Oil and gas no sure thing for prosperity
Guyana’s economy could still falter, the imminent exploitation of oil and gas notwithstanding, unless we remain focused on “the broader imperatives of supporting investments and job creation across our society”, according to the President of the manufacturers association, Shyam Nokta.
Nokta was speaking at a forum organised by the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) at the Georgetown Club on September 28 to enable an open discourse between the business community and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
“There is much talk on how the imminent emergence of an oil and gas sector will change everything for our country. On the one hand that is true, it will change everything – and that is precisely why we need to ensure we build all the institutional defences against the well-known economic and governance risks that oil and gas could bring,” Nokta told the forum.
Like other private sector officials and public commentators before him, Nokta said that while there is the need to prepare for the advent of oil and gas it was also necessary for Guyana to “stay the course by ensuring that other sectors of our economy continue to grow” in order to fulfill the country’s potential. He added that the country’s economy could still falter “if we don’t remain focused on the broader imperatives of supporting investments and job creation across all our economic sectors.”
And while, according to the GMSA President the manufacturing and services sector “remains committed to playing our part in grasping this broad potential” there was a need for “meaningful progress” on long-standing challenges to the growth and development of the sector including