Consumer experience must be world-class in modern Guyana – Finance Minister

…says Guyanese businesses need to change the way they operate

As Guyana continues to build out its tourism and hospitality with dozens of new hotels and restaurants being opened, senior Minister with responsibility for finance Dr Ashni Singh says there needs to be better service delivery at these establishments in order for the country to be competitive in the region.
Dr Singh made these remarks on Friday afternoon while presenting the feature address at the Private Sector Commission’s (PSC) 34th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the Marriott Hotel in Georgetown.
Without singling out any establishments, the Finance Minister believes that there is still a lot of room for improvements in the quality of service that is being delivered by local businesses – something that he says needs to be changed as Guyana undergoes this unprecedented transformation.
“I’m speaking across the entire spectrum that anybody in Guyana, whether a citizen or a visitor…the consumer experience must be a world-class experience if we are to achieve a modern Guyana… Sometimes, I think the emphasis is on cutting the ribbon and not necessarily on making sure that the service that follows…is as impeccable as the physical appearance of the edifice. I want to urge you to consider these things because they are all a part of the building of a modern Guyana,” the Minister noted.
Globally competitive
According to Dr Singh, this is not just applicable to the service industry but to all sectors, including construction, logistics, engineering and fabrication, advisory services, etc.

In fact, he recognised that within the oil and gas industry, Guyanese companies are already operating in accordance with internationally recognised standards in order to capitalise on contracts and opportunities from major players like United States oil major ExxonMobil and its tier one contractors.
“For us to continue to grow in the manner that we’ve been growing and for us to realise the potential to which we refer, it is absolutely imperative that we are globally competitive, that we not only secure transactions and deals and contracts, but that we are able to deliver them at world-class quality and world-class efficiency… Guyanese companies understand that in order to win a contract with a company like ExxonMobil or with one of their tier-one contractors, they have to be competitive, they have to deliver on time [and] they have to observe a comprehensive array of standards, including health and safety standards and other standards,” he noted, adding that this must be applicable across the board.
The Finance Minister went onto add that this is a shared responsibility and everyone has a role to play in ensuring that services, whether public or private, in Guyana are world-class.
“This is not the other guy’s responsibility or the Government’s responsibility or somebody else’s. This is a shared responsibility to ensure that we’re competitive and that we are world-class and that we achieve the kind of quality that we want to achieve because that is essential to maintaining the growth momentum and to realising our global and regional presence,” he posited.

Market presence
Meanwhile, on the issue of regional presence, Minister Singh lamented the lack of presence by Guyanese businesses in the regional and international markets, especially at a time when the Guyanese Government is pushing to be a global leader in every sphere.
According to the finance Minister, getting to that global leadership position requires looking beyond Guyana’s borders for opportunities to expand. Dr Singh believes that many local companies have the potential to expand their footprints outside of Guyana.
“In this era, when you are growing as rapidly as you are and when you have ramped up your productive capacity as much as you have, are you exploring as aggressively as you should opportunities outside of Guyana as much as you are inside Guyana? … I believe that there remains a significant unrealised potential for Guyanese companies to expand outside of Guyana even if initially only into regional markets,” he asserted.
Dr Singh reminded us that Guyanese companies like Gafoors and Demerara Mutual Life, among others, did this in the past, when they expanded into Caribbean markets at a time when the conditions were not as favourable as today.
“I always take great pride when I see Guyanese companies penetrating markets outside of Guyana, even if it’s a very modest or tentative beginning… As you’re building up this capacity that you’re building up, I want you to consider the potential for expansion beyond Guyana’s borders to establish yourselves,” the Minister urged the local Private Sector.
Additionally, Dr Singh also called for Guyanese companies to be bolder, noting that business cannot operate as usual in the current transformation of the local economy.
“In this era, if we are to truly grow and realize our potential and take advantage of bigger and bigger opportunities, and penetrate newer and newer and bigger markets, strategic partnerships, innovative and creative ways to mobilizing capital, deployment of technology to realize the opportunities and the advantages of scale are all things that you are urged to consider,” he stated, while emphasising the Government’s continued commitment and support for the growth and development of the local Private Sector.

Private Sector Commission
Meanwhile, Chairman of the PSC, Gerald Gouveia Jr, during his remarks, explained that the focus of the umbrella Private Sector body over the past year has been to protect democracy and stability in Guyana by serving as observers at the 2025 elections, to continue promoting the country on the world stage, and to give unwavering support to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

“Over the past years we have worked and built those goals together,” he posited, noting that it is time now to go after the opportunities, especially with Guyana now taking centre stage on all world forums.
“So, that’s why I described this first year as a year of positioning and preparation. We positioned the Private Sector to protect democracy; we positioned the Private Sector to engage with the world, and we positioned the SMEs to become more structured and financeable. The next year is going to be execution.”
“Now that we’ve opened the doors, we have to walk through them. We have formed relationships, and now we have to turn those relationships into projects. We have spoken about the consortiums; now we have to formalise them and start bidding for these contracts that are coming out and start chasing the doors… That’s exactly what we’re positioning the Private Sector to do for the last 12 months,” Gouveia Jr stated.

Elected leadership team
During Friday’s AGM, the PSC elected its leadership team for the 2026–2027 term and reaffirmed its commitment to advancing Private Sector development, economic growth, and national prosperity.
Gouveia Jr was re-elected Chairman for a second term alongside Kathy Smith, who is also returning as Vice Chairwoman. Imran Saccoor has also returned as treasurer and Manniram Prashad as corporate coordinator, while Josephine Tapp was appointed honorary secretary, replacing Clinton Urling, who held the post over the past year.