One of the particular specializations of both state and private sector bureaucracies is a seemingly incurable proclivity for sound bite-driven pronouncements – attention-getters as these are referred to in media circles – designed to secure more elaborate repetition in the media in ways that massage their own egos. Some of our own bureaucrats, particularly those in the public sector, (Ministers, particularly, come to mind here) shamelessly indulge in the habit, altogether uncaring of what, all too frequently, is the gap between utterance and intention. Much of the reason why the media doesn’t altogether ignore this form of behaviour is that it almost often fits in with their pursuit of attention-getting utterances. These have the effect of getting attention and eliciting comment in a manner that run-of-the-mill pronouncements usually do. The propensity for sound bites, particularly among high officials is driven largely by a lack of appetite among many journalists for probing follow-up questions designed to, at least, test the sincerity of these sound bite–driven utterances.
While this newspaper is by no means saying that such was the remark earlier this week by the newly-elected President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kester Hutson, during an interview with the state-run Department of Public Information (DPI), that the GCCI “is ready to partner with the government in efforts to advance the country’s food security agenda,” we believe that this is just the kind of assertion that ought to be thoroughly probed in order to determine the extent of preparedness on both sides to immerse themselves in serious and genuine dialogue in this regard. Part of the problem with Mr. Hutson’s wish for a partnership, is that the procedures and protocols that would bring the two sides together, the likely protracted nature of the discourse and – assuming that some understanding is reached – the erection of the ‘structures’ within such collaboration, will probably only take place over a considerable period of time. The reality here is that local institutions in both the public and private sector have, over time, shown themselves to favour prevarication and palaver over expeditiousness, an approach that tends to have a wearing down effect and a drifting off in various directions.
If it is good news, coming from Mr. Hutson, that “our members” (of the GCCCI) “have started in the up-scaling and up-skilling of their resources and in the expansion of their operations,” and have further, been “exposed to advanced technologies and methodologies of doing business from a global standpoint,” then surely, that indication of readiness ought to have been attended by (as one of his earliest acts as the new Head of the Chamber) putting together a well thought out proposal to government for discourses on much closer cooperation/collaboration between the Chamber and the government that not only sets timelines for discourses, but also itemizes some of the specific issues that could form the agenda for discussions. Critically, without this, many of us will grow old before some kind of understanding is reached between the two sides.
What makes Mr. Hutson’s comment timely is that it comes at a point when the advent of oil and gas as a factor in the wider public/private sector relationship, arguably, heightens the prospects for meaningful discourse between the Chamber and the Government. Here, we believe, that it is important to point out that meaningful discourses between the Chamber and the Government must, of necessity, embody an agenda that echoes the concerns of the small business sub-sector. Contextually, one issue that comes to mind are timelines for the operationalizing of the Agro Processing facilities that have recently been established at locations across the country, presumably with the intent of encouraging the growth of both farming and manufacturing across wider swathes of the country. Here, the point can hardly be made sufficiently that the Ministry of Agriculture needs to move with haste to oversee the full startup of operations at all of those facilities.
As has already been mentioned, the GCCI has grown in stature on account of the high-profile role that it has played in a number of issues pertaining to the emergence of the oil and gas sector in Guyana. Accordingly, it must be mindful that it not only continue to grow that profile by helping to create an agenda for frequent and relevant interaction with the government, but also to ensure that it significantly expands its sphere of interest/influence to include the emerging businesses in the small and micro sectors. That kind of macrocosmic contribution to employment generation, entrepreneurship and economic growth will work wonders for its profile.
