Be bold

Upholding democracy: Outgoing High Commissioner of Canada, Lilian Chatterjee (left) receiving a token of appreciation yesterday from the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association for ensuring democracy prevailed in the post-election drama. The presentation was made by President Irfaan Ali at State House.

President Irfaan Ali last evening charged the private sector to be more aggressive in its lobbying of  CARICOM to remove trade barriers.

Ali, who was the guest speaker at the Guyana Manufacturing and Ser-vices Association (GMSA) annual awards ceremony held at State House last evening, posited that while government will do its part in its push to have CARICOM remove the red tape on products from Guyana, the private sector needs to also do its part.

“I want to say to the President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association that your engagement with CARICOM must be bold. It is time we bring down the barriers to trade. It is time we stake out the place. And while we have the capacity to invest in food security, the private sector needs to push hard on all the barriers that prevent our goods and services from entering a free market, an open market, a unified market in CARICOM,” the President stressed.