Development challenges

Sep 20, 2014 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
Guyana’s development is moving apace. The recent opening of another branch of Popeyes on Camp Street and the proposed opening in November of Giftland’s new commercial centre at Liliendaal are just two examples of business expansion which augurs well for job creation and greater economic buoyancy.
And all of this is happening at a time when the parliamentary opposition is doing their level best to frustrate the development agenda of the ruling PPP/C administration.
But growth and development is not limited just to private sector development. Many individuals are also contributing to the economy by way of consumer spending, which has exceeded any period in our economic life. Indeed, the contribution of the services sector to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has reached an all-time high thanks to much greater disposable income by consumers.
Economists measure the value of income by way of purchasing power parity (PPP) which in essence is a measure of a comparative basket of goods and services which can be obtained in a given country based on a standard currency unit.
Those of us who had the opportunity to travel abroad in the Caribbean and North America cannot help but notice how competitive Guyana is when it comes to the spending power of money. A hundred United States dollars when exchanged into Guyana currency will purchase a much bigger basket of goods in Guyana than in any other Caricom country or in the USA and Canada.
This is partly due to the stability of the exchange value of the Guyana dollar vis–à–vis the United States dollar, but also as a result of the creativity and ingenuity of those in the business sector who have been largely successful in bringing in to the country commodities at highly competitive prices.
Guyana is today a market-driven economy, with the state playing a facilitating role in terms of private sector growth and expansion. There is hardly anything that is on the shelves of any supermarket in the United States and Canada that could not be found in Guyana. And, as mentioned earlier, at prices that are much more competitive. This is why it makes much more economic sense for overseas Guyanese wishing to help out their fellow countrymen to send the actual cash rather than buying items, since apart from the inconvenience and baggage limitations, more can be purchased right here for the same unit of expenditure.
One new phenomenon in the commercial field in Guyana is the emergence of the Chinese entrepreneur which has now put added pressure on the local business class to do even better in terms of competitiveness, as manufactured goods sourced from China are much cheaper than those from other industrialized countries.
Many Guyanese take advantage of cheaper prices, especially in a market that is becoming increasingly more perfect, and therefore much more responsive to a price-sensitive consumer. I have myself noticed and took advantage of the price differential between Chinese and other western products, especially in the area of household furniture, draperies, and electrical appliances among other items.
This is a bit of a diversion from the main point of this article which is that Guyana is turning the corner when it comes to investor confidence and business expansion. I sometimes wonder at the proliferation of new businesses all over the city and the wider environment and whether they could really survive this highly competitive business environment.
However, most if not all of them appeared to be doing quite well, which is one indication that the spending power of Guyanese consumers is  much stronger that what it may appear to be on the surface.
Guyana is doing well also in terms of the self-employed, thanks to an expansion of the construction sector which has created new employment opportunities for young people. These days it is not easy to find skilled carpenters, masons, electricians, plumbers and so on, and when available, they come with a high price tag.
Indeed, one of the major contributory factors for poor labour turnout in the sugar belt is the fact that there are much greater employment options for young people today than was hitherto the case.
Another contributory factor is that the output of skills and competences coming from our training institutions is much greater, and to a large extent, is meeting the development challenges of the country. The current administration must be given credit for the development of skills of our young people through the expansion of training institutions and the establishment of new training institutes in Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice. This is further complemented by the National Youth Empowerment Programme which directly targets out-of-school youths, in particular those who, for whatever reason, were unable to complete the full cycle of schooling.
Hydar Ally

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