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President Bharrat Jagdeo pursues foreign and local investment, builds
confidence in private sector "My vision for Guyana caters to the essentials of
all our people, and the creation of a modern society with a highly
educated population, doubling the standard of living in 10 years."
The president reiterated that no sector is barred
from investment, that he guarantees no restrictions on the flow
of profits or dividends and that there would be absolutely no nationalization.
"I strongly believe that the government and the
private sector can work together. Global experience has shown that
where government and the private sector have worked well together,
the potential of economies has been unleashed and opportunities
created."
This is why, he said, his government has been redefining
its role, moving away from involvement in the productive activities
to providing an enabling environment for the development of the
private sector.
The Private Sector Commission's Chairman, George
Jardim, confirmed this, "We've had a tremendous dialogue and a lot
of fruitful things happen out of that dialogue. President Jagdeo
met with us at a business summit last October and we agreed on 19
measures. I can tell you that 17 of those measures have been implemented
or are very close to implementation."
Guyana economy on a steady growth curve
Jagdeo said that in the last seven years, the government
has accelerated the privatization of public sector entities, improved
the infrastructure and the regulatory and incentive framework. We
continue to attract investment in key sectors of the economy, he
said.
"Our government has created a very stable macroeconomic
environment. We have reduced interest rates, realized single-digit
inflation and reduced the national foreign debt from $2.1 billion
to $1.2 billion."
The Guyana economy grew at more than 5 percent per
annum on average between 1993 and 1999; inflation declined from
more than 100 percent in 1991 to about 9 percent in 1999, interest
rates fell from more than 35 percent to 17 percent, and the deficit
of central government operations declined from more than 25 percent
in 1991 to less than 3 percent in 1999. In addition, the deficit
of balance of payments fell precipitously from 48 percent of GDP
in 1991 to less than 10 percent in 1999 while the external debt
fell sharply from $2.1 billion to about $1.1 billion.
President Jagdeo is the youngest CARICOM leader
Jagdeo has the respect of the international community
as is demonstrated by the high regard from other Caribbean Community
and Common Market leaders.
At the last CARICOM heads of government conference,
Basdeo Panday, prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago commended Jagdeo,
who has been the focus of special coverage in the media in Trinidad
and Tobago as the youngest and newest head of government, for expressing
concern that CARICOM move along rapidly toward a single market and
economy.
Panday observed that the older leaders of the region
may well be faced "with a generation that will show no tolerance
for the inherent slow pace of progress in the implementation of
CARICOM decisions."
Jagdeo also cautioned the Caribbean against becoming
fixated with regional integration at the expense of opportunities
presented by the wider world.
"I believe strongly in Caribbean integration, but
I do not believe that we should get so fixated on integration that
we lose sight of a larger world out there," he told a business leaders
awards presentation banquet at which the Jamaica Observer was host.
"Sometimes I think we are looking through the wrong
end of the telescope because through the Lomé Convention we have
had access to the European markets, more markets than we have ever
had through the single market and economy.
"But we have not been able to take advantage of
those markets because of the absence of entrepreneurs on a large
scale and because we have not tackled our productive structures.
We can go on and open all the markets in the world (but) if we don't
deal with those issues, we will never be able to prosper as a region,"
he said.
The things that would strengthen the region's ability
to compete globally, he suggested, "include training and strengthening
a culture of entrepreneurship to fully exploit business and trade
opportunities, improving the macroeconomy, continuing to improve
the policy environment, aggressively pursuing the maintenance and
expansion of markets and focusing on human resource development
and civil service support."
The Jamaican Observer invited Jagdeo to present
business awards at their business leader of the year function and
has lauded his vision. The paper's managing director said, "we believe
you (President Jagdeo) represent an emerging leadership of the Caribbean
of the kind which is critical to take the region forward in the
21st century.
"We became convinced of this after your spectacular
presentation at the luncheon at last December's annual Miami Conference.
Your vision for the region was refreshing."
As Calypso King of the World, the Mighty Sparrow
puts it, "age is just a number."
Numbers figure prominently in the management of
Guyana's economy for the president, a former minister of finance
for four years who still holds the portfolio, although he now battles
with other matters of the state, especially with general elections
scheduled for next year.
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"We have embarked on an aggressive drive to encourage more local
and foreign entrepreneurs to do business in Guyana," said President
Bharrat Jagdeo, adding that Guyana stands to benefit through jobs
and wealth creation, revenue flows and access to capital and modern
technology.