– President urges leaders to develop resource-rich region

THE sprawling resource-rich Berbice region needs to develop its potential and for that to happen, its leaders must come up with an action plan, President David Granger said Friday evening at the opening of the annual Berbice Expo. “East Berbice-Corentyne needs to start planning if it is to translate the economic potential of this great region into economic prosperity,” the President stated.
“You need a Corentyne action plan and the stakeholders must work together to produce that plan to transform this region, a resource-rich region, which paradoxically is a production-poor region.
“Corentyne you can enjoy sustained growth and you can give your people a good life if you are prepared to examine your tremendous potential and put your resources to work for you.”
The President’s statement came amidst a consensus by speakers at the opening of the expo that there is need to diversify the economy of Berbice.
“Corentyne faces a challenge and that challenge is of change and the leaders of this great region from the RDCs, the various NDCs, NGOs, Chambers of Commerce, the Rotary, and the Lions Clubs have to knock their heads together if they are to put Corentyne’s tremendous resources to work and make this entire region, a prosperous and productive one. Corentyne has to choose and this is the time for that choice,” President Granger said.
The expo, which runs until Monday, is the12th edition which is being held under the theme: ‘Promoting entrepreneurship for a diversified economy.’
The President underscored the importance of diversification as he delivered the feature address at the Albion Sports Complex, Corentyne.
“You have to change, because even if you are depending on rice and sugar and you are getting good prices for a year, you can almost guarantee that you will get unsatisfactory prices another year due to fluctuating world market prices,” he said.
Berbice has been described as Guyana’s largest agro-producing region with economic activities centred on rice and sugar, fishing and cash crops. For 2015, the region produced a quarter of the national production for rice and just over quarter of the national production for fish.
However, the President sought to urge residents to adopt new avenues and diversify its activities in order to stimulate growth of the economy.
“This is a vast region. You have the potential to give your residents the good life. You are gifted with a strong production base and an abundance of talent,” President Granger said.
President of the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce, Mohamed Raffik, said diversification could only be achieved with citizens’ willingness to be imaginative.
“We are producing sugar at US 40 cents per pound and selling it for US 20 cents per pound. It is unfortunate that we are in this state. For too long sugar has been a political football and it is time the people of this region wake up and stop making sugar a political football” Raffik said.
Patricia Bacchus, Chairman of the Guyana Office for Investment (GoInvest), noted that industries such as rice and sugar are susceptible to a number of factors such as world market prices, and as such, underscored the need once again for diversification.
“Do not put all your eggs in one basket. I see diversification as simply adding more baskets to put your eggs. Re-engineering the way we do business is as important as diversification, given the integrated world economic trade arena” she said.