PRESIDENT Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali met with representatives of the private sector on Wednesday last, with a view to reassuring them of his administration’s commitment to private sector-led growth and development. According to the President, Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are integral to the progression of Guyana, and should, therefore, form the cornerstone of the country’s economic development.

President Ali posited the view that such partnerships need not only be transactional, but should also become more policy-oriented, in terms of looking out for new investment opportunities, and working collaboratively with the government to take advantage of such opportunities. The private sector, said the President, has demonstrated the ability to take risks, and they have the wherewithal to make investments.

The appeal by the President was made at a Private Sector Commission (PSC) Business Forum held under the theme, ‘The Private Sector in an Emerging Guyana’, held at the Pegasus Hotel. The aim of the seminar was to sensitise the business community on plans and opportunities within the various sectors in the country. Also in attendance were Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo; Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh; and representatives from several other private sector organisations, including the American Chamber of Commerce, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, and the Berbice Chamber of Commerce, among several other representative organisations. The President, in his address, challenged the private sector representatives to rise to the new challenges, and reposition themselves to take full advantage of these new and exciting investment opportunities. President Ali assured the gathering that adequate provisions will be made to ensure that the local private sector is not overwhelmed by the bigger transnational corporations, especially those operating in the oil-and-gas sector.

And, as pointed out by the President, the private sector needs to be aggressive in its pursuit of business opportunities, and should eschew the tendency to, as it were, become ‘spoon- fed’. The Government, for its part, is prepared to do everything within its power to make it easier for investors to do business in the country, by way of several fiscal incentives, the creation of an enabling environment, and removing bottlenecks through the establishment of a Single-Window Approval System.

The private sector has a vital role to play in the country’s development, especially in the area of wealth creation. That role has become even more pronounced, with the emerging oil-and-gas sector, which is likely to have a transformative impact on the economy, and, by extension, the lives of the Guyanese people.  In this regard, the sector needs to transcend the profit-making motive, and see itself as an integral part of the nation-building process. And while wealth-creation and profit-generation are important prerequisites for private sector development, it is also important that the distribution of that wealth is done in a manner that is fair and just to those who also contribute, by way of labour and skills. In the final analysis, the end result of wealth creation must be to raise the material and cultural well-being of the society as a whole.

The meeting with the President and other key policy-makers is both timely and relevant, coming at a time when there is growing investor confidence, and a sense of renewed hope in the future prospects of Guyana as a new development hub, not only in the region, but in the world at large. The President and his entire Cabinet and policy advisers must be commended for the several initiatives taken to catapult the country to new and higher levels of growth and human development.