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‘Don’t over rely on govt. for everything, get up and get’
–Natural Resources Minister tells Private Sector forum
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat (‘Don’t over rely on govt. for everything, get up and get’)
Kaieteur News- In a call for greater self-reliance and collaboration among Guyanese businesses, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat urged business leaders to seek innovative solutions to common challenges.
Minister Bharrat made those remarks during his address at the recently concluded Local Content Forum, hosted by the Private Sector Commission. One challenge that was raised was the perennial issue of financing for local enterprises. “So we have to ensure we work around issues, because we too, we know as Guyanese, we prefer to sit down and cry about it and say man the government ain’t doing anything about it…,” the minister said.
Minister Bharrat acknowledged it as a significant hurdle and stressed the need for cooperative approaches. “So how do you deal with this issue of financing and the president has been the number one advocate in this country in getting our Private Sector to start working together, whether it’s in partnership, whether it’s in consortium, whether it’s joint ventures, we have seen some amount of success when it comes to that but I think much more can be done…so we have seen that it can work,” he added.
Minister Bharrat noted that although some progress had been made with partnerships and joint ventures, there is still untapped potential. He pointed out that Guyanese businesses often shy away from collaboration due to a competitive mindset but underscored that this needs to change.
Moreover, he highlighted a trend he perceives as “overdependence on government,” and encouraged Private Sector to recognise that while some government support is natural, a culture of heavy reliance could stifle initiative and progress.
“So there is this tendency of overdependence on government maybe we created it, and when I say we, I mean the PPP/C government because we have been reaching out so much that people have become very dependent on government and we are blamed too for almost everything,” he said. The minister continued, “And I’m sure if we go out there just now and it starts raining, we will blame the president or better yet the Vice President seems to be the one that everybody blames for everything.”
Bharrat urged businesses to adopt a proactive approach to development, emphasizing that success often favours those willing to take initiative. “So sometime we need to as we say in the Guyana, wake up and smell the coffee, we need to get up and get as we say, we can no longer sit down and just cry about issues and say oh this happens or that happens and the government is not doing anything,” the minister said.
Additionally, the minister highlighted the numerous opportunities available within the evolving local economy, especially as Guyana’s oil sector continues to expand. However, he cautioned that the Private Sector must act swiftly to capitalize on these opportunities.
(‘Don’t over rely on govt. for everything, get up and get’)
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