By Alva Solomon

IN what he described as a long- overdue visit, Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, recently introduced his Ministry to the business community of Kumaka, in the Mabaruma Sub-Region.

The Business Minister made the trip overland through Charity in the Pomeroon, and arrived in the community on the afternoon of March 4, to an excited welcome party which included Regional Executive Officer Leslie Wilburg; former MP, businessman Ricky Khan; and other members of the business community.

Minister Gaskin told residents during a meeting at the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) that he had intended to visit the Region at the end of 2015, then he had to shift those plans to early 2016. “But one thing led to another, and most recent was the budget debates,” he explained.

“We are here today, and I would really like to introduce the Ministry of Business to you, to give you an understanding of why there is a ministry and what it means especially to business people”, he said.

Gaskin said the ministry is relatively new, having come into existence when the Government changed last year.

“It is more or less a new name”, he said, but he noted that its components are not. “We are comprised of the Department of Commerce, a Department of Industry, and those were existing before,” he told the business community.

He informed that the Business Ministry is responsible for the management and maintenance of the National Exhibition Centre in Sophia, the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest), the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS), and the Small Business Bureau (SBB).

His attentive audience was informed that those agencies were placed under a ministry because they are all set up and designed to achieve the same outcome. He said they are dedicated to advance Guyana’s economy.

“We do that through investment promotion, export promotion, workforce enhancement,” he said.

Gaskin said he knows everybody is proud of the community in which they live, but he noted that neglect was the first thought that came to his mind when he arrived at Kumaka.

“It seems to me that this community is neglected,” he opined. He said it could not be the first such community, since many communities outside of Region Four have not been revitalized with the necessary investments over the years.

Gaskin said that for Kumaka, like many other communities, a lot of work needs to be done. He noted that communities such as the area’s business hub cannot be neglected for as long as 50 years and be fixed within a day or a year.

He said there must be a developmental programme that is national in nature and that encompasses all of the country, “so that all of Guyana can benefit from the investment that Government makes in developing Guyana.”

He said President David Granger has made clear his focus on infrastructural development, and the Head of State believes it is necessary to invest heavily in a proper national transportation network, “so that our hinterland is connected to our coastland.”

He said this connection is the President’s vision for development, and noted that it is more than “just building a road or building a bridge”.

The Minister noted that the right infrastructure will make Guyana a more attractive place in which to invest, and he said it will make life easier for persons as well as business investors.

“If you have a business outside of Georgetown, I’m sure (that) especially people in the mining business know that agony they face in getting from the location; and we take it for granted because, for so long, nobody has thought to remedy it,” he told the gathering.

Gaskin noted that there should be a proper road network to connect persons. He declared it a long-term developmental vision which the Government will pursue, and said the Government will have to borrow money to invest in this area.

“I want you to see our future from that perspective, and it is long-term,” he said.

He informed that the work of the Ministry of Business is done mainly through its agencies, and he said that what it expects to achieve through contributing towards Guyana’s development will be achieved mainly by the work of agencies such as GO-Invest, which he noted is responsible for developing investment and export promotion strategies so that the nation can harness the capacity it has in parts of the country, including at Kumaka.

“I know we have companies that are producing, maybe not at the highest possible level, but can be made export-ready within the shortest period of time with the necessary support from Government,” he said.

He posited that Guyana has never been able to fully penetrate export markets with its primary products, including rice, gold, bauxite and timber, which have been exported for the last 50 years.

“We cannot sustain and grow our economy if we continue to just export raw materials,” Gaskin advised. He said this will not create jobs.

“Somebody out there is buying all the raw materials that we export, and they are converting those raw materials to value-added products,” he explained as he noted that it is, in many cases, sold to Guyana in return.

He encouraged residents to invest in the manufacturing sector, and to place Guyana on the map as regards quality branded products.

The residents, mainly persons engaged in small businesses, such as in the trading of dry goods, perishables and beverages, as well as fuel, were eager to listen to the work of the Small Business Bureau (SBB).

Gaskin said manufacturing is an equally important tool as regards small business development. He said a business can qualify to be considered small as long as its annual turnover is less than $60M, it employs less than 25 persons, and its total assets is less than $20M.

The Minister said the challenges that small businesses face in Guyana are not unique to Guyana, but are faced by small businesses around the world.

“There is always this problem of access to financing when it comes to small businesses. Many small businesses don’t have either the collateral or the capacity, sometimes, to go to a bank and negotiate a loan, even at a favourable interest rate”. He said the SBB was designed to address that issue.

He said the agency was designed to provide for 20% of all Government contracts awarded to be channelled to small businesses.

“It is a very important measure that can have a very positive outcome for small businesses”, he noted, adding that it has never been implemented although the provision is within the Small Business Act for the last 12 years.

He said he wished to implement that role, since it plays a major aspect in the development of the economy, to the benefit of small businesses.

He told the audience that, this year, Guyanese have opportunity “to start again,” beginning with a renewed local governance which he noted can work for the good of the country. He said the local government structure will work because of accountability, and he noted that those now made responsible must be held accountable.

Residents raised a number of issues during the interactive period of the meeting, including the need for marketing opportunities for the region to export its agricultural products.

Persons also informed the Minister of the sale of the National Edible Oil Company Limited at Wauna Hill, a community located several miles from Kumaka. The company has been sold to a businessman, resulting in the retrenchment of many workers who had been depending on the factory for an income.

Persons also raised the issue of the need for a commercial bank operating in the community, and Minister Gaskin both highlighted the need and promised he would discuss the issue with the banking sector.

Businessman Godfrey Chan-a-Sue was frank when he noted that the venture may not be a fruitful one for the banks, and he suggested measures be put in place at the administrative office at Mabaruma to assist persons with business transactions such as the changing of cheques.

Later, Minister Gaskin met individually with a few residents as the night stepped in. He said the discussions during the meeting were fruitful, and that he was happy to visit the area. He said residents were very frank and candid in highlighting some of the problems facing the business community.

“The only way we learn and we know what are the issues is if we hear it from you. Sitting in Georgetown you only get hearsay,” he said. He said he knows the people of the area are familiar with the business opportunities of Region One, and that as a child he had eaten eggs and oranges produced in the North West District.

“I know the potential of this region to produce and to feed the nation,” he declared.