Reflection on Tenure with the GCCI

It is hard to believe that two years have passed since I became President of the Georgetown Chamber. In the interview below to Stabroek News, I recount my experiences as leader of the country's premier private sector organization.

1.      Your two most significant accomplishments as Chamber President:

During my tenure, I have seen the Chamber’s national profile rise prominently as one of Guyana’s most visible, active and efficacious civil society organisations. Much of this effective exposure has been achieved through the many advocacy positions taken by the Chamber over the past two years. Many of these positions were chronicled in the Chamber’s publication, “The Top 20 Barriers to Competitiveness” and advanced through media briefings, press releases, luncheons and dinners, television interviews, face-to-face discussions with policy makers, the Chamber’s new website, social media platforms such as YouTube and Facebook, and our own television programme.

This exposure has opened doors to numerous opportunities for the Chamber. Many members, stakeholders, investors, policy makers, civil society members are reaching out to the Chamber to share or receive information or to act as partners for hosting activities and events. Moreover, the steady streams of publicity and attention have reinforced the perception for members that the Chamber will always work on their behalf. This has made it easier for the Chamber to obtain member-based support and funding for many new events.

The second major accomplishment is that I have been able to increase significantly the Chamber’s programme of activities while also expanding the Chamber’s revenue base. This ensures that we are able to achieve our current goals while accumulating the requisite financial surplus to provide for the organisation’s long-term sustainability.

2.      Two things which you wish you had accomplished:

First, I had set sights on building a stronger, expanded Chamber secretariat with the requisite staffing to become more effective in realising our goals. This was curtailed amid the competition for resources between current expenditures and the impending reconstruction of the Chamber’s secretariat building. The Chamber allocated a large percentage of our surplus revenue to savings for the reconstruction project, which restricted our capabilities to hire staff including a legal advisor to draft policy positions, a researcher to gather and analyse data important to the private sector, and a support officer dedicated to help small- and medium-sized enterprises. In the end, it was a small sacrifice to pay because we were still able to achieve much. Going forward we will have a modern world-class facility with a stronger secretariat staffed with the capabilities just mentioned.

Secondly, I wished the Chamber would have received donor financing to set up trade facilitation and capacity building grants for export oriented companies and micro and small businesses. We applied to the agency for Caribbean exports during my first term for a facility to help small businesses but while the application was successful, we were informed the agency did not have sufficient funds to move the grant forward. I’ve spent most of the past year trying to persuade every donor and the international representatives in Guyana about the utility of allocating loans, grants or matching funds to the Chamber to help build our local private sector’s capacities.

3.      Two things you would most like to see the Chamber accomplish during the tenure of the next executive:

First would be for the Chamber to access donor funding for the purpose I mentioned in the previous question.  I hope the Chamber adopts a multipronged approach to determine if private sector companies are willing to provide the necessary funding through sponsorship agreements.

Second, I would hope to see the construction of the long awaited new Chamber Secretariat building completed. The current facility is inadequate to keep pace with the organisation’s increased, more extensive, and complex work demands and provision of enhanced services to our members. This will be critical in continuing the efforts to build confidence with all of our stakeholders.

4.      Your views on the way in which the political culture impacts on the country’s social/economic development:

In the time since independence was achieved, our political culture has come to be  dominated by ethnic insecurities at the electoral level and distrust at the political leadership level. Over the course of our history, this combination of distrust and insecurities has led to politically motivated disturbances and, in some cases, violence. The occurrence of Guyana’s politically unstable environment also has coincided with periods of negative economic growth. The times where Guyana has recorded its highest growth rates occurred when the political environment was stable.

The current political environment where the combined opposition parties control the legislature and the government controls the executive requires enormous negotiations and compromises for moving the country’s economic and development agenda forward. Unfortunately, after two and a half years, compromise in critical instances has proven to be elusive, resulting in an unstable political environment that has negatively affected the country’s economic prospects.  If the situation persists, we will eventually have to face costly early general elections along with the concomitant fears and economic slowdown that accompany it. 

5.      The major impediments to private sector development in Guyana:

My position on these issues have been repeated elsewhere and reaffirmed in the Chamber’s many surveys over the years. The most pervasive concern will be the human resource challenge of finding and retaining good employees, especially highly skilled individuals. The reliability of utilities such as electricity and high costs, crime and security issues, political discord, and the country’s excessive dependence on primary producing commodities that are vulnerable to external price shocks round out the most harmful challenges facing our economy.

6.      Anything you would do differently:

The only thing I would do differently is focus a bit more on motivating and getting my private sector colleagues involved in formulating and executing the Chamber’s activities and events.

7.      Critical lessons learnt during your tenure:  

There are quite a number of lessons learned over the past two years:

1.)   Objectivity and impartiality are important prerequisites when articulating advocacy positions and dealing with stakeholders. This may not win you popularity all the time and occasionally will offend and criticise a stakeholder at one point while praising it at another. However, this approach ensures in the end that the same stakeholder respects you for your objectivity and is more likely to trust and work with you during your tenure.

2.)   Political issues take up a tremendous amount of a private sector leader’s time and energies because of the fragile and instable nature of our politics as previously described.

3.)   The combined private sector covered under associations and the Private Sector Commission plays an important role in advancing Guyana’s development and is the most vocal of all the civil society organisations. Much of the work is done behind the public’s view and organizational interventions over the years have resulted in net positives for Guyana’s social and economy stability.

4.)   Political issues are more “sexy” for media operatives who give a disproportionate amount of coverage towards politicians and political commentary as compared to business, social, cultural, and human interests represented in the most pertinent issues. This leads to a situation where private sector advocacy positions do not get the level of front page publicity they rightly deserve.

5.)   The interests of the whole – or, more specifically, the country – should always take eminence over individual or partisan interests. This mantra has served me well when contemplating the advocacy positions for the Chamber to consider.

8.      How would you rate your performance as Chamber President:

While I would remit obvious bias and rate my performance as exemplary, I believe the undisputable record of activities and achievements, history and time will be the most formidable judges regarding my contributions and legacy during the time that I served as Chamber President.

9.      Immediate and medium-term plans:

I hope to return to my academic studies so as to further empower myself to make a meaningful contribution to Guyana’s development either through civil society or direct political participation. However, I’m not fixed on that position and I have a few months to make the best decision depending on the circumstances as they unfold.