Outgoing Canadian High Commissioner Lilian Chatterjee yesterday said that Guyana lacks a skilled and sizeable labour force to benefit from the “explosive” oil-linked growth that is coming and she urged the country not to resist foreign investment but use its judgement on who to trust.
In response to her advice, President Irfaan Ali said his government will continue to press for investments here and ignore criticisms that it was “too business friendly” as it seeks to be “business friendlier”.
In the last of her public addresses here as High Commissioner, the Canadian envoy yesterday told the launch of the Canada Guyana Chamber of Commerce (CGCC) at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre that in the end it all comes down to partnership.
“This is the Canadian approach. We will not flood you with an influx of Canadian employees. We will provide Canadian expertise –– but in order to have true partnership, Canadians will rely on training a skilled workforce in Guyana. But let me be clear – that workforce does not exist right now in Guyana. You do not have the population – yet – to be the engine of your rapid growth,” she said.
“Many oil-producing countries in the Middle East understood that. So you should accept that others – and I suspect they will be mostly your geographic neighbours from CARICOM and the Americas – to support your growth at the outset until Guyana can supply the skilled workforce it needs. Even today, Canada welcomes immigrants to provide the skilled workforce we need to fuel our growth. Don’t resist foreign investment but use your judgement on who you can trust”, she added.
The Canadian High Commissioner also created a buzz when she hinted at an impending merger involving a major Guyanese company and a Canadian one.
While she said she was not at liberty to reveal the names, she said that in January there will be an announcement of a major Guyanese private sector company merging with a very large and influential Canadian private sector company. She said that the Canadian company has been an important jobs creator in Canada and has over the last few months supported its Guyanese partner with management services and capacity building in its non-oil and gas-related business.
Citing Canada’s centuries-old ties with Guyana, Chatterjee said Ottawa is a trusted partner.
“So who can you trust? This is where trusted partners like Canada come in. We were here when you had no oil. We have been a strong and reliable friend for more than a century and we have supported your development all along the way,” she noted.
“And Canada has benefitted too. Not only with our exports to Guyana. But the most important export that Guyana gave to Canada – your people. We have been blessed with a large Guyanese Canadian diaspora (now in its third generation in Canada). Many of them are now giving back to Guyana”, she said.
She added that the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service laid the groundwork for approximately 20 partnerships between Canadian and Guyanese private sector organizations in the oil and gas sector. Canada also spearheaded the signing of a 3-year MOU to share public sector capacity between Newfoundland’s Ministry of Natural Resources and the Government of Guyana.
“You can rely on the Canadian High Commission to continue its strenuous efforts to promote Canadian and Guyanese collaboration in a broad range of sectors, well beyond oil and gas”, she added.
Lauded
President Ali lauded the work of the Canadian diplomat, saying that her three years of service here did not go unnoticed by his party, as even while in opposition it followed the assistance given by the Canadian people.
Making the CGCC inititive a reality, he reminded, was the work of Chatterjee and the President said that he was glad that the High Commissioner was here to see her labour “come to fruition”. Chatterjee will be taking up the post of High Commissioner in Barbados.
At the 152nd anniversary celebrations of Canada Day, the High Commissioner had last year announced that plans were on stream for the establishment of the chamber of commerce in Guyana; a reflection of the growing Canadian business presence here, she said. The launch was delayed by COVID
To Chatterjee’s charge of being open to honest and transparent investment opportunities here, Ali promised to always put country first.
“High Commissioner, you made a point about Guyana not falling into the trap of resisting foreign investment. I want to assure you that the Government of Guyana will not resist but assist foreign investors”, Ali stated.
He added, “There is no point of saying you are part of the global environment, of understanding that you are competing in a global environment, of understanding that we are part of a global network but at the same time do not recognize that we are also part of global competition. It is how we manage this global competition,” he said.
He echoed positions stated during the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) awards held on Wednesday, saying that government alone cannot develop this country and needs help.
Ali had also charged the private sector to be more aggressive in its lobbying of CARICOM to remove trade barriers.
“They need to step their game up. I have all confidence in the Private Sector and the leaders in Guyana that they will step their game up and be equal partners. They will be partners that will fit the bill. They will be partners that will achieve the technological transfers needed to manage the economy. I am sure the private sector agrees with me that there must be a period of transition; where if the skills are not there, the technology might not be there and even the capital might not be there… it is very important that we build and collaborate with partners internationally,” he said.
Facilitate
“The collaboration must be to the benefit of the investors but most importantly for the country. The role of the government is to facilitate the relationships, we depend on you, the private sector operatives, to ensure that relationships and investments redound to the benefit of the Guyanese people,” he added
Ali said that with foreign investments a key economic driver for this country’s economy, Guyana must understand and come to realize that “it is critical for us to match the skills, match the technology… that brings together that capital investment framework that is needed to take our country forward.”
“There are many opportunities for investment but key to this is for us as Guyanese to learn to put Guyana first. We have a serious problem. I am saying this to our Canadian partners because sometimes the headlines are misleading. We are a strongly knitted country that can realize its true potential in a united way but we have always been negotiating from behind. For the first time we are negotiating from in front and with greater strength,” Ali said
Stating that local ice cream has been rejected by CARICOM countries yet many products from the region are easily accessible on Guyana’s market shelves, Ali stressed that the docile acceptance of this situation must change.
“We have been trying to get our produce into one of our closest partners in CARICOM for years, still we are trying and this has to change. We have facilitated investment from other CARICOM countries from other partners without any hurdles. Our private sector never complained. Our private sector never said to the to government scale back. The fact of the matter is we have not been treated the same way. That has to change. I am sorry, that has to change.
“We will make the investment we will share the opportunities but we must get an even and balanced playfield. The opportunities are there but it has to be equal. It took us years to get our ice cream into some markets,” he added.
Chairperson of the CGCC is Anand Beharry of the Beharry Group.
In brief remarks, he said that the body has offices in both Toronto and Georgetown and plans to offer advice and concierge services to its members and others looking to do business in both Canada and Guyana.
The Chamber will also serve as a business advisory body to governments on bilateral matters related to trade and investment in both Guyana and Canada. Members of the CGCC will have access to a wide network of entrepreneurs and decision makers to help create and facilitate business opportunities.
Beharry said that the Chamber has already attracted a number of leading companies and business leaders. Founding Members of the CGCC include: Banks DIH Ltd., Caribbean Surgery Inc., Cataleya Energy Limited, CGX Energy Inc., Demerara Distillers Limited, Edward Beharry & Company Limited, Empire Plus Home and Commercial Inspection Services Inc., Gafsons Industries Limited, Gaico Construction and General Services Inc., Go Logistics Inc., Gold Source Mines Inc., Gold X Mining Corp., the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry Limited, Guyana Goldfields Inc., Guysons Oil and Gas, International Development and Relief Foundation , JHI Associates Inc., N&S Mattai & Company, NALICO/NAFICO, NSB Omega Guyana Inc., Panthera Solutions Inc., Precision Truck Lines Inc., Royal Bank of Canada, Scotia Bank Guyana Inc., Sterling Products Limited.
