PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar has responded to claims made by Leader of the Opposition that the People’s Progressive Party Administration is to blame for the current state of Guyana’s economic development. 

At the 18th Biennial Congress of the People’s National Congress Reform, Brigadier (ret’d) David Granger, had hurled accusations at the current administration stating that, “Guyana’s economic development has been impeded… [and] its international competitiveness has been impaired.”
The President made no objection to there being threats to Guyana’s competitiveness but he rejected the claims made against the country’s investor confidence. He called on the Opposition Leader to assume the mantle since he himself can change the current situation.
Speaking on the role of establishing an effective Anti-Money Laundering and Countering of Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime and the Amaila Hydroelectricity Project, in international competitiveness and investor confidence, the President remarked that while he has not yet examined the Opposition Leader’s speech in its entirety, “I am surprised that he has made such a statement because he can help a lot in that regard by first passing the Anti-Money Laundering Bill.”

INVESTOR CONFIDENCE
On the question of investor confidence the President rejected the claim and stated that, “if you look at the investments we have been having in our country… it is very high,” adding that, “I think he is wrong in the one count about investors’ confidence.”
He similarly noted that not only has there been great investment in infrastructure but there has been much interest expressed in Guyana from international investors.
“I think investors’ confidence is extremely high and he can help… he is impeding some of these issues that we can move much faster on by not wanting to support the Anti-Money Laundering Bill,” said President Ramotar.
Chairman of the PNCR, Mr. Basil Williams in his address to the 18th biennial congress had solidified his party’s position stating that, “APNU [A Partnership for National Unity] refused to be railroaded into passing the AML/CFT Bill without the APNU amendments being adopted by the Government.”

FLASHBACK: AML & AMAILA
Calls had been made even before the first advisory by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) by both Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh and the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA).
President of the GMSA, Mr. Clinton Williams had warned during a business luncheon held in honour of the visiting Trinidadian Minister for Planning and Sustainable Development, Dr. Bhoendradatt Tiwarie in June last that ahead of the Eighth Americas Competitiveness Forum to be held in the twin-island republic in September, “We will be tarnished to the extent that people (from the Americas Competiveness Forum (ACF)) will not want to talk to us, much less invest.”
The Eighth Americas Competitiveness Forum is scheduled to be held in Trinidad and Tobago in October 2014, and Guyana is set to participate in deliberations of the business sector in that meeting.
Williams expressed the view that Guyana’s representation at that forum would more likely suffer from interventions taken by the rest of the world to deem Guyana a risk for money laundering and the financing of terrorism, as recommended by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).
As regards market opportunities, the GMSA president noted that what often persists in small nations like Guyana and those within the rest of the Caribbean is an inability to garner funds for investment opportunities. He said that for such small nations, investment capital is difficult to come by, and no responsible investor would invest in an environment which does not adhere to international regulation.
At that very event, speaking on the need for energy in competitiveness, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh stressed that available and reliable energy sources remains one of the major issues faced by the Caribbean region.
The Finance Minister observed that the GMSA and other private sector businesses are fully aware that the most severe impediment to growth and expansion and even to competitiveness and profitability in the business sector is the cost and reliability of available energy. He added that manufacturing businesses have been burdened by investing in redundant sources of energy because a power outage on the production line would ultimately stymie efficiency.
“We have a situation in Guyana where, to put it bluntly, the supply of electricity off of our national grid is more expensive than it should be and it is not as reliable as it should be,” Singh acknowledged.
“We understand the challenges of the electricity company and the grid services such a widely dispersed population.”
Dr. Singh pointed out that the Amaila Falls Hydroelectricity Project and the availability of a reliable energy source is one of the most topical issues which transcends to the core of the whole membership. The crux of the matter, he noted, is that there exists a problem with the provision of energy which needs to be addressed.
The solution, he stated, was devised by the Government of Guyana working along with some of the largest and most credible international institutions and credible international investors.
Written By Derwayne Wills