– President Jagdeo at opening of Berbice Expo
Head of State, President Bharrat Jagdeo on Friday evening delivered the feature address during  the opening of the 5th annual Berbice Expo and Trade Fair at the Albion Sports Complex, in Berbice where he painted a rosy picture of Guyana through numbers which highlighted the great strides that the country has made over the past 10 years under his Administration.

President Bharrat Jagdeo seems intrigued by these exhibits at an Indian booth at the Berbice Expo and Trade Fair.

The President explained that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country, which is a tally of all the country produces rose from $124B in 1999 to $236B in 2008.

Inflation was kept in single digits during the past 10 years with the exception of 2007; foreign direct investment rose from US$46M in 1999 to US$175M in 2008, the foreign debt contracted from $2.1B in 1992 to $1.2B in 1999 and to $0.8B by the end of 2008 as Government repaid US$1.5B over that period and secured debt forgiveness that allowed more spending on schools, hospitals and other services for Guyanese.

In the area of banking, the weighted interest rate fell from 18% in 1999 to 12.5% in 2008 and the commercial bank reserves rose from $20.9B in 1999 to $67.3B in 2008.

Head of State Bharrat Jagdeo interacts with exhibitors at the 5th Berbice Expo

The President stressed that these figures do not lie, and tell of a country that is constantly moving forward.

Recognising that he was at an event promoting the private sector, President Jagdeo reminded his audience that the maintenance of these macro-economic fundamentals leads to prosperity in the private sector as businessmen are able to plan their activities with confidence and assurance. This leads to wealth creation which feeds on itself, leading to growth of the Guyanese economy.

Focusing on Berbice, the Head of State assured that the county is an integral part of his Administration’s development drive and to validate this point, he referred to the US$36M that has been expended to complete the New Amsterdam to Skeldon roadway, the US$40M to construct the Berbice River Bridge and the US$200M Skeldon Sugar factory.

He also indicated that come tomorrow, he will be officially commissioning the National Ophthalmology Hospital in Port Mourant, a  state-of-the art facility in the Caribbean that will serve thousands of Guyanese and preclude the need for them to travel overseas for eye surgeries.

The Tain Campus of the University of Guyana is another example of Government’s commitment to the county, receiving a subvention of $110M each year to ensure that Berbicians have the opportunity to get a good tertiary education.

Berbice, the President explained, received a sum of $3.2B in the 2009 National Budget, with $1.7B of that money going to education.

In the future, Berbice will continue to get resources from the State to develop. Only recently, US$12M was secured to construct the East and West Canje Roads and US$5M for the Black Bush Polder Road. The discovery of oil and gas is also a likelihood, which if found would further propel the county.

With the development of the Brazil-Guyana road, there will be the need for a deep water harbour to export the goods transported from the northern Brazilian state of Roraima and that would likely be built at Crab Island.

President Bharrat Jagdeo examines packaged sugar at the Ministry of Agriculture booth at the Berbice expo

Also, food production will become increasingly important in the future and President Jagdeo noted that the region has the arable land and water resources to contribute to meeting this need.

Earlier in the evening, Chairman of the Private Sector Commission, Captain Gerry Gouveia and President of the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce, Bhigroog Poonai recognised the Head of State’s vision for constructing the Berbice River Bridge which connects the county with the rest of Guyana, enabling greater trade and economic activity.

This year’s Berbice Expo and Trade Show was organised by the Corentyne Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce. The theme of the event is “Creating linkages, building partnerships and harvesting resources”.

Exhibitors  from a range of sectors including aquaculture, manufacturing, agriculture  and the services sectors were among the many who are exhibiting their products and services during the event that culminates on July 27. (GINA)