— Corentyne Chambers urges

CENTRAL Corentyne Chamber of Commerce (CCCC) President, Mohamed Rafeek, is calling on government to postpone closure of Rose Hall Estate this year-end to mid-2018 to allow laid-off workers ample time to seek alternative employment.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, he said the move would be helpful since the business climate in Berbice is also suffering a decline.

“During crop time, Rose Hall Estate, from my understanding pays out around G$50 million every month, now you are taking that out of circulation, can you imagine the impact that is going to have in Berbice?; can you imagine what is going to happen in New Amsterdam and those businesses there? Which is why we are recommending to run the estate up to mid-2018 to allow the workers some time to seek other employment and give us the private sector some time to see if we can get private investors to run the estate to avoid this loss of cash flow,” he said.

Berbicians, especially those on East Berbice, Corentyne are contending that they have seen a reduction of about 35 per cent of business in general and that this is cause for concern in the business community.

Rafeek said based on the numbers from the 1st quarter report, business should have started to pick up by now but this is yet to happen.

He lamented that the economy is based on government’s spending and given the slow release of funds for government contracts, as also expressed by the Minister of Finance, the cash flow is simply not there and the CCCC is asking government to look into this matter.

The capital expenditure as of June 2017 was G$15.8B, an increase of G$2.6B, compared to G$13.2B for June 2016. However despite this increase in capital expenditure, the figure only represents 27.8 per cent of the G$56.7B budgeted for 2017.

CONTRACTION
According to many like John Quinn, a cane harvester from Alness, during the out of crop season they usually get construction work with contractors in the area; however, they have not been getting the amount of work they are accustomed to, putting a strain on them to maintain their families during the out-of-crop period.

“When is out-of-crop time, I does work with contractors doing construction work but them men not getting the amount of contracts they used to get, is mostly small work them saying them tender but don’t know when the work gon be awarded so we can’t get a bite. I does try lil farming but everybody doing the same thing so prices cheap; me ain’t know what gun happen when them close the other estates cause is more people and not enough jobs,” he lamented.

The economy in Berbice being heavily dependent of agriculture is feeling the squeeze more than other regions due to the decline in prices of rice and sugar, two of the major sources of employment and revenue for the region.

In the first, quarter rice production surged by a whopping 51.5 per cent from 56,593 tonnes in 2016 to 85, 747 in 2017. This, despite lower world market prices, was seen as a contributing factor to the economic growth experienced in the first half.

However, given the heavy rainfall and the over-topping of the Canje Creek that led to the flooding of the Kakrite Creek Savannah and surrounding areas, many have been forced to reduce the amount of land they usually cultivate, while others have suffered from poor grades due to damaged crops. This is believed to be one of the contributory factors for the current decline in cash flow.

The overall standing as of June 2017 for rice has seen a decrease of US$11M from exports for the same period last year.

Sugar production continues to decline and the industry is presently under a reconstruction phase, as the government announced the closure of a few estates and seeks diversification as a means of making the remaining estates profitable.

One businessman, who requested anonymity, cited security as being a contributing factor for the decline in business. He related that many families have advised their relatives against coming home in light of the recent jailbreak, despite the authorities having managed to keep the situation under control.

APPROVAL OF U.S. VISAS
Another businessman contended that with the recent surge in visa approvals by the U.S. Embassy, many families have been taking their money abroad to spend.
“There is a significant decline in sales based on what we are accustomed to but you can’t blame the government for everything. If you look at the amount of visitors and permanent visas being granted by the U.S., you will realise a lot of money is being spent out of the country on ticket sales and shopping etc, plus our population is getting smaller and those that normally visit their families in Guyana and would spend here are no longer coming because the Guyanese are going there and visit instead. So this too adds up and will contribute to a decline in sales and as businessmen we have to find ways and means of coping with this decline.”

With the resumption of the 2nd crop at the Albion and Rose Hall estates and the start of the 1st crop at Skeldon Estate, many are looking forward to increased cash flow in time for the start of the new school year.

Despite businesses declaring a decline in sales, many have already stocked up for the new school year, while others are already looking ahead to the Christmas season and with the huge chunk of money still unspent from the budget, many are optimistic that things will get better.