Opposition Member of Parliament and point person on the economy, Irfaan Ali, has lashed out at Finance Minister Winston Jordan for blaming the private sector for contributing to the slowdown of the economy.
During a diaspora meeting in Washington DC on Friday, Minister Jordan slammed the local private sector for being “stuck in their ways”, and not adapting to the changing business environment.
In a statement made to the Guyana Times on Monday, Ali joined several private sector bodies in criticising Minister Jordan’s comments. 
“Our private sector is perhaps the most resilient in the region. It is the function of the Government to stimulate growth and inject confidence in the economy,” he stated.
Ali explained that risk is a function of confidence and signals. “Stability, policy predictability, trust, incentives and clarity in direction are essential factors in providing that confidence for the private sector. If you continue to attack the private sector and alienate (its members), how will you be able to set these conditions?” he reasoned.
Ali believes that, by its statements and actions, Government is singling out the private sector as an enemy of the State. He contends that Government needs to build and strengthen the private sector, give its members incentives, and remove barriers to growth and development.
“Creating an enabling environment requires incentives to match the direction you want the private sector to go in,” he stated. “Instead, the Government has been actively removing incentives,” he charged.
The parliamentarian reminded that forestry, mining, commerce, the services sector, construction, and agriculture have all suffered from removal of incentives granted under the PPP/C Government.
“Worst is the application of new measures — taxes inhibitive to sustaining these sectors, much less advancing growth and development. The private sector has contributed significantly to our development, and we must recognize that contribution,” Ali emphasised. Unreasonable complaints Heads of two major private sector umbrella bodies, Eddie Boyer of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and Deodat Indar of the Georgetown Chambers of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), told this publication on Sunday that Minister Jordan’s complaints are unreasonable.
They both contend that Government needs to review its tax policy, and offer incentives that create an attractive environment for investment.
Economist Sasenarine Singh has also contended that businesses will not pump money into an economy if the investment climate is not favourable. He explained that it all comes back to the ‘risks and rewards’ balance, and if the risks outweighs the rewards, then businessmen will not be encouraged to invest.
“No businessman is going to invest if he is not going to make returns. Who is going to make investments in Guyana when the risks are so high and the returns are so low?” he questioned, highlighting that there are other countries with greater risks involved, but businesses opt to make investments there because of the attractive rates of return.
Minister Jordan has explained to this publication that he wants a new breed of private sector players; ones willing and prepared to think outside of the proverbial box, and be creative and innovative in using cutting edge technology to improve productivity, thereby increasing competitiveness.
“My new ‘breed’ of private sector players would be seizing the many opportunities that are available for expansion, especially with oil on the horizon. They will try to form partnerships and alliances with the private sector in the Caribbean and further afield to overcome some of the barriers they face, such as financing and human resources,” Minister Jordan has stated.
