Guyana has progressed under the macroeconomic policies and programmes initiated by government, but there is still more to be done to ensure that it remains on the path to further development. This view was expressed by Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) Economics Department Director, Dr Justin Ram during a presentation at the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s 124th annual Gala and Awards Ceremony on Wednesday at the Pegasus Hotel.
He posited that several measures should be implemented to consolidate the gains obtained thus far under the present administration.
Dr Ram called on Guyana’s private sector to assume the lead position in advocating for growth, adding that based on the current trajectory, Guyana would achieve its Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by the stipulated date (2015) in education, gender and environment.
Despite these achievements, Guyana’s economy still faces challenges, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported him as saying.
“In this regard, there have been a number of constraints identified by private sector stakeholders. These include the restrictions to and the high cost of credit, the absence of research and development facilities for the manufacturing sector, the complete scarcity of managerial capacity and skills due to migration, lengthy bureaucratic processes associated with industries and the commercial private sector, the high cost and unreliable power supply… all of which contribute to high transaction costs.”
It was noted that several of these issues were highlighted in the World Bank’s Doing Business report for 2013 and unfortunately resulted in Guyana being ranked at 120 out of 189, overall, for ease of doing business. The results of this and other bench-marking exercises suggest that the reforms and policy agendas need to be continued apace, Dr Ram added.
The CDB is partnering with government to help resolve several of them, he said.
Among these is a fund to assist with the formation of the Caricom Single Market Economy (CSME), which, along with other measures will help Guyana along the path towards possessing an economy driven by efficiency rather by the basic factors of production, he said. “The transition will require a focus on higher education, improving the technological readiness of the economy and developing its financial markets.”
Dr Ram recommended that the country look to forge greater internal and external collaboration as it seeks to move the economy forward.
