Minister of Business declares… Zero-tolerance for ‘contaminated’ business environment –promises ‘no fooling around with investors’
The negative perception of corruption is a sine qua non if Guyana is to develop and maintain a healthy investment climate, says Minister Gaskin
The negative perception of corruption is a sine qua non if Guyana is to develop and maintain a healthy investment climate, says Minister Gaskin

GUYANA has consistently received a low rating by Transparency International on corruption, a problem perceived to be endemic here.Corruption is a cancer to development and by virtue of this, it negatively affects the image of a country.
With the recent change in Administration, the perception of high levels of corruption would have probably dipped as there is a general acceptance that the new Government will be less tolerant of the scourge.
The cancer is widespread from top and bottom and at many different levels. To fix it would require the problem first being weeded out at the top, and then sending the signal to the bottom.
Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin told the Guyana Chronicle that changing the negative perception of corruption is a sine qua non if Guyana is to develop and maintain a healthy business environment and investment climate.
For this to happen, he said, a robust effort is needed to actively weed out corruption within all organisations.

ZERO-TOLERANCE APPROACH
“This is going to be a challenge, but it is something that we have to be prepared to do. I think it is easier when you, from a point of greater moral authority, are able to address it by promoting a zero-tolerance approach to corruption. That is what we will have to do; we will have to be very harsh when it comes to corrupt practices in Government. There is no other way to do it, we cannot sit back and allow the business environment, especially, to be contaminated and tainted by corrupt practices.”
A corrupt environment, the Minister told the Guyana Chronicle, affects not just the public purse, but legitimate businesses as it is difficult for them to compete in an environment where their competitors use crooked means to gain an advantage.
ACROSS THE BOARD
“We need to fix it across the board; it’s going to take a great effort because corruption has become endemic, almost a part of our culture. It is going to be a challenge, but we will reduce corruption,” Minister Gaskin said, expressing optimism the next Transparency International report would show Guyana in a brighter light.
There is much work to be done in removing the perception of Guyana being a highly corrupt nation. This, Gaskin said, will be a chief focus of the Administration during the next five years.
Added to the perception of corruption is the frequent complaint about the time it takes for an investor to be granted approval to set up business in Guyana. Many investors have observed that the process takes too long, even with regular follow-ups.
Go-Invest Chief Executive Officer Keith Burrows told the Guyana Chronicle that on many occasions, the potential investors have themselves to blame. The delay, he said, is due to the long time they take to submit critical documents.
Minister Gaskin said the Ministry of Business will be examining the process to find out where the bottlenecks are, or whether there are other causes for the delay.
“I know and I think most Guyanese would have had the experience where they sent an application in… and never hear from them again. That has been a trend, where you have to follow-up, even though all requirements have been satisfied,” the Minister acknowledged.
He said that as long as all the requirements are satisfied, the ball is no longer in the investor’s court.
“If you tell me that these are the requirements, and I fulfil the requirements and hand the application over to you, the ball is in your court (Go-Invest). We need to get it right again, we as the Government are not here to fool around with people’s businesses, we are not here to give people a hard time; we have indicated what our priorities are in terms of promoting investment for the purpose of job creation, poverty alleviation.”
The Minister of Business said a strong line will be taken against any department or agency which through inefficiency, incompetence or any other reason is slowing down the system.
But he said attention will also be paid on examining if resources must be directed to certain agencies that are not physically able to cope with processing of applications and documentation.
“We have to examine and find out what the problem is and try to fix it. A lot of work has been put into the whole doing business aspect of things and there have been several recommendations. We do not have to re-invent the wheel; it is a question of implementation,” Minister Gaskin told the Guyana Chronicle.
CAPTIONS:

1: Photo saved as: Gaskin
Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin

2: Photo saved as: Corruption

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