Dear Editor
A RECENT news item in at least one section of the media informed that the Government of Guyana has engaged a recruitment agency to conduct the “search” for suitable candidates to head the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest). The article did not name the recruitment agency, neither did it give any information about the methodology to be employed in the conduct of this search.

Could the Minister of Business advise how the recruited “recruitment agency” intends to conduct this search, and whether this post will be advertised?
Investment promotion and facilitation are critical to a country’s development, particularly at this time when the global economy and trading patterns are undergoing significant changes. There are scores of countries currently in active pursuit of investment in their economies. Just last week, there were more than 30 countries aggressively touting the advantages of their investment climates and incentives to U.S. businesses at the Florida International Trade and Cultural Conference and Expo, held at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center. Among those countries were Britain, Germany, France, Bahrain, China, Peru, Brazil, Antigua, Barbados, Jamaica, Haiti, Macedonia and Sweden, which I cite as examples, given the geographic spread and varying sizes of their economies.

Guyana needs investment in new sectors of the economy. One sector that received significant attention at the conference was the creative industries. Two papers, one entitled ‘Toward Financial Impact: Import/Export of Caribbean Creative Industries’, presented by Trinidadian Marielle Barrow of the Washington DC based organisation Caribbean Intransit; and the other, an IDB study done by Ramesh Chaitoo, entitled ‘The Entertainment Sector in CARICOM: Key challenges and Proposals for Action’, were among the papers discussed at the panel that focused on ‘The Importance of Culture in the Global Economy.’
According to Ms. Barrow, Guyana has significant potential for investment in, and development of, its creative industries’ sector. She has visited Guyana but is of the view that, unlike Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, Guyana is still to place significant emphasis on the structured development of this sector.

The Government of Guyana must ensure that the search for a new chief executive of Go-Invest is conducted in such a way that as many suitable candidates as possible can be considered for the position. This will be possible only if the methodology of the search ensures that the vacancy is well advertised.
Regards,
Wesley Kirton