Private Sector stakeholders disappointed with NCTF structure

…Police clamp down on non-essential businesses

Stakeholders in the Private Sector are lamenting the lack of representation by civil society on the National COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF).

The NCTF is comprised mainly of Ministers along with heads of several State agencies such as the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the Civil Defence Commission (CDC).

The Private Sector Commission was invited to be a part of the Task Force but during a virtual press conference

on Thursday, it was revealed that the Commission is actually on a subset of the Task Force and is not involved at a policy level.

The PSC had nominated Chairman of its Trade and Investment Sub-Committee, Ramesh Dookhoo as its representative to the

NCTF. However, Dookhoo expressed his dissatisfaction with the arrangement.
“We are not entirely happy with the structural arrangements of the National Task Force. The PSC was invited to sit on the Task Force and we subsequently heard that we will be dealing with a subset of the Task Force. So I don’t believe that we’re getting the opportunity to participate in what major decisions are being made,” he stated.
According to Dookhoo, it is important to consult with civil society in situations like these whereby every facet of the country is being affected by this pandemic. He went on to underscore that COVID-19 is not a political issue and requires a national approach, even the participation of the political Opposition, to tackle this crisis holistically.
Meanwhile, similar sentiments were expressed by Chairman of the PSC, Gerry Gouveia. He expressed his disappointment that the Commission’s representative is not operating at the policy level of the Task Force.
This is also the case with President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Nicholas Boyer, who explained during Thursday’s briefing that there are some grey areas that need to be addressed regarding the enforcement of the emergency measures that were implemented by the National Task Force.
For instance, he explained that a lot of his members in the retail trade have complained that they’re being unnecessarily harassed by Police, especially on the Regent Street corridor.
In fact, on Friday Police ranks shut down a handful of businesses in the city’s commercial hub. The operation saw the lawmen on Regent Street, and in different areas around Georgetown, ensuring that the non-essential stores close.
However, Boyer said that this lockdown is also being enforced on businesses that are considered essential.
According to the GCCI President, based on the feedback from his membership, there seems to be a major issue with an even application of the rules coupled with a lack of clarity.
“These businesses all need to have clarity… Everybody understands the tradeoff between lives and livelihood, and no business person is that greedy that they will put their profits ahead of people’s lives. But for them to plan – because they do have payrolls and employees who have families to feed – they need to be able to have information…,” Boyer stated.
This issue with businesses in Georgetown comes as the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has stepped up its efforts to ensure that retailers and vendors, especially, comply with the necessary measures and guidelines put in place to curb the spread of coronavirus.
In fact, the M&CC disclosed on Wednesday that some 51 vendors who were found operating without a face mask were fined $5000 each.
With Guyana’s cases continuing to climb, it is anticipated that the emergency measures that are in place will be extended to flatten the curve of COVID-19 in Guyana.
Guyana has so far recorded 150 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 11 deaths and 67 recoveries. However, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) has warned that if these measures are lifted on June 3 as slated, then the county could see an exponential rise in cases to some estimated 10,000.
While there has been no official announcement by the National Task Force as to whether the curfew would be extended, caretaker President David Granger in a recent interview with the State-owned National Communications Network (NCN) said that all emergency measures will remain in place until the pandemic is under control.
The emergency measures that were implemented to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic includes citizens being required to remain indoors between 18:00h and 06:00h. It also speaks directly to the work hours that are allotted to essential services, preferential treatment for healthcare workers, social distancing and physical distancing, domestic travel, amongst others.
The President underscored that he cannot predict a date and time when the measures will be lifted. However, it all depends on the cooperation of Guyanese to help reduce the rate of infection and deaths.