Programme aims to train 1,500 managers here
An International Management Conference underway at Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel is part of a larger programme to train 1,500 managers from proprietary family-run firms in Guyana over the next two years in various aspects of management. The programme is organised by the Consultative Association of Guyanese Industry (CAGI) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The conference itself is concentrating on the challenges and opportunities that globalization presents to small economies such as Guyana. All of the speakers at the opening session described the brave new world of open markets as a threat to developing countries. Dr Arnold McIntyre, lead technical advisor to the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery Office in delivering the keynote address observed that the changing structure of the world economy was being fuelled by rapid technological change and the phenomenon of huge trans-national corporations which source resources and labour globally and sell their products with few restrictions. The hypothesis emanating primarily from Washington and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) capitals and transformed into policy by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is that increased trade will benefit the poorest people in the poorest countries. This purely economic consensus is, he says unravelling in the face of statistics from the UNDP that the gaps in GDP between developed and developing countries and between the rich and poor in developing countries continue to grow. He was especially critical of the recent debt relief talks in Washington, describing the industrial countries as having "pussy- footed" over debt relief. In terms of trade the OECD he noted, does not reciprocate its call for open markets resorting to the imposition of spurious anti-dumping tariffs and quasi-environmental objections in an effort to frustrate developing nations. There was, he said absolutely no compassion from the industrialized nations towards the concerns of the developing countries. It was McIntyre's view that the next round of trade talks scheduled for Seattle, Washington this month should concentrate on reform of the present arrangements instead of promoting more cuts in tariffs. However he cautioned that even though the injustices are apparent, globalization is not a passing fad. The processes are irreversible and the only solution for small countries like Guyana is to adapt to the new conditions. One of the keys to economic survival is training of management. David Yankana, Executive Director of CAGI recalling a recent baseline study of 300 Guyanese companies remarked that their major concern was suitable human resources. He said that the tertiary institutions in Guyana only produce around 1500 to 2000 qualified graduates per year and the mismatch in the companies' needs and actual qualifications is large. The training programme will consist of a curriculum concentrating on Total Quality Management Business Operations and Finance, Human Resources, Inventory control and Environmental Management. The cost of the programme is US$1.2 million of which US$875,000 is being provided by the IDB and the rest by CAGI. The course will be accredited by the University of Guyana and is expected to get started later this year. Yankana exhorted the public sector to reform the tax system and create a stable monetary policy, describing the situation in the country as "Custer's Last Stand" in the face of globalization's many arrows. He urged the country's managers to "rise to the rank of generals to combat the industrial malaise.... and to identify a way forward." Dr McIntyre's address concurred with these remarks by describing the government's role in transforming the economy as critical. It is, as Sattaur Gafoor, Executive Chairman of Gafsons Industries Ltd said, a "tall order" for a country that also faces a depletion of its quality human resources. It was his hope that the planned retreat between the President and the private sector will be a start on the long road to Guyana's economic independence. Prime Minister Samuel Hinds who opened the two-day seminar lamented that too often the private sector was deemed to be in opposition to the public sector and said that a new concept of "Team Guyana" with both parties cognizant of the other's needs was now required.
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