Insecure political climate deters investors
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Insecure political climate deters investors
-- Roheeby Sharon Lall
Guyana Chronicle
April 7, 2000
THE insecure political climate that exists in Guyana is preventing investors from coming here, Foreign Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee has said.
A 1999 document on foreign direct investment in Latin America and the Caribbean, indicates that the predominant line of thought is that the flow of capital to a country depends on the "orthodox policies of stability and external openings that are implemented", Rohee said.
"The reason behind this is simple. Whoever offers greater security gets more," Minister Rohee said in his presentation on the budget debate in Parliament on Tuesday.
"These are the difficulties that developing countries like Guyana is facing. The international economic environment is not getting better," he contended, adding "the world will not stand still and wait for Guyana".
"No foreign potential investor is sitting and waiting for Guyana to solve its internal political problems."
Minister Rohee said the Opposition People's National Congress (PNC) must understand that this country can not afford to lose investors.
He pointed out that there have been drastic reductions in Overseas Development Assistance, critical for developing countries like Guyana.
Developed countries, instead of providing the 0.7 per cent of their Gross National Product (GNP) to which they have committed themselves for the benefit of developing countries, have now reduced it 0.22 per cent.
"Overseas development assistance to countries like ours has declined almost drastically and stood at $20 billion in 1998 against more than $28 billion at the beginning of the decade," the Minister noted.
Commodity prices continue to fall sharply while oil prices are rising and falling beyond control, he stated.
Minister Rohee said real commodity prices have fallen 45 per cent since 1980.
This loss averaged some $25 billion per year or, on an accumulative basis, stood at a total of $290 billion over the period 1980 to 1991.
"The little that developing countries like ours received during the Cold War period is now being withered away from us.
"We now have to fight tooth and nail, not only for increases in assistance, but to maintain even the little that we have currently."
The Minister said the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has drawn up a scheme that lists the main determinants for foreign direct investment in terms of the receiving countries' situation.
In addition to the general economic situation, the UNCTAD scheme states that markets, resources, capital and efficiency are the economic determinants that encourage foreign direct investment.
Despite the setbacks, Minister Rohee said, Guyana has participated in critical negotiations at the global, hemispheric and regional levels, and has always maintained its national interests at the top of the agenda.
Guyana, he said, in ACP-EU negotiations has managed to secure $100M ECUs for the rice sector, $100M ECUs for the rum industry, and has kept the sugar Protocol intact.
This country continues to represent CARICOM in the Rio Group, helping to maintain its connection in Latin America.
It is also involved in the Commonwealth High Level Working Group on Small States.
Irrespective of its detractors, Minister Rohee said, Guyana's foreign policy since 1992 has been characterised by "dynamism, openness and the establishment of the direct relationship between our needs at the economic, social and human development levels".
Guyana successfully completed its one-year term as Chairman of the G-77 and China, and completed another year as CARICOM representative on the Rio Group, the House was told.
This country also continues to play a leading role and to take forward-looking positions in bodies such as CARICOM, the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), the Organisation of American States (OAS), SELA, the Treaty of Amazon Cooperation (TAC), the Commonwealth, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the United Nations (UN).
Minister Rohee said recently, the Commonwealth Heads of Government agreed to establish a Ministerial Action Group to monitor developments in connection with the border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela.
"Our call for support to maintain our territorial integrity and national sovereignty in the controversy with Venezuela has always found support and sympathy in almost every corner of the globe," the Minister said.
Rohee pointed out that his Ministry is emphasising training of its officers, both locally and abroad, because external negotiations are now assuming greater importance.
"On the economic diplomacy front, we have put in place mechanisms at home and abroad to aggressively pursue foreign investments and to sell Guyana's eco-tourism product," he added.
