A Triumph For German's

(Stabroek News' Editorial of March 1, 2010)

In the backdrop of the daily diet of crimes, El Nino, the bottomless woes of the Windies, the plight of key industries like sugar and an imminent elections season it gladdens the heart to read of triumphs which trump the bad and hold out hope for the future of entrepreneurship and the country.

In this case it is the internationalizing of the German’s brand by the Urlings with a move into Trinidad and Tobago. As we reported in Friday’s edition, the local restaurant famous for its soups and other fare has ventured into the heady Port-of-Spain market with its now distinctive frontage and it is now for customers and the product to discover each other.

Mr Clinton Urling had previously set his eyes on a restaurant in New York to the tune of US$130,000 but the global downturn and the frozen credit markets must have put paid to that – at least for the while. Mr Urling and his associates then set their sights on the Trini market and set about assiduously putting the project together in the same manner he restored the original location in Tiger Bay and which was the subject of a series of columns in the Stabroek Business several years ago.

The proof of the work is in the veritable eating of the pudding or appropriately in this case the slurping of the soup. Mr Urling with the proud legacy handed down by his father has managed to do what few Guyanese do these days – invest at home first and then try to penetrate other markets. He and all those who participated in this venture must be warmly congratulated.

The export of the Guyana brand to other parts also creates one type of linkage with the diaspora which this country has hardly begun to explore. Wherever Guyanese are dispersed there is a hankering for things that remind them of their past and roots – be it puri from Shanta’s or mauby from a beloved corner stand. What German’s has done is to transform the nostalgia into a productive relationship that will ultimately benefit the homeland.

Some may argue that the investment in Trinidad will not help us here in terms of jobs, purchase of goods and services and taxation but it should be remembered that the Urlings retain a flagship here which will ultimately benefit from the success of the entire group and surely we can anticipate other restaurants in other parts of the country once market conditions are right.

In the aftermath of the recent disappointing budget presentation and the clear lack of robust private sector investment, the state continues to make up for the investment shortfall in infrastructural and other projects and by the contracting of large loans from as far as China to give the economy a lift and create some jobs.

It is not working and in the long-term, considering the stagnation and decline in the traditional sectors of the economy, the task of ratcheting up growth will fall to enterprising businessmen like the Urlings once they are assured that their investment is desired and they will be allowed a level playing field to grow their businesses.

The captains of industry here must seek to have the courageous efforts of businessmen like the Urlings highlighted and replicated. They must continually lobby in areas such as the corporate tax rate, inefficient utilities and bandwidth accessibility and affordability so that the young, prospective entrepreneur isn’t easily dissuaded and lured to everyone’s fallback of trading.

Indeed, the expected wave of investments to transform the country into a call centre hub considering its natural advantages has been but a mere ripple and studded with false starts.

The last decade has seen an ever increasing reliance on the interventionist state for investments leading to questionable decisions by major holders of public funds like the National Insurance Scheme. The government and specifically its national competitiveness strategy unit must conceptualise ways and means of encouraging businessmen to invest in Guyana and to dream of bigger plans such as tapping the enormous prospects of attracting elderly Guyanese abroad to retirement communities here etc.

The diaspora which German’s will rely on to help make the Trinidad restaurant a success has limitless possibilities. All it needs are businessmen and women with a vision and fair, enabling governance.