ADDRESS BY THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE TO THE CHRISTMAS DINNER 2006 OF THE GEORGETOWN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Head Table, Special Invitees, Members of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, Ladies and Gentlemen;
I am pleasantly surprised that so many of you from the business community are in attendance here tonight. I am surprised because judging from the hectic commercial activity that is taking place throughout the country at this time, I anticipated that quite a few of you would have found it difficult to leave your respective businesses to be here tonight.
Traditionally, late shopping usually commences from the 15 th of December. However, I have noted that most of the stores on Regent Street were opened late into the night from as early as last week, a sure sign that business is bright here in the capital and no doubt in other parts of the country.
This is of course the peak season for business activity. It is also a special time for all Guyanese, a time of goodwill, a time to remember the needy and a time of hope for all humanity. Therefore, tonight on behalf of the government and on my own personal behalf, I wish to extend Season Greetings to the entire business community.
The government continues to recognize your importance to the economy and to be responsive to your concerns. This was no better evident that in the steps that have been taken to address the business community’s apprehensions over the introduction of the Value Added Tax due to come into operation from the first of January 2007.
VAT is not a punitive tax. VAT is not a protective tax. In fact, it is better to look at VAT less as a tax and more as a system of taxation that would ensure greater fairness, greater transparency and an enlarged base tax base. When you think of VAT therefore, your focus should extend beyond the 16% rate and examine the overall system and how businesses as a whole will benefit from its introduction.
Among those benefits for the commercial sector would be the ability to reclaim input taxes and to thus benefit from lower costs, thereby making your businesses more competitive. By having a single tax rate of 16%, it simplifies the tax collection system and therefore reduces the possibility of corruption as opposed to a system with multiple rates where the possibilities for evasion are greater. VAT also levels the playing field for businesses since it encourages persons to declare to the tax authorities their rightful import values.
Much of the mistrust and apprehension over VAT flows from a lack of understanding of this tax and its implications. Over the past weeks, a systematic effort has been made to address this issue and I am sure most of you are now better informed and, consequently, enthused by its imminent implementation.
I therefore wish to encourage the business community to be receptive to the introduction of VAT. As with any new system, there are expected to be kinks and hiccups, but these I am confident will be quickly ironed out. As the benefits of VAT become apparent to the business community, I am sure it will be whole-heartedly embraced.
Mr. Chairman,
I am also certain that in as much as this Christmas season will bring great rewards to you, you are eager looking forward to next year when Guyana will play hosts to Cricket World Cup 2007. The government looks forward to the members of the business community being prepared for the many challenges and opportunities that this tournament will provide. If you think the Christmas is the real thing, think again. Cricket World Cup will provide just as many opportunities for businesses as Christmas.
I join the call of others therefore in encouraging the businesses to come on board to make our country ready for Cricket World Cup 2007. Guyana will gain considerable international exposure from hosting Cricket World Cup and this exposure will bring sustained benefits to our economy and by extension to the business community. I want all of you to be upbeat about Cricket World Cup as I want you to be about plans for the country’s modernization which are presently unfolding.
Guyana is at an important juncture in its history and the signs are all around that we can only get better in the years ahead. The development that is taking place in our country, the modernization of infrastructure, the increased lending that is taking place in the credit sector, the improvements in methods of production and in the provision of services, the mushrooming of more businesses, the significant interest that investors are showing in Guyana, the revival of the traditional sectors of the economy, and the foothold that the new and emerging sectors have already established, are all signs that a transformation is taking place in our country that can only being improved standards of living in the country.
We cannot, however ignore or pretend that there are no threats. Crime I know is one of the issues that continue to plague our progress. The government continues to spare no effort in providing increased resources to the law enforcement agencies to aid them in combating this scourge. A security reform process is in the works and this when implemented will ensure that we have a security apparatus that is responsive to crime and accountable for its eradication.
In the meantime, we must support the Guyana Police Force for the good work that they have been doing. You in the commercial zone of the city would no doubt have appreciated the increased police presence in the city over this Christmas Season.
The Chamber too has been playing its own role in heightening awareness of the need for all Guyanese to be part of crime fighting. I want to express my appreciation, on behalf of the government, to the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and especially to its indefatigable President. Mr. Jerry Gouveia for the very involved and outspoken role that the Chamber is taking in supporting anti- crime initiatives in the country. I think on this score, Jerry has demonstrated what its means to be a patriot
Mr. Chairman,
Tonight I crave your indulgence about a matter that troubles me a great deal. Often when we think about the Chamber of Commerce and business in general, there is a disconnect between our perceptions of business and the agricultural sector of which I am the Minister. There is, at least at the level of perception, a dichotomy between commerce and agriculture. We tend to view agriculture more in terms of the productive sector and commerce more in terms of trading without recognizing that both are interlinked. And tonight I want to draw attention to the important role that agriculture plays in commercial activity and to say a few words about what is happening in the agricultural sector.
When the farmer goes to the bank to take a loan, businesses benefit; when he buys fork or a spade, businesses benefit; when he offers his produce for sale, he provides both a business service to the community. When he takes his earned cash and goes into the supermarket and stores, he helps in the circulation of money throughout the economy
Agriculture is the largest contributor to GDP in Guyana. The agricultural sector a holds a significant share of commercial business transactions in the country as well as a large chuck of the credit portfolio of commercial banks. In addition, great deal of the consumables that drive demand at Christmas time consist of agricultural produce. Investments in agriculture provides both forward and backward linkages to the business community by supplying the inputs and supplies for production and of course in the trading of the final products of cultivation and production.
The viability of the agricultural sector therefore is critical to the viability of the commercial sector in Guyana, and one of the objectives of our agricultural policy in Guyana is to provide opportunities for greater involvement of the business community in investments in agricultural and in the provision of services to the agricultural community.
I therefore want tonight to briefly, only briefly, tell you about what is going to happen within the agricultural sector, so that you can appreciate that many opportunities for doing business with this sector.
I begin with……………………
LIST THE AGRICULTURAL INVESTMENTS AND OUTPUTS THAT ARE IN THE PIPELINE
All of the above will provide, as I indicated earlier, both forward and backward linkages for businesses in Guyana. There are, as is evident, tremendous scope for deepening the involvement of the business community in agriculture. Guyana is predominantly an agricultural growing country and I believe given the global development in bio-technology, global and regional food security, sustainable and organic food cultivation and in food processing, Guyana must of necessity foster greater integration between agriculture and business.
I urge all of you here tonight whether you are bankers or simply businessmen trading in products either for or produced by the agri-sector, to recognize the importance of this sector to the livelihood of all Guyanese and to do all that is possible to become more involved in agricultural development.
In closing, let me once again congratulate the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce for the vibrant role that they continue to play in our society and especially for the active interest they take in developments in our country.
Best wishes for a profitable Holiday Season and a Highly Successful New Year!
Thank you.
