…PSC urges Guyanese to support gov’t of the day

CHAIRMAN of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Desmond Sears is calling on Guyanese to rally around the Government of Guyana regardless of their personal political preference.
Sears, in laying out its expectations for 2019, continues to advocate for genuine unity between the political parties as the country approaches this very important juncture – oil production.

“I would also like to urge all stakeholders to work towards supporting the government of the day, regardless of personal political preference.

In 2019, we will be even closer to harvesting the fruits of our newly discovered oil reserves and, even as we welcome foreign investors to our shores, I would like to see our local companies also investing in the sector, but in the context of a level playing field with a clearly defined local content policy,” the PSC Chairman said.
In playing its part, the PSC will be helping local businesses to better position themselves to capitalize on the petroleum.

“We will be hosting a seminar on the Dutch Disease early in the year. This will be followed in February by another seminar on the oil and gas sector and how businesses can best position themselves to reap maximum benefits,” he detailed.

In early March, the PSC will team up with the British High Commission to host a seminar on post-Brexit arrangements for trade between the United Kingdom and Guyana.
“We will also have another in our series of seminars on corporate governance, this time on the governance of family-owned businesses. These seminars are hosted in collaboration with the Caribbean Corporate Governance Institute,” he added.

A focus of the Private Sector Commission in 2019 will be more female participation, said Sears, noting that he hopes women form, not only in the PSC’s sub-committees, but become senior ranks of member companies.

“We will be working with the United Nations Development Programme to push for the adoption of the Gender Seal which is a commitment to institute the necessary policies and practices which advance the participation of women in our firms,” he pointed out.

He noted, too, that the commission will continue to work with Go Invest, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Ministries of Public Infrastructure, Business and Finance and all other entities relative to the commercial sector.

“We will also continue our work in developing and finalising the Green State Development Strategy which will guide our collective efforts as a nation for years to come,” he assured.
Though 2018 was not without challenges, it has proven to be a successful year for the private sector.

In giving an analysis of 2018 through the eyes of the Private Sector, Sears said the PSC capitalized on every opportunity to engage with stakeholders, including the policymakers, members of the diplomatic corps and representatives of both local and foreign companies. These companies, he posited, have expressed their faith in Guyana’s future by channelling investments into the local economy.

“We have successfully hosted a seminar on Corporate Governance which has propelled the need for effective governance of our companies onto the front burner. We have also hosted a seminar on oil and gas and plans are in place for a larger event which we will hold in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank early in 2019 and which will explore the dangers of the Dutch Disease and how it can be avoided,” the PSC Chairman said.

He noted, too, that in 2018, the PSC was closely involved in the planning of the GUYTIE, a grand exhibition which targeted potential investors from around the world, and showcased the best that Guyana has to offer.

“We also had extensive consultations with the Guyana Elections Commission and fielded the largest group of Observers who worked tirelessly to monitor the Local Government Elections in November and played a small part in ensuring their success,” he added.
Finance Minister Winston Jordan, ahead of the compilation of his 2019 budget, consulted with the PSC. During that meeting, the PSC, among its recommendations, called for the gradual lowering of the Corporate Income Tax rate to 20 per cent over a period of ten years.

“We are satisfied that progress has been made towards this ideal with the minister’s lowering of the rate for non-commercial companies to 25 per cent,” Sears said.
Sears was elected to Chairman of the PSC earlier this year.