–gov’t ready to invest in necessary infrastructure to render support, says President Ali

PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali is encouraging entrepreneurs to form strategic partnerships which will inevitably make the requisite resources available to them to pursue massive transformation and growth, and has pledged his government’s support in ensuring the development of industries.

President Ali was at the time delivering the keynote address at the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA)’s 26th Annual Presentation of Awards Ceremony, held under the theme, “Changing the paradigm for advancing sustainable industry, transformation and growth” at the Ramada Princess Hotel, at Providence, East Bank Demerara on Friday.

“Are we saying that if the industries are positioned as they are now, there is a likelihood that they won’t be sustainable? And if that is the case, then what are the inputs that we are going to put into place to make them sustainable? Obviously, for them to be sustainable, some changes are required,” he said.

He highlighted that in order for the requisite changes to achieve the agenda and be sustainable, “a frank and honest evaluation” must be conducted, and a number of questions must be asked. Importantly, he asked, “Are partnerships required, and who are strategic partners.”

“Let us identify that gap, and then let us position ourselves, strategically, to see who are the partners we need to come on board with us to fill that gap, because, in the assessment, once the gap is recognised, you will know we don’t have the capacity in certain areas,” President Ali said.

These strategic partnerships must be formed between members of the manufacturing and services industry, who must pool their resources together and shy away from seeing each other only as competitors, to build the capacity necessary to advance the sector, the President pinpointed.

Providing an example of competitors coming together to pursue a common goal, President Ali referenced the soyabean and corn pilot projects, which are currently underway in Ebini, on the Upper Berbice River, and is being run by a consortium of businesses.

Businesses collaborating also address issues faced by small and medium-sizeed enterprises, the Head of State explained, as they can now pool their resources to increase their production, and provide more services in an effective and efficient way.

“If we have 25 small and medium-sized machining shops that could come together and bring their resources together and create one large machining shop, that could take the jobs that big industries are taking that immediately takes the country on another scale,” President Ali said.

TIME IS CHANGING
“Yes, the family businesses are good, but time is changing; circumstances are changing, and if 10 small businesses can come together and take away 30 per cent share in that market, aren’t they better off? There is better competitive advantage,” he added.

President Ali opined that while some entrepreneurs might be “satisfied with a small share”, the issue runs deeper to opportunities being wasted, and leaders in the industry such as those in the GMSA and the Private Sector Commission (PSC) must be at the forefront steering such initiatives.

President Ali also highlighted that Guyana is rich with abundant resources ready to be taken advantage of, and encouraged entrepreneurs to explore novel markets, and not focus only on oil and gas, but rather see the oil and gas sector as a stepping stone for Guyana to tap into other areas of investment.

“You have a government that is ready to listen, even learn, and adopt to the changes that are required to help you succeed. At the end of the day, we have to build one common theme in this country; we are all winners, we are in this to win, we have to develop a winning culture,” the Head of State said.

The President highlighted that his administration will be aggressively pursuing removing barriers to trade, and will be making the necessary investments to do so, and in these regards, he urged the private sector to align itself to reap the benefits.

“The government is going to invest in all the facilities to do the testing, the ‘labs’, everything. We’re going to build it, state-of-the-art, and remove all the excuses that exist… You have to be prepared; you have to build your business model to follow the direction of the policy,” he said.

President Ali urged the consortium of businesses to approach him once they have transformative ideas, and he will facilitate seeing those ideas come to fruition, as the government is interested in being the vehicle to drive investments.

“We ready to work with you; we want to work with you. Come forward and let us take Guyana upwards to victory, and all of us must be winners,” he said.