Regent Street businessmen say trading down 30% - 60% – new Chamber president
Meanwhile, the new chamber president said that under the present executive the private sector body will be directing much more of its attention to seeking to determine how its members and the local business community as a whole can take full advantage of the supply chain that will result from the emergence of an oil and gas industry. “We believe that it is important that our members migrate to oil and gas so that they can be service providers to the sector. Much of our focus will be seeking to integrate our own companies into that system to enable them to take advantage of the opportunity,” Indar said.
Both Indar and the chamber’s new Executive Director Kirk Hollingsworth declared that in pursuit of its mandate the new executive will be paying particular attention to its objectives as set out in Chapter 79:03 of the Laws of Guyana which include “the promotion and protection in Guyana of trade and services, local, regional and foreign,” the promotion and encouragement of “primary industries and manufacturing and processing operations with the use as far as possible of local raw materials…” The promotion “within and outside Guyana… in trade fairs and in any other manner the consumption and the use of goods manufactured or produced in Guyana” and to “initiate, promote or to comment on actual or proposed legislative, regulatory or administrative measures affecting trade, manufacture or industry and to communicate or cooperate with the appropriate governmental institutions in respect of such matters.”
Meanwhile Indar said the chamber will be seeking to consolidate its internal capacity particularly in the area of data gathering, a requisite which he said was important to supporting investor interests in the country.