The challenge to local producers

Sep 07, 2013 Editorial

The changing landscape may not be for the better in the eyes of some Guyanese. Many see themselves slowly being pushed aside in the name of development. For example, local contractors are finding it hard to compete for major projects largely because they do not have the resources and surely because they do not have the experience.
Those who have undertaken projects that the large contractors find not to be feasible to undertake are struggling to even get started. The current spate of four-lane highways is being undertaken by local contractors who are meandering from one problem to the next. Many do not have the heavy duty equipment needed and most do not know what needs to be done after the material has been procured.
Generally, the trend would be to hire those knowledgeable with the various aspects of the project but the Guyanese would not want to pay. They simply watch their pockets and provide to the best of their ability. The result is substandard work that proves more costly that the professional job.
To compound the issue Guyanese tend to work on roads when the traffic is at its busiest. In other countries, the drop in traffic sparks the most work hence most road works in the metropolis are done at nights.
In the past when there were large foreign contractors the authorities created conditions for locals to work alongside the foreign contractors. The aim was that the locals would learn and would later take control of such situations. This is what Singapore did and today it is a First World country with all the requisite skills to the point that it actually builds cars. It is also a prominent player in the information technology sector, globally.
For the records, Singapore and Guyana were at the same place in history a mere sixty years ago. Its people like those in rural Guyana, lived in thatched huts. Skyscrapers have replaced these humble abodes.
Just now, Guyana granted a contract to a Chinese contractor for the erection of a Marriott branded hotel. The contractor employed no Guyanese despite the protests by the various political groups. The government said that it was contented with the arrangement because the Chinese complained that the presence of Guyanese would have slowed the project.
The same thing might have been the case on the airport expansion project but for the threat of hostile action from certain quarters.
Now there is a new development and it involves providing a forum for large international companies to exhibit their products and to seek local markets. Through GuyExpo, Guyana began to exhibit local products and producers. The organisers invited foreigners to view the exhibits and to woo the local investors.
The then administrators insisted that local producers needed a boost and they created that opportunity through the exposition. Today, the exposition seems to be serving a different purpose. It appears to be a location for major international producers to entice local shoppers.
The Chinese are known to produce cheap goods in large quantities. They are supposed to be coming for GuyExpo with the largest of the contingents from any part of the world. For sure they will be bringing some products never seen in Guyana but which would be in demand. Of course, Guyana would have the local substitutes.
The end result is that the Chinese product would be cheaper and more abundant than anything Guyana can offer. The exposition, then, will help place nails in the coffin of local producers unless they actually produce something that no foreigner is likely to exhibit next month. Local producers are not being protected and local industry would shrink even faster than it is now.
The same situation exists in the field of agriculture. Guyana’s pig rearers must now compete with foreign pig rearers because the government has granted import licences to foreign entities to import pork. But even before this stage, the Agriculture Ministry appeared incapable of supporting the local producers.
Guyana would do well to concentrate on developing local enterprises because failure could be devastating. Local enterprises would create employment for the idle hands in the country.

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