THE Private/Public Partnership between the government and the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) as well as several measures contained in the Budget 2019, came in for praise when the GMSA held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Marriott Hotel on Thursday.

Outgoing GSMA President Shyam Nokta complimented the government’s collaboration with the GSMA, particularly in the form of the Ministerial Roundtable Discussions and the hosting of the successful Agro-processors expo “Uncapped Marketplace”.

“We have put in place a Joint Technical Committee between the government of Guyana and the GMSA which meets bi-monthly with a programme of work to address critical issues affecting the agro-processing sector, from policy-related matters right through to project initiatives. This mechanism has proven useful in helping to advance collaborative actions and has helped to foster a functional working relationship between the private sector and the government of Guyana,” Nokta said of the Ministerial Roundtable Discussions.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan, in a prepared speech published in the GMSA 2018 Annual Report, noted the government’s eagerness to collaborate with the GMSA, given the importance of the sector in developing the economy.

“The government continues to engage the manufacturing and services sector, cognisant of the critical role it would play in the expansion and development of the wider economy. Our consultation with the GMSA remains robust with heightened collaboration in the GMSA-GCRG Inter-Ministerial Roundtable and at the national budget consultations,” Jordan said
He went on to point out that the government took into consideration several recommendations from the GMSA and incorporated them into Budget 2019.

“Budget 2019 did contain provisions that can prove helpful to the manufacturing sector… such as the reduction of the manufacturing and non-commercial rate to 25 per cent; reduction of income and corporate tax rates to 25 per cent on taxable profits;[and] reduction in excise tax on indigenous wines and locally manufactured beverages,” Nokta said.

During his remarks, he also touched on several critical issues concerning the GMSA, including performance of the economy, challenges the manufacturing sector faced in 2018, initiatives the GMSA embarked on and strategic positioning and the future economy for oil and gas, among others.

Nokta also noted that during his tenure as GMSA president, the association was able to continue along a progressive path.
The GMSA consolidated and expanded its membership, improved governance and administration; improved information and communication with members and facilitate and address members’ issues.

Inter-American Development Bank Country Representative, Sophia Makonnen, reminded that quality is very important in the manufacturing industry, particularly if companies are to break into the international market. She also gave encouraging words to businesses persevering through struggles.

“Make sure [you] provide goods and services that meet international standards; if you do not make those standards, you won’t make it. Network and reach out, don’t wait for opportunity, create it and remember, failure is not the opposite of success, it is part of success, embrace it,” she said