Thinking Big
Editorial
Thinking big In a forthright speech to the Private Sector Commission this week American Ambassador James Mack said that over the last four decades Guyana had failed to live up to its potential chiefly because of a refusal to give private sector investment free rein. Some leaders had been committed to socialism which had failed, here and elsewhere. But even now there seems to be a `lingering ambivalence' towards foreign investment sprinkled across the political spectrum. He said there may be some who fear the `unknown aspects' of globalisation. But, he noted, countries everywhere are competing for investment and businessmen will not come to a country where there are too many regulations or other problems. The Ambassador identified nine issues. First, he said, there was an urgent need for an investment code. This has been under discussion for two years and he suggested it should now be an absolute priority. Investors want a clear and simple code setting out the ground rules. It should be made as easy as possible to set up a new business as this attracts investors. The Ambassador called for a prompt, efficient, consistent and honest customs administration which he said was vital to the private sector. He also called for the lowering of some sky-high tariff rates which create incentives for cheating and corruption. Lower rates can lead to more revenue. He said prices for land in Georgtown were astonishingly high and land was scarce which is "puzzling when there is plenty of land closely surrounding Georgetown which is now being used to grow sugar cane at costs which are not even competitive in the protected markets Guyana currently enjoys". He referred to the archaic rent laws which are a deterrent to property development. The Ambassador took a swipe at the Public Utilities Commission for being "needlessly antagonistic to a major foreign investor". Regulatory issues, he said, should be approached in a professional manner based on law. He said opposition parties play an important role and must be consistent in their adherence to the rule of law and the peaceful democratic means of settling political disputes. Civil unrest scares away investors. Finally, he said union leaders must be sober and responsible in their advocacy and the private sector must learn to innovate and think creatively to take advantage of the opportunities that exist. "Guyana needs to build a sense of dynamism and excitement in its busienss sector" he argued saying that success creates its own mementum. Despite President Jagan's positive speech in Miami last December it is fair to say that Government is still not pushing private investment as energetically as it needs to. New investment is vital and the long delay in producing an investment code is inexcusable. So many of government's good ideas or intentions seem to abort due to lack of follow through. The Revenue Authority was meant to improve customs efficiency and revenue collection. It has been held up by a court case. Either the hearing of a case of that importance should be expedited or government should seek to negotiate a settlement with the plaintiff and get the thing done. At the end of the day we have not begun to see the kind of dynamic investment the country needs. The government must take a lot of the blame for this in its first term when a lot of potential investors were put off by the dithering and ambivalence they encountered at ministerial and other levels. In its second term it has been hard to gain momentum given the ongoing political pressures, some of them quite unjustifiable. Its mood now seems to be clearer, it realises that the stagnation is disastrous and it badly wants investment. What it must do is summon the energy and the personnel to do the hard work necessary to put things in place to facilitate investors and to translate rhetoric into action.
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