| …promises cheaper energy, ‘reviewed’ taxes, once re-electedThe second of two political discourses hosted by the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) yesterday,Wholesale Jerseys China, saw Head of State, Donald Ramotar, once again promising the business community cheaper energy.President Donald RamotarHe also promised, again, the “responsible” revision of taxes and a glimpse of his party’s new programmes designed to stimulate further growth in Guyana, once he is re-elected.Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Government officials gathered at the Guyana Marriott Hotel for that event.This business luncheon was part of a series of parlays with the main contenders for the executive Presidency in the run up to the May 11 National and Regional Elections.It was originally scheduled for the Guyana Pegasus but at the last minute, the organisers opted to shift to the Marriott. When asked about the change in venue, the GMSA organizers said that the Marriott offered a cheaper rate, something that the Pegasus proved was a lie.President Ramotar said that since 1990, the government has not given out any other commercial banking license,Cheap NFL Authentic Jerseys, because the size of the economy at the time was very small.But once re-elected, his intention is to grant more in an effort to stimulate competition which would hopefully, lead to reduced interest rates that would benefit the business community.While the banking system is doing well, Ramotar said that he still detects some amount of conservativeness, but assured his audience that government would definitely seek out reputable banks to improve this situation.He said that he wants to help other sectors to grow through a menu of fiscal measures his technical personnel have developed to help small and medium size enterprises to grow.A section of the audience at the business luncheon.He spoke once more on the need for cheap energy and said that the private sector and government have agreed that hydro power indeed represents a hub around which the country’s economic potential could revolve.The President said that priority should be given to the Amaila Falls project for it has proven to be feasible. He said that Government would develop a sales campaign to garner support for an investment package to support the project.It would also seek to persuade a consortium of financiers to come on board with the plan. He promised that once re-elected, he will pursue the project, and “hopefully” start building before year end.Ramotar also spoke to Guyana’s potential for becoming an aerial hub and in thisHoward Bulkan, Managing Director of Bulkan Timber Worksregard, emphasized the importance of a new airport which would facilitate more aircraft coming to Guyana. This,Cheap Authentic Jerseys, he said, would have great spin off effects.As he lauded the Marriott Hotel, he then spoke to the need for a Deep Water Harbour at the mouth of the Berbice River to deal with the time of maritime change. He said that Guyana can become a maritime hub as well, as such a facility will help Guyana to export and import in larger volumes.Ramotar then spoke of government’s plans to establish a free trade zone which will bring employment, involve the paving of the Lethem road and the opening up of that district.The President also stressed to the business community, that it is important to ensure the support of the macro-economic environment and its stability, for it has help Guyana to grow.Ramotar said that while the opposition has been promising all kinds of freeness, like cutting taxes, Government will however; promise to keep it under review.“I promise you we will keep them under review; we have brought down corporation taxes … and as the economy improves we will bring it down in a responsible way,” he added.Ramotar then shifted his attention to human capital. He said that his administration will continue to pursue the realignment of the education system to deal with the effective development of the nation’s skills.The President then said that once re-elected, he will examine very closely, hindrances to doing business with ease in Guyana and seek to minimize them. He made even more promises; among them was the liberalization of the ICT sector.Earlier, GMSA President, Clinton Williams, spoke about several issues facing the business sector. He said that he is grateful that Government for the most part, has adopted many of the developmental strategies that are within the remit of the “Caricom Experts’ recommendations.The recommendations focus on priority sectors that the Region must pursue in order to mitigate against future global economic shocks and natural disasters.“We are of the view that our development strategies must continue to be underpinned by issues such as Food Security,Cheap MLB Jerseys Free Shipping, Energy Security, Recovery and/or Repositioning of the Tourism Sector and the pursuit of New Economic Drivers such as ICT, Renewable Energy and Trade-in-Services,” Williams added.While noting that the availability of dependable electrical power has been a long standing issue for most businesses in Guyana, especially for manufacturers, the GMSA President asserted that Government’s recent move to reduce electricity charges by 10 percent across the board is a positive step in this direction.He said, however,Chandler Hutchison Jersey, that more needs to be done before any competitive advantage in the local, regional and international market place is to be achieved.He added, “We would like to see definitive strategies for maximizing our natural resources potential via the creation of value added manufacturing industries particularly in sectors such as Agriculture, Agro processing, Forestry, Minerals,Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys, Light Manufacturing and Services for which the priority should be SME’s utilizing the Cluster approach.”“According to a recently released report by the Caribbean Export Development Agency, Cariforum Countries overall exports for 2013 totaled US$51 Billion from which the Services Subsector accounted for 62 percent.“It is indeed totally unacceptable that despite being one of the first Caribbean Countries to establish a “Coalition of Services Industries Cluster” our Trade-in-Services receipts continue to be virtually non-existent, that is, despite being signatures to many Multilateral and Bilateral Trade Agreements for which reciprocal services trade features prominently.”The GMSA President then emphasized the importance of the discussions with the candidates for the position of holding office. He said that the parlays are intended to enable manufacturers, service providers, and distributors to question each candidate on the matters that directly affect the conduct of their business, and to assess each party’s Economic Blueprint going forward. |
