Promising a “truly modern” Guyana fueled by oil revenues, newly-appointed Minister with responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh has also assured investors that cutting red tape will be one of the first areas addressed.
Delivering his first public address since taking up the position he had held when the PPP/C lost office in 2015, Dr Singh on Friday told a virtual American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) of Guyana Annual General Meeting that government will ensure that from the revenue generated from oil and gas, Guyana realizes its potential.
“We aim to build, in the shortest possible time, a truly modern Guyana, with world-class infrastructure that improves connectivity and unlocks the vast potential of our economy and of the Guyanese people,” he said.
“In addition to ensuring all the required supportive infrastructure, our plan includes ensuring availability of a highly skilled workforce, and state institutions that encourage and facilitate, rather than hinder and frustrate, the operations of the private sector. In this regard, reducing bureaucracy and removing bottlenecks to doing business will be an important pillar of our institutional reforms,” he stressed.
Singh, who will function as a Minister in the Office of the President, said that he viewed AmCham’s establishment as a very important development for the next chapter in the relationship between the US and Guyana, and between the business communities in the respective countries.
“For a very long time, there has been a strong and special bond between the US and Guyana. This has manifested itself through traditional economic relations, such as official development assistance through bilateral and multilateral channels, trade between our two countries, as well as other financial flows such as migrant remittances from our large Guyanese diaspora in the US,” he said.
He added, “In my mind, AmCham’s establishment two years ago marks an explicit recognition that the relationship is about to change dramatically from its traditional structure. Guyana’s new status as an oil producer and exporter has generated unprecedented interest by American companies in our country, not just in the oil and gas sector but also across the entire spectrum of productive activity. This is not surprising given the inevitable positive externalities that oil and gas production can bring to the rest of the economy. This interest is reflected in your large, rapidly growing, and diverse membership.”
AmCham’s rapid growth, not only in membership but in its integration into the Guyanese landscape, according to Singh, includes its emergence as a strong and credible advocate for the preservation of an environment that is conducive and favourable to foreign direct investment, and to growth and development in this country.
But he pointed out that such an environment requires, “most importantly of course,” democracy and the rule of law, as fundamental pillars for investment and growth in any country.
Noted, too, was that the organisation is entering its third year of operation at a time when this country is at a critical juncture as “we are facing in the immediate term the economic fallout of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.”
But he assured that the Irfaan Ali government has taken rapid steps to protect the people of this country and deliver much needed assistance to them, while at the same time ensuring that the economy “neither grinds to a complete halt nor suffers irreversible damage.”
“Beyond the immediate pandemic, the prospects for our country are historically bright and the long-awaited transformation is on the verge of unfolding. Becoming an oil producer presents us with an opportunity, and with the means, to improve the well-being of the Guyanese people to realise the longstanding aspirations of our country,” he added.
Ease of doing business
For US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch, ensuring the ease of doing business here is an area that needs to be worked on as more US investors seek out ways of investing in this country.
The US envoy said that it is now normal to expect an increasing amount of commercial interest in Guyana and that she gets calls from US companies regularly.
Just last week, she said that she met with the Business Council for International Understand-ing, a US-based organisation founded under their 34th President Dwight Eisenhower, and whose members include Fortune 500 companies, who are “interested in what Guyana has to offer.”
“The company representatives inquired about a broad range of investment opportunities including investment in the oil and gas sector, housing and urban development, environmental resiliency, satellite imagery and security services, just to name a few. Seeing these investment aspirations realized as commitments will require hard work, as you know,” she said.
“The World Bank’s 2020 report on Ease of Doing Business ranked Guyana 134 out of 190 countries. Some of the contributing issues include taxation, high energy costs, inadequate infrastructure, outdated intellectual property rights (IPR), bureaucracy, perceived corruption, and citizen security concerns. I would challenge us all to improve this ranking in 2021 through our common efforts,” she added.
President Irfaan Ali in his remarks told attendees that addressing the ease of doing business was an area in a holistic plan for business development that is currently being addressed.
Outlining a seven-point programme for business development, Ali said that the plan includes strengthening democracy; ensuring greater ease of doing business; improving national competitiveness; facilitating market access; supporting small business development; protecting consumers; and expanding and modernizing business infrastructure and ensuring that businesses operate in a safe environment.
“My administration will not be neglectful or indifferent towards business. We will ensure a robust business environment in order to sustainably generate wealth and create jobs,” he said.
“The PPP/C administrations have traditionally progressively improved the ease of doing business,” he added, while noting that the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business 2020 report notes that Guyana slipped two slots in its rankings for 2019, relative to 2014.
Critics have noted that PPP/C governments had nearly 23 years in office between 1992 and 2015 but many of the difficulties in doing business remained over this period.
Among the problem areas identified were the processing of construction permits, registration of property and the payment of taxes.
“The Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce will spearhead policies to reverse this slippage and to allow the country to climb the rankings. Given that many of the issues concerned with the ‘ease of doing business’ encompass elements outside of its purview, the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce will collaborate with other Ministries and agencies to streamline procedures which impact on business development. These include procedures relating to business start-ups, the payment of taxes, obtaining electricity and approving construction permits. Trade facilitation is another area which will receive the Ministry’s attention. Delays in customs clearance increase costs and reduce export competitiveness. As such, we will be implementing an Electronic Single Window for Trade which will reduce time and costs, simplify trade procedures and eliminate duplication and redundancy,” Ali said.
“Instead of an importer, for example, having to visit six agencies for permits and approvals, all the documentation will be submitted at a single point, and this will then be shared with the various agencies. We will also be seeking to ensure that investors’ applications and requests are facilitated more promptly. As part of our agenda to improve ease-of-doing business, the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) is being restructured as a vehicle to attract and facilitate investment and export promotion,” he added.
The President underscored that businesses need a safe and secure environment to operate and that his government recognizes the need to improve public security.
“We have begun to strengthen the capability of the Guyana Police Force, to combat crime, improving the capacity of the Guyana Revenue Authority to arrest contraband smuggling. My Government will work with the private sector in developing an anti-crime plan aimed to better protecting the business community and citizens,” he asserted.
