Govt has created an environment that is favourable to investors – Guyana’s finance minister

Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh said government has been instrumental in maintaining macroeconomic stability and is

responsible for ensuring declining interest rates, adequate external reserves while attracting investors. Dr Singh made the remarks at the annual general meeting of the Small Business Development Fund (SBDF) on Monday at the Pegasus Hotel.

According to Dr Singh, macroeconomic stability is not an insignificant dimension to the small business environment, but is relevant to the sustainability of businesses and the average person.

He noted that government is not only concerned about creating a stable economy, but generating more value-added as well as producing more economic efficiency.

The finance minister said government has always put the creation of an environment which is conducive to the growth and prosperity of small businesses at the centre of its policy framework.

Dr Singh stated that both small and large investors would not show interest in an economy which fails to display stable macroeconomic growth and favourable prospects in the future.

He said it is critical to have adequate external reserves, as in an open economy such as Guyana which imports goods and services, it is necessary to have adequate external financing to support such activity.

Dr Singh remarked that government has created an environment where key macroeconomic indicators are encouraging to businesses in order to ensure the local business environment is stable.

He reaffirmed government’s commitment to creating, maintaining and enhancing an environment conducive to investment and stressed the importance of having consistent standards and quality attractive to both foreign and local firms. Dr Singh noted that Guyana has made considerable progress in this area; stating that the country has been achieving uninterrupted economic growth since 2006.

He lauded the efforts of the SBDF and its creators and singled out Managing Director Manjula Brijmohan for her visionary leadership and resilient determination in pursuing the initiative of promoting small businesses in Guyana.

Former People National Congress Reform ( PNCR) Central Executive Member Hamley Case highlighted the role of small businesses to an emerging economy, and urged owners to ensure their businesses do not remain at that level.

He stated that small and micro enterprises must be seedlings destined for growth into productive businesses, but this requires an enabling environment.