Guyana open for business

May 15, 2026 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

Hard Truths by GHK Lall

(Kaieteur News) – Minister of Public Works, His Eminence, Bishop Juan Edghill said it well. “Guyana is open for business.” Thanks, Lordship. Being open for business shouldn’t mean that Guyana is happy giving away its business. Giving it to outsiders to the detriment of its own citizens. The roadside concern springing up angrily is that the Chinese are taking over the trucking business, knocking Guyanese out of that business. There will be no Chinese bashing here. But there will be calling the issue as seen, with it being the latest example of the kind of business which Guyana is open for, as attested to by Bishop Edghill, and reinforced by circumstances.

The most talked about people in the world are the most abused, most taken advantage of, the ones who lose the most. The pain of truckers, be they owners or drivers, ranges from loans pending to lost business to less money in hand to manage their affairs. Guyanese, the major shareholders in an enterprise that attracts businesses from all over the world, always seem to be a day late and a dollar short. Might be an old cliché, but don’t tell truckers and other Guyanese that, for they are living it.

This time around, truckers are the ones feeling the squeeze. Before them, retail stores felt one blow after another. They are overwhelmed, just can’t compete, because the playing field is uneven, and they are powerless to engage in the magic that the big boys know so well. When smaller members of Guyana’s powerful private sector, its commercial straits-a treasured PPP Govt constituency-can be ignored, count for so little, it should convey the power and reach of the Chinese. They are all over Guyana’s vast spaces, and into everything. We did have a Chinese president in the early days, so it wouldn’t surprise, if there’s a Chinese minister of vice-president in short order. I hear there are a few Chinese middlemen who are close to Guyana’s movers and shakers and know how to get things done.

So much for the Chinese, who are not alone; nor the sole beneficiaries of Guyana’s broadening economic horizons. In the “Guyana is open for business” mindset, environment, and culture, of the PPP Govt, as highlighted by Lordship Edghill, there are Americans, even Venezuelans. Not the small ones hurrying out at 05:30hrs to make an honest living, but those in Wales.

Whoever said Gas -to-Energy and US$2 billion in the stew just did well for themselves. If ever there should be a textbook titled “Business for Dummies” the Wales GTE catastrophe is it. Guyanese are busy, wrathfully, taking aim at the Chinese, but what of Lindsayca-CH4 that wants another quarter billion American? Or Exxon that doesn’t blasts any mention of the word renegotiation. And another: ringfencing. I push my luck, speak of taxes. To do so in this country, and before the nation’s partner, is to risk a season on the PPP assault and battery blocks.

But “Guyana is open for business”, as sermonized by Cardinal Edghill isn’t limited to the exploits of the Chinese and Texas Yankees (not an oxymoron). There are Trinidadians and there are some big-name Indians from the subcontinent being lined up to join in the fun business for which Guyana has gained a worldwide reputation. Come to this country and make tons of money. Don’t worry about the people. Just deal with the dealers. Business and politics are like whiskey and racing. The two have problems with each other, are ruinous to everybody, except the intellectual authors. Offshore, onshore, on the road, off-road, it is the same stink and dutty story. Ever see winners made into losers? Don’t look far, look right here.

Guyanese complain. Guyanese get left out or pushed out. Guyanese are sidelined and pauperized. Indeed, Guyana is open for business. Blessed day, Minister Edghill.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper

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Bishop Juan Edghill, business, GHK Lall, Guyana

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