THE Guyana Manufacturing & Services Association (GMSA) is to collaborate with the Energy and Research Institute (ERI) of India, soon, on an Energy Efficiency Project.

It is a means of addressing the “critical challenge” to its members, posed by unreliable and exorbitant cost of electrical power.
Under the auspices of the Office of Climate Change, Office of the President, the collaboration is to be implemented with approximately ten local companies as participants.
This was disclosed by President of the GMSA, Mr. Clinton Williams, who noted that, although the best long term solution is, indeed, renewable and stable hydropower, the GMSA had also recommended that additional incentives be provided for solar, wind and biomass producers.
He disclosed that manufacturing had seen retarded growth in 2013, accounting for a mere four percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), compared to the sector’s contribution of 15 percent in 1963.
Williams reported that the manufacturing sector continued to be restricted to primary processing of agricultural, mineral and forest products and the stymied growth could be attributed to meagre local demand, high transportation costs, inadequate or insufficient non-incentivised financing and high energy costs.
He said that, apart from energy costs, another inhibiting factor was the very high trade transaction costs and inordinate Customs delays during import and export transactions.
This, however, can be substantially reduced with the Single Window Automated Processing System (SWAPS), which is currently being slowly implemented, Williams said.

Inhibiting issues
He identified, among other inhibiting issues, the limited domestic market for local produce and the virtual absence of a dedicated market focus for products/services enshrined in the active bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.
Another was the lack of Private Sector investment in maritime transport infrastructure to facilitate the movement of people, goods and capital from point of production to the place of export/import.
”We would also like to see our research and development institutes, such as the Institute of Applied Science and Technology (IAST), the University of Guyana and other resource-based agencies develop stronger partnerships,” Williams said.
He posited that the partnering groups could provide scientific data on identification, specifications and potential uses for raw materials, improvement of yields and productivity in the recovery and/or added value processes.
These can be, eventually, developed into pilot projects and the formulation and sale of patents, the proceeds from which should be able to recover cost outlays.
Williams said these and other manufacturing sector issues have been introduced to the public domain in the past and, if they are effectively addressed by stakeholders, including Government and the Private Sector, Guyana will be able to manufacture and market high quality, value-added products and services.
Such a transformation of the Manufacturing Sector would raise its desired GDP contribution to a level even greater than the 16 percent which was the norm four decades ago, he suggested.

(By Clifford Stanley)