New Essequibo Chamber President wants majority share...

emergence of an oil and gas industry in Guyana now meant that businesses in the twin-island republic were enjoying “a free ride” in terms of taking advantage of the opportunities that Guyana now has to offer. He said that while he was not taking a position that seeks to shut out Trinidad and Tobago businesses from the local oil and gas sector, he believed that government should put mechanisms in place to ensure that Guyanese enjoy a majority stake (a minimum of 51%) in such local content-related enterprises as arise from the pursuits related to the ongoing oil-recovery operations. “I believe that part of Guyana’s problem is that sometimes, in dealing with these issues, we carry ourselves as though we are beggars. We have to show the world that we are not beggars. One of the things that we need to address, for example, is the way in which some of our people are still treated at foreign airports. We have to carry ourselves with pride and show the world that we are not beggars.”

He said that he would wish to see the free trade clarion call being mouthed across the region be replaced by a commitment to fair trade. “I’d like to see around a 75% increase in trade among CARICOM countries,” he added.

Specifically, he says that he wants to see a swift settlement of the trade issues between Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago within the framework of the current diplomatic engagement between Georgetown and Port of Spain. “We need to work together to develop the region rather than looking abroad.”

And according to Ramotar while our recently found oil deposits are a national resource, “I am yet to see an Essequibo business benefitting from the local content aspect of oil and gas.” Ramotar told Stabroek Business that the economic benefits accruing to Essequibo from the emerging oil and gas industry will be one of the concerns of the Essequibo Chamber going forward.

And while Ramotar says he shares the upbeat national mood created by the country’s oil finds, he believes that hopes for sustained oil-related wealth could be thwarted by what he says is the focus on “non-oil energy,” going forward and the effects on oil prices ‘down the road.” Accordingly, the Essequi-bo businessman said that he remains wedded to the idea that resources from the oil and gas industry should be pumped directly into agriculture and agro processing. He said that while there are returns accruing from the oil and gas sector a generous measure of those resources should be channeled into creating the infrastructure that will further consolidate what is already a strong agriculture sector and investing in the various facets of a strong agro processing sector including factories for processing, developing processing techniques, and packaging and labeling, among others.

Ramotar told Stabroek Business, meanwhile, that the mission of building a strong, business-centred Essequibo economy is dependent on the creation of an enabling physical environment. He said that the creation of a thriving business environment in Essequibo cannot be separated from the need to create an enhanced community that addressed issues like better roads, traffic management and access roads to the forests in order to tap timber which continues to be one of Esse-quibo’s important economic assets.

Agriculture and agro processing aside, Ramotar said that he believed that the natural beauty of Essequibo offers “a great opportunity” for the creation of a lucrative tourism industry. He said that the region’s low crime rate coupled with its attractive features including its lakes, trails and fishing facilities is ripe for major investment in the development of a world class tourism destination.