… says outgoing President
The major success of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), according to President, Mr. Chandradat Chintamani, is being able to attain recognition as a voice of the Private Sector and to be included at the forefront of current issues.
“ Over the past 12 months, what we have done is bring the Chamber into recognition as it relates to its members and the wider business community. We are fighting the challenges that the business community faces,” he said.
Mr. Chintamani, who demits office at month end, when a new President will be in place, noted that various sectors involve the Chamber in discussions on different issues, keeping the private sector on the front-burner of development in Guyana.
“For example, the Customs Administration wants to implement new processes or policies, and it will contact the Chamber to find out how these will work and how they will impact members of the business community,” Chintamani said.
He added that the Chamber, in turn, makes suggestions in the interest of being open in the way business is conducted.
Stressing the Chamber’s focus on “above the board operations”, the outgoing President alluded to a Code of Conduct that has being developed by the Chamber and soon will be circulated in the business community.
“Unfortunately the Code of Conduct has not yet been approved by the Chamber’s Council, but I  am sure that this will be addressed soon…All of us have agreed  that this is what we need as a blueprint for the private sector…It is just a matter of approval and implementation,” he said.
On another note, Chintamani contends that it is a well-known fact that the private sector is an engine of growth in any economy.

Private Sector’s Role
“We are the ones who invest. We are the ones who employ. We are the ones who come up with creative thinking. We are the ones who look at value-added services…The government is there to provide stable economic conditions and put stable macro-economic policies in place, but we are the ones who take those polices implemented by the government and create the opportunity for investment in Guyana,” Chintamani said.
However, he observed that even though various parts of Regent Street, for example, testify to this fact, the private sector is “bombarded” with hurdles.
Chintamani noted that the Chamber has just over 100 financial members, but it represents the interest of the wider business community.
“Whatever we are working towards and creating for our membership has to cover the wider business community…Whether a business is a member or not, that is not where it ends.
He made it clear that the Chamber is working to overcome these hurdles by coming out and addressing them publicly.
He stated that the Chamber should not have to deal with the majority of the “hurdles” that they address, but rather deal with how to provide a better service and a better product.
“The authorities should be dealing with our issues. As opposed to fighting to getting containers cleared, we should look at how we manage the businesses to be more efficient, to be transparent and to add value to what we do,” he said.
Chintamani said coming out to share the Chamber’s concerns publicly has been one way to address the challenges facing the business community, whose interest the Chamber holds.
He said, “We have been getting somewhere. Sometimes we get criticism and sometimes we get results. The most important thing for us is the results,” Chintamani said.
Chintamani acknowledged that Chamber is open to criticism, and this indicates that people recognize the role of the Chamber.
Relative to the importance of the private sector, Chintamani made reference to one major area: investments.
He highlighted that the Chamber has been around for many years and has built a good reputation, and so, “every investor that wants to come into Guyana contacts the Chamber.
“We get involved in terms of looking at areas of opportunities, providing input of where we see Guyana in the future…areas that are challenging, and questions they need to be answered, all are addressed by the Chamber,” Chintamani said.
Also, the Chamber, over the years, has been involved in development projects.
Investments
He noted that the challenge that persists in the area of investment, expressly foreign investment, is that investors do not fully understand the prospects that are available.
“With a history of unstable political conditions in Guyana, potential investors would want to see long-term stability. We have been seeing stability since 2001, but nine years is not long enough for some investors,” he said.
Chintamani added that even with the stable political conditions over the last nine years, “uncalled for political statements” made by some politicians send wrong signals to potential investors.
“If foreign investments are discouraged, the whole country suffers,” Chintamani said.
With the global financial crisis being another obvious concern when it comes to investments, Chintamani maintained that Guyana, as a whole, has withstood the crisis well, better than most countries in the Caribbean.
He said, “The policies we have in place, the guidelines that we would have gotten, have seen Guyana through a major crisis. We would not have gone through the financial crisis if the policies were not stringent and transparent.”

All in all, Chintamani affirmed that the Chamber’s position is that Guyana, now and in the future, is headed in the direction for advancement.
“If you look at all the projects: the Takutu Bridge, the oil exploration that is on stream, tourism and others, we see much capacity for economic enhancement,” he said.
In acknowledgement of this, Chintamani said the private sector is positioning itself, with advancements in infrastructure, for example, to exploit the prospects that are becoming available.
According to the outgoing President, this is an indication that the prospects for Guyana are “excellent”.
Chintamani noted that the Chamber’s confidence in Guyana’s future will also be solidified by advancements at the GCCI level.
The outgoing President pointed out that in 2010, targeted areas of focus will be the enhancement of services to the business community, promotion of online advertising to bolster business operations, and the resuscitation of the secretariat.
“The role of the Chamber has been recognized and efforts will continue to build on that recognition…As outgoing President, I will be part of the council and will work closely to ensure that what we established over the years continues into the future,” Chintamani assured.