-executive member says body is not here to “rate” Gov’t’s performance

Members of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) are seemingly at odds over two statements issued recently, which are believed to have been ‘politically motivated.’
An email trail seen by this publication on Tuesday revealed dissatisfaction by one of the PSC’s Executive Member, Komal Singh, who requested of the body to consult with other members before issuing statements.

“I humbly suggest that we consult with the executive members before we make public statements,” Singh said in his first email to other executive members.
The recipients were; Chairman Edward Boyer, Ramesh Dookhoo, Ramesh Persaud, Gerry Gouveia, Elizabeth Alleyne, Bert Sukhai, Annette Arjun and Eric Phillips.
Singh, who is new to the PSC questioned in his email who has the authority to make public statements which he believes should represent the collective views of all members.
“I am new to PSC. Who has the authority to make Public Statements? I was of the view that when public statements need to be made it should represent the views of the entire PSC. I am not sure how true this is when the Executive Management committee is not part of public statement,” Singh wrote.
The executive member went on to state that he is of the view that public statements which were made by the body, were done through a few members.
“Correct me if I am wrong, but I am of the view that Public Statements are made with a few members,” he said.
In response, former Chairman of the Commission, Ramesh Dookhoo, asked Singh to share with the group if he disagreed with any of the points made in the press statements.
“Komal instead of focusing on the method of doing releases tell us if you disagree with any point in the release,” Dookhoo wrote.

Singh then replied to the former Chairman, stating that while he does not disagree with some of the releases, he disagrees with the manner in which the releases were presented.
“I do not disagree with some of the releases, what it is I disagree with is the manner in which some of the releases are presented,” he said, adding that what he would have done is present some the information in a more ‘statistical manner.’
The executive member explained to the Commission that using words alone to explain certain matters is not sufficient, especially in relation to the economy.
And with the Commission attempting to rate the performance of the 21-month old government recently, Singh said that it is not the PSC’s task to ‘rate’ the executive’s performance.

“PSC is not here to rate Government’s performance. PSC is here to work with the government of the day to make sure they implement systems and legislation that will create positive impact on sustainable growth and development,” the executive member said.
He explained that in that context, the body must continue to engage stakeholders, and if it needs to engage the public to send pressure, then it must have that (statistical) information properly documented so the public can clearly understand what the body is saying.
“You are the expert on data gathering and you know where to find reliable data,” he told the PSC members.

Realistic in reasoning, Singh offered that he wouldn’t pretend “everything is going well and the government is doing everything right,” but the body should be mindful of its concerns appearing as though it is not speaking from a business perspective.
“We are the professionals and we understand the economy and the business environment more than anyone else. So let us present our case either publicly or directly to the government in a professional manner” he said.

Further, the executive member charged the other members to “test the water” for once, and see how accurate the information coming from the PSC is.
He recommended that the body start by asking all of its members if financial statements are up to date. If they are, he continued, then the PSC is “solid” with its arguments and can request of others to show their last financial audited statements.
Singh explained that the PSC is a Corporate Body and by all right, if it is going to represent any situation, it needs to have some “firm backing” to support its argument.
“I suggest we gather the following information after which it will allow us to clearly see exactly where there are shortfalls and a reason can be assigned or a possible solution, to keep that sector growing,” he concluded.

Just recently the PSC released a statement which expressed its “lack of confidence” in the way the government was managing the economy.
“The members of the business community present expressed a lack of confidence in the manner the Government is managing the economy. This is reflected in the flight of capital from Guyana and the lack of significant new investments in the last 2 years,” the Commission said in its statement.

In response, Government said it believes the statement was “politically motivated” and intended to shame the executive since it was released while the country was hosting the 28 Inter-sessional Meeting of the Heads of Government of CARICOM.
Additionally, the government said it finds it “shameful that the PSC has allowed itself to be used as a political stool pigeon to repeat the propagandistic chatter of the opposition and to seek to undermine confidence in our economy and good governance.”
The executive said that instead of sharing pride that Guyana is a stable democracy that enjoys full respect for business and security for investment, the PSC yields to its political handlers in attempting to be a spoiler.