Chamber of Commerce here or the Private Sector Commission (PSC), there has been word that this country should move to remove a lot of the bureaucratic red tape that affects the ease of doing business.
“There is some thought that Guyana could do a bit better on easing the way of doing business. So, in other words, allowing businesses to start up quicker, faster and making the regulations less bureaucratic so that there are more opportunities for more businesses to get up and get going quicker because, there won’t be just these large companies like Exxon that are here but it’s the smaller companies, too, that you want to develop because where there is a lot of creativity and, potentially down the road, job creation for the citizens of Guyana,” she said.
The PSC has said that the political uncertainly is slowing business investments but government has rejected this assertion, while saying that the private sector is pushing a political line. Lynch said that she has had no such discussions with the PSC and her involvement would never be political but to advance her country’s business prospects.
“My involvement always, throughout my career as a government official, with the private sector is doing what we can, especially for American businesses. To listen to their concerns and, you know, help ease the doing of business in whatever country they’re in and hoping that they are treated fairly in whatever country. So no, I certainly didn’t discuss whatever political leaning people may have. In my experience, the thing the private sector wants the most is stability and predictability so they can do their business,” she said.
