Govt must support local manufacturing

Jun 04, 2017 News

By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell
Why import something of a lesser quality and, for more money, when you can source the product in your own country? That is the question being asked by many, including local manufacturer Mahadeo Panchu.

An assortment of some of the pavers offered by KSM Investment Inc.

Guyana has moved from a stage where there was an import substitution policy and degenerated into importing down to bottled water, plantain chips and tamarind balls. While this reality continues to prevail, foreign exchange is placed in jeopardy.
Just recently, Guyana’s foreign exchange rocketed to as high as $230 to US$1. This was blamed on the scarcity of the US dollar as a result of limited exportation and high importation. So, much US goes out but little returns.
While many local manufactures remain silent on the issue of heavy importation, the owner of KSM Investment Inc. is ready to speak out. He said that Guyanese need to become more patriotic and more conscious of the country’s economic need and they need guidance, “They need leadership and that kind of leadership can only be provided by the government.”
Panchu said that Guyana as a nation is still enslaved in a mindset where “We always feel that what is imported is superior to what is made locally. I have made it clear that I have a superior quality product and have challenged anyone to bring an overseas product that is superior to mine. We need to change that mindset and Guyanese.”
Panchu said that it is worse than even the government which is fully aware of the problems in the economy as well as the manufacturing sector, is hardly supporting local.
The businessman said that government, being the chief spender in the economy must support whole heartedly any initiative that guarantees quality, value for money, saving and foreign exchange.
“Government must lead by example and when government can do that they can scold everybody else, manufacturers and consumers alike.”
Speaking about inferior quality, Panchu pointed to the first phase of a pedestrian walkway project that was recently completed between Vlissingen Road and Albert Street.
Panchu said that the pedestrian skywalk has a 20 -25ft span.
He said that a few weeks after completion there are already four cracks on the pave. The materials for that project were imported from Miami. Panchu said that things like that are “Painful to a Guyanese entrepreneur who would have made great sacrifice.”
“We are doing a superior quality, competitively priced but the contractor imported similar looking pavers from Miami. If it is something that you cannot get here that importation would be justified but in the present reality just represents an absence of vision and respect for local manufacturers.
Because of the absence of work from Government linked projects, Panchu’s factory is operating at 30 percent capacity. About 30,000 can be manufactured per day but with the demand base, just about 7000 blocks are manufactured a day.
In some cases, importation of a product can be justified, like when the quality is superior or if the same product (standard) can be sourced cheaper abroad.

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