THE Guyana Manufacturing & Services Association (GMSA) has extended to President David Granger, MSc, MSM, MSS, their congratulations on being elected to the Executive Presidency of Guyana.  The GMSA in a press release said, “We also take this opportunity to congratulate his party, the APNU+AFC Coalition, and the people of Guyana in general for the maturity displayed during and after the just- concluded General and Regional Elections.
“The nation’s manufacturers, service providers, commercial entrepreneurs, importers and exporters are indeed anxious at this time to get on with business, to continue the process of raising Guyana’s standing in the world of trade. The GMSA is particularly anxious to get on with our business of facilitating the creation of more value-added industries that will utilise Guyana’s many natural resources in secondary and tertiary production. Our country’s capacity in this regard is tremendous even with the traditional products such as gold, rice, sugar, timber and agricultural crops.
“Today Guyana stands on a springboard and we at the GMSA are ready to promote the evolution of downstream manufacturing and services enterprises which are expected to spring up from the find of commercial quantities of hydrocarbons (oil and gas); from the anticipated construction of a deep water harbour; from the rehabilitation of the Demerara Harbour and Navigational Channel; and from the resurgence of the gold and diamond industry.
“The agriculture and agro-processing sector is also ripe for immediate expansion which the GMSA plans to facilitate with technical and financial support through our trade development partnerships with agencies in the Caribbean, North America and Europe.
“The Association looks forward to close collaboration with the incoming Coalition Government which has already laid out broad strategies to address these initiatives that will redound to the benefit of the business community and to Guyanese in general.
“In addition, we anticipate that more effective strategies will be implemented in the immediate future to re-train and re-equip our law enforcement bodies to ensure the personal and material safety of business owners and their communities.
“The GMSA continues to hope that the calm which has accompanied these recent elections will stretch into the years ahead,” the release concluded.