–to make it more economically viable

RECOGNISING that maintaining a strong and resilient private sector is one of the cornerstones of a healthy and robust economy, the Government of Guyana, in its 2017 Budget presentation, has allocated $213.2M for the continued strengthening of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) next year.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan said on Monday, during his 2017 Budget presentation before the National Assembly, that GO-Invest has a target of $139.8B in investment, and that the composition of the investment portfolio would be restructured to ensure greater diversification within the economy, with specific focus being placed on the tourism, agriculture and light manufacturing sectors.
“These ventures are estimated to create an additional 3,870 jobs. In addition, ongoing institutional strengthening will result in a more-data-driven, client-friendly, one-stop investment portal,” he stated.

SWAPS
The minister disclosed that, as per plan, there will be the implementation of the Single Window Automated Processing System (SWAPS), which would enable information-sharing between licensing agencies and the Customs & Trade Administration.

He said that with the implementation of SWAPS, there will be a reduction in the “red tape for new investors as well as local businesses.”
The implementation of SWAPS will begin after the successful installation of the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA). Accordingly, the minister said, the APNU+AFC coalition Administration’s interventions are aimed at promoting “a healthier and more diverse business environment” that not only focuses on companies and firms, but on the empowerment of individuals and the facilitation of small and micro-enterprises.

“While expanding its existing programmes aimed at fostering youth entrepreneurship, the Small Business Bureau will be extending its reach into educational institutions, to expose students to entrepreneurial initiatives and skills,” Minister Jordan said.

He added: “This new venture will include a competition which will see at least ten students receiving grants to start their very own businesses.”

Additionally, the Micro and Small Enterprise Development (MSED) project will continue with its financing and training and development activities which target prospective and established entrepreneurs and small businesses. Some 40,600 clients are being targeted for training and business support, while a total of 600 micro-enterprises will be visited to review their business plans.

And so as to ensure a level playing field in the bidding for Government contracts, the Government is enforcing the requirement that 20 per cent of public contracts be awarded to small businesses.

SLED
“The establishment and growth of small and micro-enterprises will continue to be supported through a suite of programmes, including the Sustainable Livelihood and Entrepreneurial Development (SLED) programme, which provides business grants and training for vulnerable groups,” Minister Jordan said.

Moreover, in 2017, the management of industrial estates will be centralised under the Ministry of Business; and with that move, it is expected that there will be more effective monitoring and appropriate zoning, the minister said.
Focus, he said, will also be placed on analysing the outputs of the occupants of the industrial estates, to ensure greater value-added production and job creation targets are being achieved.

“To facilitate improved rates of occupancy and reduce lag time between plot allocation and production, an initial (sum of) $95M has been set aside for the establishment of two business incubators (to be placed) at the Belvedere and Lethem Industrial Estates,” Jordan added.

Stressing that the coalition administration intends to maintain a strong and resilient private sector, the Finance Minister said efforts would be made to ensure that business owners and future entrepreneurs prosper.

“To re-inforce and continue to promote such an economic structure, the Ministry of Business has launched its 2015-2020 Strategic Action Plan, which focuses on improving the ease of doing business; attracting increased foreign investment; supporting the development and export of value-added industries; increasing economic opportunities for, and capabilities of, vulnerable groups; and increasing capacity to develop and promote sustainable business-friendly policies,” the minister said.

He recalled that Guyana, between 2015 and 2016, has seen an improvement in its ranking on the World Bank’s Doing Business Index by advancing 16 places. Describing this ranking as “the largest single improvement achieved in our history of being on the index,” Minister Jordan said: “To further improve our 39th position, the Government will examine the viability of the recently recommended reforms of the World Bank in the areas of starting a business, registering property, trading across borders, getting electricity, and obtaining construction permits; and we will develop an action plan for implementation.”

TOTAL INVESTMENTS
He said that during last year, total investments, including foreign direct investments (FDI) facilitated by GO-Invest, totalled $114.8B, representing a significant improvement over the $89.3B inflow of 2015. This year’s investment, the minister said, would yield over 6000 jobs in various sectors: 1,327 in agriculture; 1,366 in energy; 1,500 in ICT; and 1,483 in the tourism and services sectors.

During the budget debates of January 2016, Business Minister Dominic Gaskin had told the National Assembly that an allocation of approximately $1.2B to the Ministry, with current expenditure standing at $668,564,000, and capital budget standing at $547,253,000, would go a long way.

Gaskin explained that $212M would be used to develop and fix industrial estates, while noting that it would result in much job creation.
“Two new sites, Mr. Speaker: One in Lethem, Region 9, which once completed will be able to accommodate at least 100 businesses; and another one in Belvedere, Region 6, which is smaller and has space for about 20 businesses… These projects have been languishing in the pipeline for well over a decade, and our government will complete them so that appropriate work space can be provided for investors in value-added industries,” Minister Gaskin declared.

Additionally, the minister had said that the two industrial sites would come within his ambit, and he promised not to “allow them to degenerate into replicas of the badly managed Eccles and Coldingen Estates.”