The Berbice Chamber of Commerce said it will be working assiduously to raise the profile of businesses in the region, and will also be pushing for the issuance of passports and drivers licences in Berbice.
Berbice Chamber of Commerce President, Imran Sacoor
The chamber made the announcement in a statement where it outlined some of its achievements last years, and aspirations for this year.
“The focus of the chamber will be to work assiduously to raise the profile of Berbice and businesses as we feel that region needs to be equipped with better resources if we are to develop to our full potentials. For example, the university curriculum needs to be reviewed urgently to give student more course options for studying, the reintroduction of licence and passport office services, better and more sports facilities for young people amongst others.”
Membership is also high on the agenda this year as it is a source of income generation for the organisation, and the strength and voice of the chamber can be more effective with an extended membership base, the statement said.
Other core initiatives and programmes on the cards for 2012 include the annual CBIS Sports Tournament, The Berbice Night Exposition, the Trade and Commerce Day, the Main Big Lime to be organised in collaboration with the Tourism Ministry, training and development, awards and dinner ceremonies among others.
Vision
The chamber said, once the recently initiated Guyana/ Suriname bridge negotiations by former President Bharrat Jagdeo and Surinamese President Desi Bouterse come to fruition, avenues for major commerce, trade and tourism opportunities for Guyana will be opened.
“It will open new opportunities in our region and provide scope for further development. It is an ideal time for investors to push towards facelifting the Number 63 Beach and to have interested private sector investors responding to the blue print plan of the Ministry of Tourism regarding the government’s vision for the Number 63 Beach Park as unleashed at the Berbice Expo in July last year.
The chamber noted Berbice continues to serve the Guyanese community faithfully being a major producer of rice, sugar, bauxite, cash crops, fruits and vegetables, cattle and a decent degree of fish and shrimp farming, of which the produce is being sold locally and internationally, bringing much needed foreign exchange and local revenues to the region and contributing positively to farmers and investors well being. The chamber cited agriculture opportunities as one of the key areas for expansion, saying if investors can tap into this core area with guaranteed foreign markets, the way the region do business can be revolutionised.
“We can truly serve the food requirement of the Caribbean and beyond, especially in this testing food crisis time.” The chamber asserted that the Agriculture Ministry must heighten this awareness in the region and continue in its drive to assist farmers in understanding and accessing foreign markets for their produce.
The chamber also called on the ministry to fast track the process for farmers to have access to crop insurance, which has been in negotiation for some time with international agencies.
