THE Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development,  in collaboration with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) yesterday hosted a consultation which  deal with  the implementation of the Caribbean Local Economic Development Programmme (CARILED) in the country. The meeting was held at the Guyana National Stadium, Conference room and saw representatives of CARILED and the Local Government Ministry addressing the Neigbourhood Democratic Council of region four(Demerara/Mahaica) as it relates to entrepreneurship.
Representative of CARILED, Dr. Naresh Singh who addressed the meeting, said that for a government to take on this project on its own , it will be a real challenge as such the necessary support is needed in this regard .
He assured that CARILED is willing and ready to support and fund economic ventures within the regional setting to ensure that this is a major success in Guyana.
He pointed out the initiative will seek to provide opportunities for small scale businesses in terms of the provision of loans and other critical areas of their businesses.
Local Government Minster Ganga Persaud at a recent press briefing said the aim of the consultation is to assess Guyana’s suitability for the implementation of the Caribbean Local Economic Development Programmme (CARILED)
The minister stated that Guyana was among one of seven Caribbean countries chosen for the implementation of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) programmme aimed at bolstering and supporting the entrepreneurial endeavors within local authority areas.
According to Persaud, the group of personnel from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) is currently in Guyana and, will during the course of this week, be hosting consultations in Regions 2, 3, 4 and 6 with the various community groups and stakeholders.
The consultation started on Wednesday (8th August) in Region 6 and was facilitated in Regions 3 and 4 yesterday and will be held in Region 2 today.
The technical mission will be engaging small businesses, private sector associations, individual entrepreneurs, and local government entities among others to share the concepts of the project and to get a sense of the groups’ projects that can be analysed for potential funding under the CARILED project.