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(l-r)
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Trade and International
Cooperation, John Isaacs; Denise
Goolsarran, OAS-CIDA Capacity Building Project Programme Officer;
and Dennis Moses OAS National Director in
Guyana at the launch of the CTRC Friday.
Related Links Had the Target Special Squad not been disbanded, the situation in Buxton would have ended a long time ago. A HIGH-LEVEL security advisory team from the United Kingdom High-level British team advising on security strengthening
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AMCHAM launches in Guyana
- Acting President Samuel Hinds
Ruel Johnson
Singh, President of the newly formed body, said that crime is rampant not only in Guyana but in other parts of the Caribbean; it was only Guyana that has so far, however, failed to seek help from the law enforcement agencies of more developed countries, the United Kingdom’s Scotland Yard and the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in particular. Singh said that if the crime situation continues unchecked, the economy is going to shrink, spawning more crime. He also cited high energy costs as a stumbling block to business in Guyana, recommending that Government explore hydroelectricity as a viable option in providing the country with a cheap source of energy. He also posited that Guyana needs to relax immigration arrangements with border countries Suriname, Venezuela and Brazil, as a way of stimulating cross border trade and tourism. AMCHAM Guyana was formed, according to Singh, after a discussion he had with two other prominent businessmen, Komal Samaroo and Yesu Persaud, Managing Director and Chairman of Demerara Distillers Limited respectively. The organisation was established, Singh said, to help Guyanese businesses find avenues for marketing their products in the United States, as well as distributors for products that they might wish to import into Guyana. Acting President Sam Hinds welcomed the initiative, saying that it was another example of the strong links that exist between Guyana and the United States. He, however, warned that Guyana was not in a sound enough position economically to be able to sustain potential demand for most of the “new, fancy” things that could find their way to the local market through AMCHAM initiatives. Hinds said a strong focus must be made in stimulating growth in the local economy, so that it would be strong enough to support new foreign products being made available to local consumers, something he envisions happening over the next 30 years approximately. On the issue of crime, Hinds said that Government was putting a strong effort into combating it; he cited the recent seizure of smuggled gasoline at Buddy’s Farm on the East Bank as an example of this, but lamented the subsequent disappearance of the trucks that were in custody as part of Police investigations. Hinds
said that Government had previously explored the purchase of
hydroelectricity but found the cost too prohibitive. However, he said
that if private sector representatives were willing to sit down with the
Administration, and come up with a commitment to exploring and possibly
adapting the use of hydroelectricity as an alternative to petrol-based
power generation, he would be willing to meet them.
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