Funds Must Be Borrowed
We have none – Gittens
GUYANA Manufacturers’ Association (GMA) President Mr. Brian Gittens says his association has nothing against an agreement with the Internatonal Monetary Fund (IMF).
Speaking on a weekend “Face The Nation” programme on State radio, Gittens says that Guyana must approach “some” lending agency for money if the country is to move forward, Presently “we have none,” he said.
Gittens says that Guyanese are now saying that “we need to get on the move,” but the funds are not there, he told journalists.
Gittens also supports Guyana’s already announced intention to officially apply for membership of President Reagan’s Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI). Anything which permits better entry into the US market should be encouraged, he said.
And the GMA, recently the hosts of a Jamaican trade delegation to Guyana, says stormy discussons with the Trade Ministry in the past on the “no funds” licences issue still have not resulted in a full settlement of this thorny issue.
TAX Giving examples, Gittens pointed out that inter-island traders, using “no funds” licences to import goods, pay a smaller percentage of Consumption Tax than the manufacturer whose products are and after it leaves the factory. The trader, after paying his due, can re-sell his product at his own price, said Gittens. The manufacturer does, however, need the licensing system, for the while, until it is regularised.
Gittens told newsmen that he is aware of complaints from some manufacturers about discrimination in the value of licences issued to some persons, some companies getting much more than others. Further talks with the ministry are planned in the future, he said.
Responding directly to a possible official trade shift from the East, Gittens pointed to increased trade with Cuba and the German Democratic Republic, saying that manufacturers are prepared to do business with any country once the terms are suitable. If there is a shift, Gittens said, he could not say why this is so.
Should loss-making corporations be privatised? the GMA head was asked. The general feeling among manufacturers is that they should, he said, but they are not clear on what yardsticks are being used to measure efficiency levels.
He dealt also with the electricity, transportation and foreign exchange situations, saying the GMA hopes these will improve since they are all crucial to the private sector.
He described last year as one which allowed for consolidation in the manufacturing sector and spoke of new initiatives being taken on several fronts to boost manufacturing.