* Go Invest hits its stride
* Globalisation, the private sector and inclusivity in Guyana
* Brass Aluminium & Cast Iron Foundry
* The ICT Project
* The Ins and Outs of Investing in Guyana
* Leases available at Eccles Industrial Estate
* Stay Connected Anywhere
* Managing conflict
* Islam and Business
* Poultry industry
* Profile.......Eddie Boyer
* "A New Approach To Training"
* Sugar
*

Go Invest hits its stride

Investors are encouraged by Go Invest's responsiveness to their projects. But political stability is still putting a damper on investments.

Speak to Geoff Da Silva Director of Go Invest for a few minutes and you will walk away thinking Guyana is the best place to invest in the whole world. His energy and enthusiasm for the job have helped transform the agency which before his arrival had often been viewed as an obstacle to investment rather than a facilitator. Under his tenure some US$110m has been invested and 3300 new jobs created through agency aided projects.

What has changed is the approach to investor projects. The agency does not pre-judge proposals and become an arbiter of their viability. This recognises that a businessman in risking his own capital is the best one to make a decision on an investment. Da Silva says as long as a project is fairly sound and meets the criteria set out for concessions then it is approved. The agency will of course look to help an investor fine tune his proposal by examining markets for products or services. In fact one of the first questions the agency asks is what market is the potential investor targeting before any discussion of production. Internally Go Invest has made a number of changes. The six investment officers are equally divided between the key areas of investment facilitation and export promotion although there are some overlaps. Officers would tend to specialise in particular sectors but not exclusively . All meetings are recorded and officers are personally accountable for projects during their life span . The board is also looking at improving the training programmes for staff and has set three main objectives for the agency: Go Invest should be first and foremost customer driven ,in that the needs of the customers should come first. If a delegation wants to visit at short notice the agency should be able to drop everything and meet with them immediately. This also means that the agency is not deciding what the future areas of growth should be although incentives could divert investment into preferred sectors. The impetus should come from the private sector and the agency is there simply to facilitate those investments. A knowledge based approach means the agency should be able to help investors with information on overseas markets and to systematically monitor the progress of projects.

63% of local companies do not export and with a stagnant market for local goods and services primarily be-cause of emigration, exports remain the primary opportunity for growth. Go Invest is encouraging the development of three primary markets in Northern Brazil, CARICOM and the Guyanaese diaspora in North America. Research has already been completed on the North American market with the aim of expanding exports of fruits and vegetables as well as introducing other products. With a budget of $45m and a small staff some have questioned the capacity of the agency to fulfil its mandate . But Da Silva says he is satisfied with current allocations although special projects such as trade fairs need support . A recent show in Antigua saw 29 local companies displaying their products along with the Guyana Marketing Corporation taking produce for another 14. Go Invest is now monitoring the progress of orders placed during the show.

Of course the issue of favouritism in granting incentives is often brought up .Da Silva makes it quite clear that project proposals are not approved by cabinet. Only those involving the sale of state land end up there . Those involving leases on industrial estates are sent to the Ministry of Tourism Industry and Commerce. A recommendation for a project is sent by Go Invest to the Minister of Finance who signs off on any concessions. In other words discretion and the perception of potential political bias are on the face of it no longer an issue. A project simply has to meet the criteria set out in the investment road map to get a list of incentives approved upfront.

The traditional gripe about Go Invest is the length of time it takes to get concessions approved. The process is as follows. Go Invest receives the exemption request for a piece of equipment and then after a review passes it along to the Secretary to the Treasury for signature. Da Silva says this should take as little as a week and at the most a month . In fact the process has been speeded up by establishing close relations between the Ministry of Finance and Go Invest. Da Silva points out that delays are often associated with inadequate information given by investors. Writing a note saying you want five new trucks will not work. The government does have a right to know what these might be used for given that taxes will be foregone.

Da Silva concedes there are delays in processing papers in some agencies but he says Go Invest officers have built relationships with their counterparts in the public service so that when forms do languish the process can be speeded up.

The generosity of the incentives offered by the government to encourage investment has recently been questioned given the significant loss of revenues. A case certainly could be made that in many sectors such as forestry, agribusiness and fisheries, the incentives are unnecessary given that investors, many of whom are local anyway, have few if any other countries in the region to operate such businesses. As such the loss of tax revenue to the government could be avoided with little risk that investment levels would decline. A recent study showed little evidence that when Indonesia eliminated tax incentives there was any decline in the rate of foreign direct investment into Indonesia even though other governments in the same region continued to offer incentives.

In the IT sector where competition to attract foreign direct investment is strong and Guyana has few advantages over countries in the region, a case for the more generous tax holidays could be made. But a number of World Bank papers now question the use of tax incentives saying they rank low on the scale of issues an investor considers in making a decision. Political stability, geographic location, the quality of infrastructure and the availability of natural resources, support services and a well-educated population are equally or more important.

With the government so dependent on customs duty and C tax revenues for its income as opposed to corporate or income tax , the costs of the incentives to the overall economy could be considerable. The Foreign Investment Advisory Service always advises against tax holidays which are available here for the IT and the garment sectors. These, FIAS says "are badly targeted because they reward the formation of new companies, rather than what is really desired such as an increase in productive assets, better technology, labour training. They are not usually cost-effective with almost all inquiry suggesting very little additional investment results from them. They have maximal effects on foot-loose, short-term investments that, if affected at all, may well leave or form a new company after the holiday expires, while other incentives are more effective for longer-term investments."

It seems unlikely an investor will look at a list of incentives and decide to go into the sector which is most generous.

The absence of an investment code does remain a source of worry amongst the international financial institutions and what is more the deletion of certain parts of the draft agreed to by the private sector before it was presented to parliament has raised concerns since a credible investment code will be a prerequisite for future international support of the PRSP.

Da Silva counters that large parts of the text were removed that actually gave the government too much discretion. But he believes the absence of an Investment Code is not holding up investment in Guyana . How much has been achieved during his tenure? He says 3300 direct jobs have been created on a total investment of US$110m ,the majority of which was by local companies. US$20m alone was invested in the fisheries sector by such players as Pritipaul Singh and B.M Enterprises. Variety Woods has made a significant investment in the forestry sector. There are currently 41 local projects going ahead which resulted from 98 contacts or interactions between Go Invest and investors.

The agency has also been scouting for foreign investments and markets and has hosted trade delegations from Israel, China, Costa Rica, Thailand and the United Kingdom - a total of 79 interactions from 19 countries of which 19 are materialising into projects or increased export business. Four of these are in the fruits and vegetables exports. One is from Belgium for ceramic ware and three from Brazil including a diamond mining project, a language training school and a low income housing project. A Canadian firm has also set up a medical laboratory on the East Coast, and orders have been placed from a Chinese firm for wood. American companies have or will be investing in the ITC sector.

Go Invest will be tracking the progress of all these projects and monitoring employment levels along with equipment and vehicles brought in under concessions.

Outside assistance has come from the USAID Geo Project mostly in the form of research into markets and information technology.

Da Silva concedes that the country does have political problems and does not try to gloss over this with investors. But he says from his discussions this is not the only factor which drives decisions.

Economic stability including low inflation ,stable exchange rates along with access to foreign currency all are important factors . Guyana, he says is essentially a peaceful country with vast resources and proximity to the major markets of the Americas.

The ebullient Da Silva predicts that if the country could achieve long lasting political stability, in terms of investment "you ain't seen nothing yet."

Globalisation, the private sector and inclusivity in Guyana

Introduction

Jocelyn Dow, Managing Director of Liana Cane continues our series of articles on the private sector's role in the development of Guyana." The Guyana Manufacturing Association believes that nothing less than an all-inclusive forum can begin the process of peace and restoration in our society. We commit our human and other resources to this "peace and stability" process....

Finally, we call on all Guyanese to raise their voices to act against this pervasive and frightening social disintegration and to commit to an individual and collective action for "peace and stability".

These quotations above are part of a statement made by the Guyana Manufacturers' Association (GMA) on July 10, 2002, in response to the events of July 3 when, as CARICOM Heads of Government were meeting with regional civil society representatives, the Office of the President was broached and two people were killed. The Guyanese nation has responded in various ways to the events of that day, with the GMA and the private sector signalling their intention to examine more closely and with renewed energy, systemic measures that can once and for all end the racial and ethnic insecurities that permitted the events of July 3rd and the increasing fear that grips our society. No one can claim to know whether the almost daily incidents are criminal-banditry or narco- based hits or political destabilisation or a mixture of all three. But what is without dispute is that the country is spiralling into a new violence and horror.

Women, particularly women of Indian descent, have been victims of abuse and crime in an unacceptable targeting of their persons, money and jewellery. The killing of policemen has engendered a new fear in the force itself and the wider society. This, plus the extra-judicial killings, has helped to fuel a fear that at best, the police are unable to stem crime and at worst, are themselves, at least a section of them, involved in illegal activity and illegal enforcement. Many businesspersons now feel that owning a firearm is an essential tool of business, a basic necessity to secure your home and person. The proliferation of arms is just another feature of the violence that engulfs our lives.

But one sad truth of our current reality is that we are so immersed in these violent events, that we are unable to engage the wider discussions on inclusion taking place within our region and in the wider global arena. The outcome of the July 3 CARICOM meeting with civil society was the Liliendaal Statement which said as follows:

"The Civil Society Forward Together Conference, a historic consultation between the representatives of Civil Society in the 15 Member States of the Caribbean Community and the Heads of Government held at the Ocean View Hotel, Liliendaal, Guyana on 2-3 July 2002:

RECOGNISED the increased challenges to the Caribbean Community, posed by globalisation and the resulting complex economic, trade, environmental, social and legal issues.

DEEPLY CONCERNED about social conditions prevailing in the Community with regard to increasing transnational crime linked to trafficking in illicit arms and drugs; money laundering; the widening negative impact of terrorism; the migration of scarce skills; racism; ethnic insecurity; the high incidence of male dropouts; increased violence against women and children; persistent and increasing poverty, and the HIV/AIDS pandemic eroding the Region's human capital.

ALSO RECOGNISED that the objective of achieving the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) is not only a response to globalisation, including the impending Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), but is of the greatest value for a more coordinated system to enhance the Region's competitiveness, given our historical realities.

ACKNOWLEDGED that Civil Society has a vital role to play in the development of regional, political and social policies, the development of those programmes and frameworks currently in existence, their modification, where necessary, and the creation of new areas as required.

CONSIDERED that the establishment of mechanisms for continuous dialogue between the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community and Civil Society is an essential way to complement relevant programmes to ensure social reconstruction, cohesiveness, peace, poverty reduction, and equity that would enhance regional integration and make the Community more economically viable.

AFFIRMED in this context, the importance of programmes with regard to youth; the elderly; people with disabilities; women, men and gender relations; sport; labour; education and training; health; and access to technology; and programmes aimed at promoting respect for the rights and aspirations of our indigenous peoples.

AGREED on several broad principles for strengthening the relationships between the Caribbean Heads of Governments and national governments and Civil Society as follows to -

(a)Institutionalise the Forward Together process in the form of more regular engagements between Civil Society and the Heads of Government, a triennial engagement as suggested;

(b)Emphasize the need for more constructive participation of Civil Society representatives in appropriate decision-making Organs of the Community such as the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED), the Council for Finance and Planning (COFAP), and the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD), etc;

(c)Establish a Task Force, comprising a small representative group of Civil Society, coordinated by the CARICOM Secretariat, to develop a comprehensive regional strategic framework for carrying forward the main recommendations of the Forward Together Conference, and to report to the Conference of Heads of Government at its next Inter-Sessional Meeting in 2003.

The work of the Task Force should be guided by the recommendations of the three Working Groups at the Forward Together Conference -

(i) Human Resource Development with Equity, including issues in relation to Gender, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Migration and the Diaspora;

(ii) Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) - Capital Investment and requirements for competitiveness; and

(iii) Governance and Participation."

If we examine the clauses of the Statement of Principle, it is clear that the call for inclusion and the commitment to a widening of the democratic process to include legitimate stakeholders, echoes our own national search for a deeper process of consultation and accountability. This national and regional quest for a share of the decision-making space is also extended to all the global institutions -the UN, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the range of international organizations that now are part of the fabric of life in the 21st century. The question we in Guyana have to answer is whether consultation with citizens organised as women, indigenous people, youth, political groups, professionals, academia, business and industry , local authorities, trade unionists and so on will help to reduce the mistrust, tension and violence that is now our daily existence. Can a more inclusive, non-partisan mode reduce the two-party stranglehold and extend the dialogue into a wider discourse that will entertain a genuine exchange of views between state and non-state actors. between the government and the people?

If - for one moment - we could put aside our conviction that the issues in Guyana are peculiar to our political and ethnic reality and step forward into the 21st century, recognising the effects of a history where all decisions about trade and politics were made externally, would we be able to see the call to CARICOM governments for a new form of governance , the call to the UN, the call to the World Bank to democratize decision-making, to include stakeholders, as futile, fanciful and unachievable?

If we were to turn the clock back, would we see the demand for the vote and the right to union representation and independence as unachievable? No, all of these decision-making spaces that we now occupy have been won through long fights on many fronts and eventually the inescapable wisdom and inevitability of the demands. They were all won when there was a convergence of opinion and energy across class and race. We achieved better forms of governance when we all agreed on the goal.

As people who have overcome slavery, indentureship, and colonial rule - we should be equipped to meet the current challenges and design systems of inclusion and governance that meet our particular needs. We must be able to meet the aspirations of every single Guyanese child.

In the challenge that confronts us at the national, regional and global levels, the private sector must play a more profound role if it is to contribute to the environment it needs in order to thrive.

What does it mean to say that the private sector is the "engine of growth", and what does it demand? The last decade has seen the liberalization of the global economy and given rise to the notion that the state must only provide the " enabling environment " for the private sector to produce wealth, including the provision of "basic needs" services such as education and health. This fundamental shift in power between the state and the local private sector has been challenged in many quarters, but is perhaps least challenged by the private sector itself. The same private sector that sees itself as the logical provider of services as basic as education and health is not as eager to engage the wider responsibilities that must accompany its identification as the "engine of growth". It accepts the power, ordained as it is by the IMF and the World Bank, without the responsibilities that should accompany it. It was noteworthy that during the recent Civil Society Encounter, at least two CARICOM Heads of State abused the private sector for failing to live up to its new mandate. But when did the private sector agree to its role as the engine of growth? And when did the rest of society agree to this?

The Caricom -Civil Society statement quoted above, while recognizing the challenges of globalization for our small economies, also expresses deep concern about a number of social issues, not least persistent and increasing poverty and racism and ethnic insecurity. Sadly, in Guyana we are victims of both of these social and economic ills and for us they seem deeply intertwined.

In Guyana, there is a popular assumption that wealth resides only in one race/ethnic group and poverty resides only in the other - that Indo- Guyanese are all wealthy and Afro -Guyanese are all poor. Amerindians , the poorest of the poor disappear altogether in this view, which also ignores the reality that poverty is pervasive and across race. The assumptions we make about where wealth and poverty reside fuel an even greater sense of insecurity in the society.

The aggregation of real and assumed power into one ethnic group, is not particular to Guyana. Analysis of some of the other plural countries that have fragmented in recent years like Fiji, Indonesia , Madagascar and even Yugoslavia has shown that economic policies that resulted in a heightened sense of exclusion tipped the society into violent paths. In all these post- "colonial" plural societies the pressure of globalization created the "enabling environment" for these societies to fracture and degenerate into violence. Historic insecurities, coupled with new forms of disparity and deepening poverty, added to a sense of political and economic exclusion . It was evident that large sections of these societies felt more oppressed because of their ethnic and racial identities and not the concrete economic location and circumstance which may have been the greater determinant. In my view, here in Guyana this blurring of the lines between race and class, facilitated by a failure to take early account of the impact of economic policy changes , for instance, the Economic Recovery Programme and the subsequent IMF/WB market-driven and adjustment packages, contributed more to our current crisis than the historic economic division of labour between the race groups.

The GMA press release of July 10th spoke also of Guyana becoming a " failed state". But failed states will have failed people, those condemned to stay behind in a permanent state of under-development. Failed people, like their failed country, are ruled out of the global economic game on the basis of characteristics and relationships over which they have had little or no control. Failed countries have intractable problems - endemic war, poverty, ethnic violence and so on, resulting from myriad factors which together are too many to resolve. Failed countries are unworthy of more effort by the international community, especially if they have no strategic importance and cannot offer large markets. Similarly, failed people from failed states are deemed irretrievable; poor, unemployable, and victims of an endemic violence with insufficient household income and few or no skills.

After you have finally slipped into this futureless condition, little time is spent on the causative factors. Who reckons the effects of the undiversified economies, the low commodity prices, the externally driven policies, the failure to resolve the internal insecurities and hostilities?

Who really cares whether it was adjustment or conflict or globalization pressures that made the country fail?

Given the vulnerabilities of Guyana (and those of much of the region), we will not be spared from the horrors of globalization. It is only our determined actions that can mitigate this wipe-out. Indeed, if we were to become cohesive countries and a cohesive region we might even be able to see some real benefits as we rationalize our human resources and take advantage of our not inconsiderable joint economic assets.

Let us not forget that the globalization of capital is at the same time - in spite of efforts to stand in the way - the globalization of those who labour. Ordinary people are working to join forces across the world to challenge the hegemony of money and big business. Ordinary people - directly and ordinarily affected - are challenging the IMF/WB dictate that the role of the state is to enable the private sector. Ordinary people, directly impacted, are saying that the increase in poverty within societies and across countries in spite of more wealth is not an acceptable result of globalization, that in their daily lives as ordinary people, jobless growth is not an advance.

In Guyana we are yet to see the benefits of growth and more wealth promised by globalisation. Our reality is stark. Our country is torn by an old legacy of unfulfilled potential. We are migrating in floods and apace out of our country. We have a heightened sense of insecurity and fear. Failed political processes have left us more divided and weaker than we should be, given our past human resources and natural assets .We need action, but the action cannot be action that creates more division, more fragmentation. It must be action that builds more inclusion.

Has the private sector been as informed about the downside of the new global economic policies as it needs to be? Has it acted rigorously to earn the space given it as "the engine of growth" Does it care that the unguided implementation of the new market theology has further widened Guyana's historic division of labour and wealth by race? The poor of all races have always been at the bitter end of all economic models, but now poverty is seen as somehow divorced from economic class, discussions privilege only race in its causation. When race is seen as the principal cause of exclusion and the attendant and often dominant economic factors are ignored; and when the private secotor is itself divided in the same way as society, can it play the role it should play as a force for positive change? Can it live up to its new role? How can it find a solution to the current hostile divide? A divide that is not only rooted in the historic division of our labour force by race, but exacerbated by this new economic model that demands increased resources (if not all) for those who already have capital and the means of production and the downsizing of those who have little or none and who are not market-ready? Is it possible for the beneficiaries of the model to challenge the results as clearly as they should? Where does self-interest end?

But if we can really begin an inclusionary process - not just in the political sphere but in the state institutions in the economy as well - and so address the real divisions in our society, then perhaps Guyana can eventually offer to our own region a lesson in the pitfalls of applying or being forced to apply policies that are ruinous to security. When (and if ) we create the forward looking and secure society we deserve, as we must, we must bring our experience to bear as the region becomes one single market and economy. Economic models that do not include large sections of the population , for whatever reason, are not to be entertained. Our diverse regional and national conditions demand creative solutions and clarity of purpose. Development is after all about freedom, and freedom is about choice and choice is about having the right to participate. And to participate one has to be included. (Back to top)

Brass Aluminium & Cast Iron Foundry

Recently a ship owner severely damaged the gear box on his engine and after a few calls was told that to import the parts would cost US$9000 and take about six weeks. Time is money so he went to Brass Aluminium & Cast Iron Foundry (BACIF) which quickly cast new parts for a fraction of the price.

BACIF is one of those companies which rarely advertises and survives instead on word of mouth. Tucked away in West Ruimveldt BACIF has a steady stream of customers from the marine industry along with work from GUYSUCO, GUY-WA and GPL.

This might include orders for large impellers, complex gears, or complete water pumps. Pretty much anything can be cast. The first process is for a draughtsman to draw up an exact diagram of the pattern.

This of course has to be extremely accurate. The pattern maker than creates the pattern -a three dimensional model of the part out of silvaballi wood. This is incredibly detailed work and almost an art form. The chief pattern maker has been with the company for 22 years.

If the particular part has been cast before then the pattern may well be in stock. The pattern is then pressed into a sand composite to create a mould and the brass, aluminium or cast iron poured in. The new part is then machined and any grooves or threads are added. A simple gear can be produced in one or two days. BACIF was established in 1959 by the managing director Claude Geddes as a small four man business in Kitty . The equipment was pretty rudimentary with a 250lb crucible producing aluminum pulleys and cooking utensils. But three years later BACIF started doing bronze castings for the TH&D, GEC and the GS&WC. In 1964 the company invested in a small cupola for cast iron. Orders followed for brake shoes for the DEMBA railway system.Running out of space, in 1974 the company moved to its present location in West Ruimveldt and over the years has added more machinery and departments so as to offer a complete service for its customers including reconditioning worn parts and grill work along with decorative fence spears . BACIF occasionally gets orders from overseas and has done work for sugar estates in Montserrat and Jamaica, it also does more artful creations having cast the logo for NBIC and a statue now in Essequibo. The company employs 60 workers many of whom started out as apprentices in the machine shop. In recent years BACIF has found it hard given the low level of economic activity but has benefited from refurbishment works at both GPL and GUYSUCO. Being the only operational foundry in the country it serves a vital role in literally helping to keep the wheels of industry turning.

The ICT Project

What is the ICT project and how will it help in Guyana's development?|

The Information and Communications Technology Project is a US$22.5m 5 year programme which will see the almost the whole of Guyana connected by an internet backbone. This will allow for the provision of various services including e government, tele centres as part of a community out reach programme and facilities for companies wanting to engage in e-commerce such as medical transcription and data processing.

The project will be coordinated by the ICT Unit located in the Office of the President. A few consultants will be hired initially to implement and monitor the various activities. One of the main components of the project is e-government . The idea is to improve communications between government agencies, and between government and its citizens and the private sector.

Examples of this might include very basic steps such as creating links to web pages of various ministries and the placement of documents on line. This could include customs guidelines for returning residents, the tariff rates for imports; information on farming techniques including the use of pesticides could be available through a Ministry of Agriculture web site; information on HIV or drug prevention could also be disseminated online from the Ministry of Health.

The Central Tender Board would also be able to publish the results of tenders. Eventually applications for birth certificates could be made over the internet.

This would require birth records being stored digitally. Other projects would include a link between the Licence Revenue Division and the police so that number plates could be quickly checked against a data base perhaps to find an owner's address.

This is already done but only during office hours and even then delays can be significant.

E government will only be relevant if citizens have access to computers. The community outreach programme will bring the internet to almost the whole country. In Georgetown the backbone will deliver fifteen distribution points connecting government ministries, agencies and the University of Guyana.

Along the coast there will be thirty five distribution points with about four to five service points each including typically a Post Office, a school, a telecentre and when applicable a University of Guyana site or a teacher's college site. In the interior six distribution points are planned.All in all there will be about 100- 200 locations where the public will be able to log on to the internet.

Most of these will be privately run cafes in the outlying regions and in areas where population densities are high and close to schools. A subsidy system will allow for students to use the facilities for research.

The project envisages using old government buildings and in addition there are expected to be some government run telecentres where citizens will indeed be able to make VOIP calls overseas ,since this is where the main demand is at the moment. Grants will be provided to NGO's for them to offer training in web page making/computer repair, long distance learning, community radio, training service workers for call centres or as medical transcriptionists.

All of these cafes and post offices will have to be connected by a backbone. This is almost certain to be wireless given the costs, time and problems of installing and maintaining a fibre optic connection and the long distances in the interior. The backbone will be installed by a private company after a tender process and the successful company will then be able to give out franchises to cafes at what the project proposal calls "reasonable - international standard - costs."

Training is the second largest expenditure in the whole proposal and will include an "awareness campaign for the public and private sector on the benefits of using ICT and on the importance of protecting IPRs; support for the ICT academic programs at the University of Guyana (UG), including the establishment of links with a university with a sound ICT training program; support for the non-academic ICT programs at the UG, including support for computer labs and connectivity, and improvements in the data base at the library; establishment of a campus network to serve the university community; non-academic training for government officials on web page design, data base programming and network management. This training will be offered both at the UG and at local training institutes; training to enable about 100 secondary school teachers to acquire and practice fundamental computer and Internet skills. "The long term benefits of this training are that students will become more computer literate and the country's workforce will become more attractive to companies wanting to set up enterprises such as e commerce or even software development .Promotion of ICT Service Exports (US$2, 000,000) "The purpose of this component is to increase the attractiveness of Guyana as a site for E-service exports. These exports range from low value added services such as call centres to fairly high value added services such as programming. Initially, it is likely that most activities will be concentrated at the low end.

The project will finance the services of a firm that will evaluate the environment for Guyana for E-service exports, will develop a plan to market Guyana as a site for E- service exports and will help implement that marketing plan.

These activities will be coordinated by GO-INVEST, A number of investors considering Guyana as a site for establishing E-export facilities have encountered difficulties finding adequate sites for establishing facilities.

The development of sites and services (streets, electricity, water connections, drainage and broadband connectivity) to encourage the establishment of export-oriented ICT park or parks will be studied during Project preparation, but a preferable option would be to refurbish an existing building at a university.

An initial pilot program will be financed within or in the immediate vicinity of the university." What are the issues which will affect the implementation and success of the project? The primary and most immediate concern is the breaking of GT&T's monopoly .

There is no doubt that if fully implemented the ICT project will affect the phone company's profitability immensely. Already internet cafes are eating into their long distance monopoly even though VOIP is illegal under the contract .

The government has done nothing to stop this and has made it clear that one of the primary uses of the tele-centres will be for cheap overseas calls to the U.S as that is where the demand is. Meanwhile cheap VO IP calls will also have an effect on the prospects of competitors in the cellular phone sector who are banking on long distance calls as a key to their viability . In fact much of the preliminary discussions between the cell companies and GT&T have centred on access to the international gateway.

GT&T will also face stiff competition on its provision of internet connection. Currently its land based system remains the monopoly provider to the ISP's along with high prices and occasional problems with the Americas II cable.

Wireless connectivity is seen as both cheaper to install and less prone to problems while giving significantly faster download times. With competition many ISP's will move towards wireless service if only for their connection to the world wide web. Of course GT&T will, like any other company, be free to bid for the construction of a wireless backbone but how welcoming would the government be given the relationship over the last twelve years?

INet Communications, on the other hand would appear to be ideally positioned given that it already offers wireless connections to many government ministries and will soon be extending its connection as far as Timehri.

As such they have a jump start on any other bidders. Their capacity would not be sufficient at the moment but could be upgraded to a 2.04 MB link and estimates to build a connection for the whole country are around US$3m.

The question remains whether if they do lose out in the tender process how would they fit into the market place ? And most importantly what regulations would be put in place to set prices. Given the history of problems between the regulatory authority and utilities this remains a big concern.

The same issues of competition will also face the various internet cafes which have started up in the last few years . While the government claims there are very few in outlying areas , this is not completely accurate . In Parika, New Amsterdam and Corriverton and places in between there are sites which are doing good business . How will they compete against government run or even cheaply financed new centres set up nearby? E-government could potentially make government more cost efficient.

Online license renewal in the U.S. state of Arizona now costs $2 per transaction, versus $7 over the counter and the government of Brazil saved $10 million when eleven million people paid their income taxes online. But this will require intense training for a government workforce which at its lower levels is unmotivated and downright suspicious of change while still using stand up typewriters.

There is however hope they could adapt quickly to the new technology. Employees at the Ministry of Education have the wherewithal to download music and burn it onto CD's.

At the same time training of public servants will have to include an improved attitude towards citizens, something which has been stressed for decades to no avail .

Computers will not make this happen automatically and the danger is that the programme will not be fully implemented resulting in computers gathering dust while the huge ledger books grow and grow .

E government by itself will not make things move more quickly in the Deeds Registry . But perhaps much more than this a new ethic will be needed which sees transparency as a virtue . After all no matter what media is available if a ministry does not want a document to be made public this will not happen.

As a UNDP report noted "E-government is not a solution for failed development, bloated bureaucracies, red tape, and non-democratic governance. In fact, it increases the urgency of tackling the same micro and macro barriers ­ such as poor educational systems, high costs of telecommunications, unreliable transportation networks, low investments for small and medium enterprises, and lack of the availability of capitalist entrepreneurs.

E-government imposes new challenges and requirements. "Ultimately the worthiness of the whole project depends on how it will improve the lives of citizens . Should you take a look in any internet café the majority of users are people making overseas phone calls. They do not even touch the computer and have little understanding how the technology works.

How realistic is it to expect a farmer to trudge out of the backdam to log on to a site which explains the use of pesticides? In some cases that same farmer may not even be able to read . For many young people the internet is primarily a form of entertainment - a cinema for the 21st century where they can play virtual pool on line while chatting with faraway friends and strangers .

For many others, including businesses it is an efficient postal system. The actual use of the internet for research purposes while it holds promise for university graduates and even some secondary students is quite limited.

Those who really want it for that use, are already on line.

E commerce does hold out some promise in the creation of jobs. Re-searchers expect worldwide electronic commerce revenues to surpass $300 billion by 2002 and accelerate to $1.3 trillion in 2003.

Guyana is ideally positioned given that it is in the same time zone as the United States the primary market for such services, and is an English speaking country. There is already one call centre in operation at Beteverwagting and another set to open in Berbice.

By having a computer literate workforce and a backbone which obviates the need for call centres to invest in infrastructure ,the country will be better placed to attract investment.

The government is offering generous incentives for companies in the ICT sector including a 10 year tax holiday and long term leases. While it may be unrealistic to expect the project to transform the lives of citizens, the functioning of the government and to turn Guyana into a mecca for e-commerce, the benefits if fully implemented could be significant.

The Ins and Outs of Investing in Guyana

Investing in Guyana has its obvious difficulties, but there are considerable incentive packages available.

Whether you are a new business or an existing one looking to expand, foreign or locally owned, investment incentives are available in a number of specific sectors.

These have been identified by Go-Invest according to the conclusions of the National Development Strategy as being areas where Guyana has a comparative advantage either because of its resources or proximity to major markets.

In addition the government has stressed the importance of job creation, so the more labour intensive a project, the greater the concessions. All the sectors are export driven with an emphasis on value added production. First there are across the board or general incentives available to all investors in any sector.

This includes a zero rate on customs duty and consumption tax on most items of plant ,machinery and equipment; a zero rate on customs duty and C tax on raw materials used in production of goods for export ;under a duty draw back system C tax paid on raw materials may be remitted; unlimited loss carry over from previous years; and accelerated depreciation on plant and equipment.

Firms producing non traditional products for exports for markets outside of CARICOM are entitled to income tax allowances based on the percentage of their exports to total sales. So a company exporting more than 60% of its production can have 75% of its profits excluded from income tax.

Pioneering investments either in new products or in specific locations may be entitled to tax holidays of up to 10 years. Projects based in the communities of Linden, Ituni and Kwakwani are entitled to a waiver of customs duty and C tax on all imported plant machinery and equipment and for manufacturing and agricultural investments only a waiver of duty c tax and purchase tax on all vehicles imported exclusively for use in the business. All incentives in the specific sectors are in addition to the general incentives.

Agricultural and Agribusiness sector

Waivers of duty and tax on machinery and equipment for land preparation and cultivation ;on packaging material for fruit and vegetable exports; duty free importation of many agro-chemicals; allowances for expenditure incurred in developing and improving land.

Manufacturing Sector

Exemptions from customs duty and c-tax for manufacturers registered under the Consumption Tax Act for: packaging equipment and materials; vehicles imported exclusively for the manufacturing process; a wide range of auxillary plant equipment including generators boilers forklifts; raw materials; an initial allowance or accelerated allowance on capital expenditure with plant and machinery receiving an initial allowance of 40% and annual allowance of 20%; industrial buildings and structures attract an initial allowance of 10% and 5% annually. The export allowance indicated previously for non traditional exports also applies to manufacturing.

The Forestry Sector

To qualify for incentives the enterprise must be export oriented among other activities. Incentives for down stream processing are equivalent to those for manufacturing. There are exemptions on duty and tax on saw milling equipment, logging and land development equipment and woodworking equipment; and exemptions on outboard engines up to 75hp and a 5% duty for engines over 75hp.

The Mining Sector

Some of the exemptions on large scale mines (those over 12,800 acres) are; a preferential rate of tax of 10% on aviation fuel and no duty or C tax on vehicles imported exclusively for the production process. There is also a stability clause which guarantees the conditions offered under the incentives will be maintained for 15 years from the start of commercial production.

Tourism Sector

The incentives are crafted to encourage an increase in hotel rooms and upgrading of facilities. With only 400-500 rooms presently the industry is already under supplied at various times of the year. Those eligible for concessions are: existing guest houses with 15 rooms or more; or an existing interior resort.

All new investments must create a hotel of at least 15 rooms or be located in the interior. There is a list of items eligible for duty and C tax exemptions include building materials and various fittings, furniture and appliances. Duty free concessions are also applied to vehicles, boats and engines, generators and other related items for interior locations.

The Fisheries Sector

In addition to the general incentives there are exemptions from duty and C tax on trawlers, fishing vessels, fishing and processing equipment, refrigeration equipment packaging equipment and materials and refrigerated vehicles.

Housing sector

Tax concessions on loans up to G$1.5m for construction of new homes with a maximum value of $2m as well as some exemptions on building materials.

Information Communications Technology Sector

The most generous concessions are in the ICT sector. These include a tax holiday of 10 years; a 99 year lease on land with option to buy at concessionary rates; and waivers on IT equipment machinery and vehicles; assistance in obtaining grants for the training of employees in IT. The Garment and Textile sector. Another labour intensive industry although largely undeveloped, the government is offering a tax holiday of 5 years to any business over 100 employees located outside of Region 4; waivers on all equipment, materials and vehicles; and waivers of C tax on a list of items for local sale including curtains, towels and table cloths. Go Invest advises that to benefit from concessions companies should submit proposals containing a covering letter stating the specific request required from the government; a brief description of the project; target markets for products; location of project if necessary; names and occupations of principals and their contact details; number of persons to be employed; anticipated date of commencement, level of financial investment sources of financing; a list of equipment, machinery for which duty free concessions are being sought including values and quantities .

Leases available at Eccles Industrial Estate

The great advantage to investors of situating in an industrial estate is the avoidance of expenditure on land. Time spent in locating, acquiring and then obtaining titles is also an avoided cost both in time and money.

These delays largely caused by bureaucratic red tape are often cited by potential investors as a major impediment. For the government, estates help in organizing manufacturers in one location away from residential neighbourhoods.

Investors also want this as it gives them freedom to operate at any hour in a relatively secure location and with adequate supplies of electricity and water. Many of the companies now establishing at the Eccles Industrial Estate formerly had manufacturing concerns in their bottom houses and the estate will now give them room to expand operations.

The leases so far signed with some of the investors at Eccles have all been for 99 years instead of the shorter 25 years at the other estate at Coldingen. Rentals are also much lower than at Coldingen where the charge was $60 per sq ft per year compared to $1 per sqft.

The decision to extend the life of the leases came about following concerns by those manufacturers at Coldingen who were unable to use their documents to obtain financing from the banks. The Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce has indicated that banks would be more receptive to investors holding such leases and these will now become the standard for other estates including Coldingen in the future.

The issue at Coldingen was that the estate had been subleased from Guysuco for a period of 30 years, so leases could not be extended beyond that time. The government is now moving to acquire the estate and transferring title to the National Industrial Commercial Investment ltd (NICIL) After this is completed it is expected leases will be signed in the next 3 to 4 months. (Back to top)

Stay Connected Anywhere

For miners, and those in the forestry sector, communications between the interior and the coast are a challenge usually achieved through high frequency radio. But this does not always provide good reception and is not secure. It can easily be broached by competitors. In addition such systems do not allow you to communicate with buyers overseas or provide access to the internet. With gold and other commodity prices so volatile, such access is becoming more important.

That is where the Nera World Phone comes in. This system makes 98% of the planet accessible using a satellite phone. Only the North and South poles are off limits.

The system has five satellites circling the planet which can pick up and beam signals to and from satellite phones and land based systems. The technology based on US Army systems developed in the late seventies is said to be crystal clear and reliable. As well as voice calls you can also send and receive faxes, data , scanned images and e mail. You can connect the phone to a computer, fax or second hand set. For complete security messages can be encrypted.

It is not cheap at US$2.75 per minute, but this is a standard charge whether you are calling Georgetown, London or Tokyo. As the technology becomes more popular rates are expected to fall. Even for executives travelling overseas World Phone provides instant communications to a company back home. No more unpredictable hotel phone bills or asking a friend to use the internet.

The local agent Swansea Telecom Inc. in Waterloo Street provides the most popular model the World Phone. This weighs only 10kg and is slightly smaller than a laptop computer.

Swansea also sells prepaid airtime in units of 100 minutes. The system also accepts credit cards for payment . Swansea has already sold a number of units to miners in the interior, Iwokrama and Conservation International. (Back to top)

Managing conflict

This is the final part of an article prepared by Dr Godfrey Sears, President of the International University Guyana on managing conflicts. The articles are intended to help companies with various aspects of management , marketing and human resources

Problem Solving

Let us assume that the course of action decided on is the one just discussed - turning difference into creative problem solving. Let us further assume, now, that the manager enters the picture when his subordinates are already involved in conflict.

What are the things he can do if he wishes to transform this conflict into a problem-solving situation?

He can welcome the existence of differences within the organization. The manager can indicate that from the discussion of differences can come a greater variety of solutions to problems and a more adequate testing of proposed methods. By making clear his views that all parties contribute to the solution of problems by sharing their differences, he reduces the implication that there will be an ultimate "winner" and "loser".

He can listen with understanding rather than evaluation. There is abundant evidence that conflict tends to be prolonged and to become increasingly frustrating because the conflicting parties do not really listen to one another.

Each attempts to impose his own views and to "tune out" or distort what the other person has to say. The manager may expect that when he enters the picture, the individuals will try to persuade him to take a stand on the issue involved. While each adversary is presenting his "case" to the manager, he will be watching for cues, which indicate where the manager stands on the issue.

It is therefore important that the manager make every effort to understand both positions as fully as possible, recognizing and supporting the seriousness of purpose of each where appropriate, and to withhold judgement until all available facts are in. In the process of listening for understanding, the manager will also set a good example for conflicting parties.

By adopting such a listening, understanding attitude himself, and by helping the disputants to understand each other more fully, he can make a most useful contribution to-ward transforming potential conflict into creative problem solving.

He can clarify the nature of the conflict. In the heat of an argument, each participant may primarily focus on either facts, specific methods, goals, or values.

Frustration and anger can occur when one individual talks about facts while another is eager to discuss methods. The manager, having carefully listened to the discussion can clarify the nature of the issues so that the discussion can be-come more productive.

He can recognize and accept the feelings of the individuals involved. Ir-rational feelings are generated in a controversy, even though the participants do not always recognize this fact. Each wants to believe that he is examining the problem "objectively".

The manager recognizing and accepting feelings such as fear, jealousy, anger or anxiety may make it possible for the participants to face their true feelings squarely. The effective manager does not take a critical attitude toward these feelings by, in effect, saying, "You have no right to feel angry!" Rather, he tries sincerely to communicate his sympathetic feeling.

Ordinarily, we do no real service to people by encouraging a repression of their feelings or by criticizing them for experiencing fear, anger, etc. Such criticism - whet-her implied or expressed openly - may block the search for new ways out of the controversy. There is considerable evidence that when a person feels threatened or under at-tack, he tends to become more rigid and therefore more defensive about positions to which ha has committed himself. Sometimes heated disputes go on with respect to issues over which one or more of the persons involved have no control.

When people have differing notions about the formal authority available to each, a clarification of the authority relationships can go far toward placing the discussion in a clearer perspective. He can suggest procedure and ground rules for resolving the differences. If the disagreement is over facts, the manager may assist the disputants in validating existing data and in seeking additional data which will more clearly illuminate the issues under dispute. If the disagreement is over methods, the manager may first want to remind the parties that the have common objectives, and that their disagreement is over means rather than ends.

He may suggest that before examining each of their proposed methods in detail for achieving the goals, they might together establish a set of criteria to be used in evaluating whatever procedures are proposed.

He may also want to suggest that some time be spent in trying to generate additional alternatives reflecting new approaches and after these alternatives have been worked out, he may encourage the parties to evaluate them with the aid of the criteria which these persons have developed together.

If the disagreement is over goals or goal priorities, he may suggest that the parties take time to describe as clearly as possible the conflicting goals which are being sought. Some-times arguments persist simply because the parties have not taken the trouble to clarify for themselves and for each other exactly what they do desire.

Once the goals are clearly stated, the issues can be dealt with more realistically. If the disagreement is over values, the manager may suggest that these values be described in operational terms. Discussions of abstractions often tend to be fruitless because the same words and concepts mean different things to different people. To help individuals become more fully aware of the limitations to which their actions are subject, the question, "What do you think you can do about this situation"? usually leads to a more productive discussion than the question, "What do you believe in"?

Because value systems are so closely related to a person's self concept, the manager may want to give particular attention to protecting the egos involved.

He may make it clear that an individual's entire ethical system is not being scrutinized, but only those values which are pertinent to the particular instance.

He can give primary attention to maintaining relationships between the disputing parties. Some-times, during the course of a heated dispute, so much attention is paid to the issue under discussion that nothing is done to maintain and strengthen the relationship between the disputing parties.

It is not surprising, therefore, that disputes tend to disrupt ongoing relationships. Through oversight or deliberate action, important functions are neglected which sustain or further develop human relationships - for example, the functions of encouraging, supporting, reducing tension, and expressing common feelings.

If a conflict is to be transformed into a problem-solving situation, these functions need to be performed by someone - either by the manager or, through his continuing encouragement, by the parties themselves. He can create appropriate vehicles for communicating among the disputing parties.

One of the ways to bring differences into a problem-solving context is to ensure that the disputants can come together easily. If they can discuss their differences before their positions become crystallized, the chances of their learning from each other and arriving at mutually agreeable positions are increased. Having easy access to one another is also a way of reducing the likelihood that each will develop unreal stereotypes of the other.

Misunderstanding mounts as communication becomes more difficult.

One of the values of regular staff meetings, therefore, is that such meetings, properly conducted, can provide a continuing opportunity for persons to exchange ideas and feelings.

If the manager wishes his subordinates to deal with their differences in problem solving framework, he will want to ask himself, "In what kind of setting will the person to this dispute be best able to discuss their differences with a minimum of interference and threat"?

He will exclude from such a setting any individuals whose presence will embarrass the disputants if the latter "backdown" from previously held points of view. It will be a setting which reflects as much informality and psychological comfort as possible.

He can suggest procedures which facilitate problem solving. One of the key needs in a dispute is to separate an idea from the person who first proposes it.

This increases the chance of examining the idea critically and objectively without implying criticism of the person. Techniques like brainstorming, for example, are designed to free people from the necessity to defend their ideas during an exploration period. Another facilitating action is outlining an orderly set of procedures (e.g. examining objectives, obtaining relevant data) for the disputants to follow as they seek constructive resolution of their difference.

Objectivity

So far, I have tended to make the unrealistic assumption that the manager is able to maintain his own objectivity in the face of a difference among his subordinates.

Obviously, this does not easily happen because his feelings also tend to become involved.

It is, in fact, not unusual for people to react to differences more on the basis of their own feelings than on the basis of some rational approach to the problem at hand.

A manager may be deeply concerned about disruptive effects of a disagreement.

He may be troubled about how the persistence of a dispute will affect him personally or his position in the organization. He may worry about the danger of coming under personal attack, or of incurring the anger and hostility of important subordinates or superior. He may become anxious as another person expresses deep feelings, without really understanding why. While sometimes personal feelings of this kind are at the conscious level, often they are not recognized by the manager himself because they lie in the area of the unconscious.

This, then, highlights the importance of the manager's own self-awareness. It might be well to note some "alerting signals" to which the manager might pay attention when he confronts a difference. Certain kinds of behaviour may indicate that the manager's handling of differences is strongly influenced by his personal needs and feelings rather than by the objective interests of the organization, for example:

A persistent tendency to surround himself with yes men. Emphasizing loyalty and cooperation in a way that makes disagreements seem equivalent to disloyalty and rebellion. A persistent tendency to "pour oil on troubled waters" whenever differences arise. Glossing over serious differences in order to maintain an appearance of harmony and teamwork. Accepting ambiguous resolutions of differences which permit conflicting parties to arrive at dissimilar interpretations.

Exploiting differences to strengthen his personal position of influence through the weakening of the position of others.

Any of these kinds of behaviour could, as have already been suggested, be appropriate in certain situations and actually serve the general interest of the organization. If, however, they represent rather consistent patterns on the part of the manager, then it may be worth his while to examine more closely the reasons for his decision.

There are times in the life of most of us when our personal needs are the strongest determinants of our behaviour. Fortunately, most organizations can tolerate a limited amount of such self-oriented behaviour on the part of their managers.

The danger occurs if an individual believes that his actions are solely motivated by the "good" of the organizations when, in fact, he is operating on the basis of other kinds of personal motivation without being aware of it. The manager who is more fully aware of his own feelings and inclinations is in a better position to diagnose a situation accurately and to choose rationally the kind of behaviour which is in the best interest of the organization.

CONCLUSION

This article began with the assumption that many managers are uncertain and uneasy when differences arise. Because their own emotions and the feelings of others quickly become involved, they often deal with differences in an haphazard and inappropriate manner. I have attempted to suggest some more systematic ways to view differences and to deal with them.

I believe that if a manager can approach a difference with less fear and with greater awareness of the potential richness that lies in it, he will better understand the basic nature and causes of difference and having done this, he will be in a better position to discover and implement more realistic alternatives for dealing with it. (Back to top)

Islam and Business

There is much talk about the difficulties Islam has with western capitalism. But Islamic teachings are well suited to many important areas of capitalism even supporting the vital concept of the stock market .

Perhaps of all the major religions Islam is the most specific about how business should be conducted. This is because Islam is ,as believers say, a way of life. There is no distinction made between religious and secular activities. Work is a form of worship and the Quran lays down numerous guidelines which should be followed with little room for interpretation.

Islam views life as a whole. Therefore the concept is that every aspect of a Muslim's life is guided by the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet Mohammed. As such business comes under these Islamic injunctions and it is incumbent upon businessmen to understand these rules and keep in mind at all times that he or she has to be accountable to Allah for all his or her actions.

Islam accommodated the concept of free enterprise many centuries ago. Its view is that wealth and assets of an individual ultimately belong to God Almighty and man is merely a trustee of this wealth. Every person is entitled to their own property. But the poor have a claim on part of the wealth accumulated by the rich to the extent that the basic needs of everyone in the society are met. Human exploitation at any level, in any shape and under any circumstances is anti-Islamic.

Wealth should be used in a way that recognises the fact that it is from the Creator and that persons in business are parts of creation and should be treated fairly. In other words it is not acceptable to be deceptive in your business practices during the week and then go worship on a Friday and expect to be forgiven. Wealth is not inherently bad but must not be hoarded and should instead be used for productive means.

Moslems cannot engage in any business practices that would cause harm to humanity. This would include the purchase, distribution and sale of alcohol or narcotics: "O you who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, sacrificing to stones, and divination by arrows are an abomination of Satan's handiwork. Eschew such abomination, that you may prosper." (5:90)

Tobacco also has been ruled as being injurious to health and a number of Moslem jurists have deemed it off limits for this reason. Other restrictions include handling of pork and pork products and engaging in any form of gambling. So lottery tickets should not be sold nor even raffles arranged.

Islam also prohibits followers from engaging in environmentally damaging practices. The Quran talks of the destruction of land and the cutting down of trees. Of course this is not widely observed given that the largest oil producer in the world is Saudi Arabia and Malaysia has practiced widespread deforestation.

As for specific guidelines to do with every day business practices the Quran mentions that the human family is one and you must not do to another what you would not want done to yourself. The Quran specifically talks about giving fair weights and measures ,stating that if in doubt a customer should be given more than the measured weight. "...Give just measure and weight, and do not withhold from people the things that are their due. And do not do mischief on the earth after it has been set in order. That will be best for you, if you have faith." (7:85) There should also be no deception . This was recounted by the Prophet Mohammed when he was walking through a market and chastised a merchant who was selling what appeared to be perfectly dry grain but concealed wet grain underneath. A modern day example would be if you were selling a car and knew of a defect which was not immediately noticeable. This should be pointed out upfront and then the potential purchaser would be allowed to continue negotiations or not.

The Prophet Mohammed also prohibited any manipulation of the market place. So in olden times it was forbidden in times of food shortages to rush out and meet the caravan and make deals before the provisions had been brought into the walls of the city. Similarly you are not allowed to buy a farmer's crop before it has been harvested. The whole concept of futures trading as practiced in many countries is therefore forbidden. Price gouging or taking advantage of food shortages to make excessive profits is not permissible. In general merchants should never make excessive mark ups on essential items such as food stuff. In Islamic states the prices of these items are often controlled.

Nor should a merchant quarrel if a customer returns something purchased from a shop even for the flimsiest of reasons. Instead the consumer should be treated as a brother.

It is a graceful act on the part of a debtor if he pays his debts without being asked to do so; and when selling things on credit one should be generous enough not to press for payment when people are not able to pay on the stipulated terms.

Once a year at the time of Ramadan Zakaat is paid. This is an obligation for every Muslim who owns wealth more than a certain amount or threshold called nisaab. This is calculated by the Islamic authority in a community based on the advice of the Prophet. For Guyana the nisaab is equivalent to 10oz of silver roughly worth $30,600. Zakaat is paid on the full amount of a person's wealth including stocks in a store, the value of assets used in business less debts. Farmers should pay one cow at least 1 year old for every 30 cows ,1 sheep for 39 sheep. 10% of the annual crop less expenses should be paid on naturally irrigated land and 5% for those where the farmer put drainage or developed land. Zakaat is a means of narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor, and to make sure that everyone's basic needs are met. First right to this payment goes to poor relatives, then to the community. In Islamic states these moneys are paid to the government and then redistributed. In Guyana payments can be made to CIOG or other Islamic organisations. At other times of the year donations to charitable organisations such as orphanages are encouraged and all these will bring about blessings.

The practice of charging or earning interest (riba) is strictly prohibited under Islamic law. "Those who devour usury will not stand....Allah has permitted trade and forbidden usury.... Allah will deprive usury of all blessing, but will give increase for deeds of charity...." (Qur'an 2:275-6). But Muslims are not averse to legitimate profit as Islam encourages people to use money in Islamically legitimate ventures, not just to keep their funds idle.

Earning interest on a savings account is forbidden and if that is the case ,the interest accrued has to be given away to the poor but the donor will receive no blessings for this deed. As such many Moslems keep their money in interest free checking accounts. This rule encourages productivity in that money is not stored away in a bank accruing interest ,while the owner does not contribute to the economy.

Taking a loan with interest is also forbidden . This edict on interest presents a great problem to Moslems involved in business in Western secular economies. The onus is therefore on Moslem communities to devise strategies for businessman to access capital in a different manner . There are three main models of accessing capital.

Islam allows only one kind of loan and that is qard-el-hassan (literally good loan) whereby the lender does not charge any interest or additional amount over the money lent.

Islam encourages Muslims to invest their money and to become partners in order to share profits and risks in the business instead of becoming creditors. As defined in the Shari'ah, or Islamic law, Islamic finance is based on the belief that the provider of capital and the user of capital should equally share the risk of business ventures, whether those are industries, farms, service companies or simple trade deals. The concept of being in jeopardy of losing one's home because of a bad loan is considered too harsh given that often in the case of farmers, weather or market forces can be entirely to blame.

Translated into banking terms, the depositor, the bank and the borrower should all share the risks and the rewards of financing business ventures. This is unlike the interest-based commercial banking system, where all the pressure is on the borrower: he must pay back his loan, with the agreed interest, regardless of the success or failure of his venture.

The second practice is for the bank or lender to purchase the item for the borrowing party and after putting on a markup selling it back to him. Thirdly a piece of capital equipment could be purchased by the lender and then leased with the option to buy at a later date.

All three methods are seen as a more humane approach as they do not put at risk the personal belongings of the borrower. Obviously the law prohibiting interest is not widely observed by many Moslems living in secular countries and to date in Guyana there have not been moves to set up an Islamic bank . CIOG is now researching the possibilities of setting up a fund and has made contacts with Islamic development banks.

Overseas a number of companies now offer mortgages based on Islamic principles. Based on the Ijara mode of financing, the property is purchased by the financier and sold to the customer for the same price, with payment spread over an agreed period of time. While the customer is purchasing the property from the financier, the customer pays the financier rent for use of the property. These payment instalments for the purchase price could be compared to the capital payments in a 'conventional' loan and the rent could be compared to interest.

Under the Murabaha mode of financing the property is purchased by the financier from the seller at the original purchase cost and the immediately sold on to the customer at a higher price. The higher price is determined by the number of years the financier allows the purchase price to be paid over. The mark up could be compared to the interest charged on a conventional loan. In practise the customer chooses the property they wish to purchase and agrees the price with the vendor in the normal way.

He then approaches the financier for assistance and the financier undertakes normal underwriting enquiries and independently values the property.

Once these preliminary steps are completed, including legal confirmation of the title of the property, the financier enters into purchase contract with the vendor at the price agreed by the customer. When contracts are exchanged it is the financier who is liable to complete the purchase.

Owning shares and earning dividends is allowed but there again the activities of a company need to be closely examined to ensure they are not engaged in un- Islamic practices . Holding shares in companies selling alcohol or other forbidden activities is forbidden. Overseas there are funds which hold stocks of Islamic green companies only.

Wages should be fair and the Koran makes it clear that all labourers should be paid before their perspiration dries. Bribery for example is strictly forbidden. Giving gifts is allowed but not with the direct purpose of inducing or influencing an official. Under invoicing would also fall under the edict against deceptive practices.

Once again living in a secular state often leads Moslems to follow the practices of their non Moslem counterparts, But should a Muslim businessperson be-have unethically, he cannot blame his actions on the pressures of business or on the fact that everyone else is behaving unethically. He bears the ultimate responsibility for his own actions.

Poultry industry

Local Chicken Rules

With Didco's switch from importing chicken to production Guyana may soon be self-sufficient. But export markets may prove tough to develop.

Guyanese eat a lot of chicken. About 45m lbs per year or 64 lbs for every man woman and child. Satisfying that demand has always been difficult for local producers.

Competition from cheap U.S. imports has been a bone of contention for the sector, given that many other countries in the region have put in place high tariffs to develop their industries.

In fact at 56%, Guyana has one of the lowest tariffs in the region compared to Barbados at 206% and Jamaica at 260%. All these countries have long been self-sufficient but at the same time the cost of chicken to the consumer is high. Barbados' wholesale price is US$1.45 per lb compared to 73 cents in Guyana. So in one way low tariffs have forced Guyanese producers to be lean even though investment in the sector has been cautious.

But local production has been increasing at the expense of imports . This has been largely because of the efforts of Bounty Farm Ltd, which has seen the John Fernandes subsidiary take a large share of the fast food market, supplying the Banks DIH outlets, Royal Castle amongst other restaurants. Bounty also distributes whole chickens and parts through supermarkets and their own meat centres. They have in effect managed to produce a brand name bird recognisable and trusted by consumers. Now DIDCO has decided to go into production after years of importing chicken at rock bottom prices. These imports have been a contentious issue with The Guyana Poultry Producers Association, which charged that there was dumping of U.S leg quarters on to the local market. Didco which already has a captive market with four KFC outlets has invested in a huge processing plant with the capacity to process 6000 birds an hour, six times the capacity of Bounty's Timehri plant. Some in the industry question whether the fully automated processing plant located at Friendship makes economic sense. If it operated only eight hours per day five days a week it could produce over 100% of the total chicken consumed in Guyana. The fried chicken outlets while providing a secure market base could only place minimal demands on the plant. As DIDCO substitutes imported with local birds it will be able to seamlessly offer this to its customers at its outlets. But will it be more profitable than importing containers of chicken given the complex management of a long line of processes? One reason for the switch was that local chicken production was increasing at the expense of imports. In 1999 local production was 26.7 and imports made up 16.8m lbs of total consumption. Last year production had increased to 30m lbs while imports had shrunk to 14.4m lbs. With DIDCO now into production and processing and the Shivraj plant going up at Coverden local production should reach 38m lbs this year - close to self sufficiency.

But there is probably no industry more problematic than the chicken business requiring strong agricultural and management skills. Eggs have to be imported in anticipation of future demand, hatched, the chicks grown out, slaughtered, processed and packaged. The demand for chicken in Guyana's market is not consistent throughout the year with demand falling in May, June and July as rice and sugar are out of crop and then increasing substantially during the run up to Christmas. Six times more chicken is produced in December than January. These swings in consumption present challenges for producers to forecast future sales while live chicken prices can fluctuate between $65 to $110 per lb. Many times farmers rush to put birds down in times of scarcity only to find the market saturated eight weeks later.

Economies of scale do help. Bounty operates largely though a network of contract growers who take the chicks, feed and medicines and return the birds to the plant seven weeks later. At any one time Bounty has some 400,000 birds on the ground. This has its advantages for both parties. It guarantees the farmers a market and they have a good control over their costs taking the inputs on credit. For Bounty they do not need to go into the growing out stage, which is probably the most difficult process of all with the risk of mortality. And by spreading out their birds among a number of farmers in different locations they also cut the risk of widespread disease.

The company has also gone into its own large-scale production with a 16,000 sq ft fully automatic tunnel ventilated pen capable of holding 24,000 birds . This is fully computerised and can be run by only one person. The system is intended primarily to save on land and labour. In a conventional pen of 16,000 sq ft, density can only be 1.2 sq foot per bird as the pen is unable to dissipate the animals heat efficiently . Heat affects growing efficiencies; cool birds grow faster and gain more weight per pound of feed consumed. With the tunnel-ventilated house, computer controlled fans suck in air at one end and pass it over the birds that can be packed in as close as 0.6 sq foot per bird. This is a tremendous advantage in developed countries such as the United States where land is at a premium. But in Guyana land is pretty much going free, especially away from the coast. Meanwhile the houses are fully computer operated including monitoring temperatures and have fully automated water and feed systems. It is possible to set the temperatures for the entire grow out period and the computer will ensure these targets are met. As such labour is kept to a minimum with only one worker needed to look after 24,000 birds. But once again unskilled labour in Guyana is cheap so there is little advantage. What the tunnel house does use a lot of is electricity and this in Guyana is expensive . So while the pens have their benefits, these will have some setbacks for many developing countries.

Meanwhile DIDCO has so far invested in 7 such pens, 20,000 sq ft each, at a cost of over $132,000 per pen with a total capacity of 210,000 - 252,000 birds depending on the stocking density used. What is worrying to some observers is that they are all in one location opening the operation to the risk that an outbreak of a disease would be catastrophic. However DIDCO is using some contract growers .

How might the local market look in the short and long term? In the next twelve months the country should become largely self sufficient in chicken as DIDCO substitutes local production for imports. But who will be the dominant players and who may lose out in a chicken fight? DIDCO is ideally positioned to take a large share of the local market. Its distribution outlets already cater for customers used to purchasing imported chicken. While not a significant amount, its restaurants add significant value . A big meal deal will offer about 6oz of bird and along with french fries and a drink retails for $580. From egg to end product Didco's operation is the essence of vertical integration.

Their pricing has to date been aggressive as they look to gain market share However the size of the investment may not be justifiable in what is a stagnant and quite limited market.

Bounty's hold on the fast food outlets looks secure in the short term and its reputation will likely see it picking up share on the consumer market. The producers who may lose out are those who have yet to establish a presence. What might save them are the relatively low fixed costs of their operations since they have not invested in machinery.

What should be noted is that the overwhelming consumption of birds still comes from housewives buying a live chicken and taking it home to pluck. This is cheaper and reflects a cultural distrust of anything not immediately fresh. For many consumers the "pluck and gut" shops at the local markets are their main suppliers. There is no indication that this will change in the future and such production is low cost. This being the case the large producers will have to look elsewhere if they are to make full use of their capacity.

CARICOM likes to claim that there is free trade in the region. But for poultry this is certainly not true. The islands have worked hard to protect their industries through extra regional tariffs and developed them to the point where many of them are self-sufficient.

Jamaica last year produced 85,828 tonnes of chicken meat, up 11.3 per cent over the previous year. In the past the government limited the amounts which were allowed in by informal traders, then introduced a registration system which required importers to have proper storage facilities, but limited the number of containers which each could bring into the island. In April the government announced a sudden increase to 260% tariff on imported chicken parts from outside the region- up from the previous 86%. The concern however was the likely price effect of a 260 per cent tariff hike on imported chicken, when the domestic industry was only supplying not more than 50-60 per cent of the country's needs.

The overall consensus is that the industries are not too interested in competing regionally despite the official CARICOM emphasis on regional competition for the benefit of the consumer. Barbados' wholesale price is US$1.50 per lb compared to 73cents in Guyana. The fact is that all producers are far more interested in keeping their own lucrative markets than invading each other's. The Caribbean Poultry Association has pretty much concluded that a free market for chicken in the region would do more damage than good and is unlikely even though there are supposed to be no barriers on imports.

In fact non-tariff barriers are easily put in place. Barbados stipulated that all imported chicken had to be quarantined two weeks before being shipped and two weeks after shipment. With its industry emphasising fresh chicken, imports would be at a significant disadvantage despite better price. Some of the smaller islands such as Antigua ,with little if any production, remain possibilities. But producers would be hesitant to increase production to penetrate these markets without first securing contracts.

What certainly looms in the future is the Free Trade Area of the Americas, which in theory should see tariffs removed or substantially lowered for extra regional imports. The danger may be that after finally becoming self sufficient, the development of the industry would be short lived as a deluge of cheap U.S chicken starts all over again.

Profile

Eddie Boyer

Eddie Boyer was born in Robb Street opposite the Metropole Cinema in Robb Street on the 12th of July 1948.

His father was a businessman who started out selling furniture, then hardware and finally ended up becoming a general merchant .

Eddie went to St George's Primary School and then Our Lady of Fatima on Regent Street .

He was, he confesses, a decidedly free spirited student and as the youngest son of eight siblings was his father's pet who could do little wrong.

A Student of Richard Ishmael Secondary School, Eddie was inspired by the achievements of his elder brother who had taken 10 'O' Levels.

That incipient determination to succeed would see young Eddie surmounting seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Eddie would spend the August holidays in his father's store and fully expected to take over the running of the company when he got older. However it was not to be such a smooth transition. His father had a store on the Avenue of the Republic in the vicinity of the present day City Pharmacy and Bank of Baroda.

At the time that area and on Water Street was a very posh place to shop in Georgetown. There was Brodie and Rainer, Bettencourts, JP Santos and of course Bookers. However, in the riots of 1962 and the subsequent fire he lost everything. It was a calamity mainly because Eddie says his father had not been entitled to riot insurance like other more established colonial era businesses. So it was later that summer that Eddie and his father packed for England where his elder brothers and a sister were already studying.

For a few days they stayed with an uncle working with the railways overlooking the tracks. The family moved into a flat in Clapham Common while Eddie having taken a test was admitted to Eliot Grammar School in Putney. This meant a trip daily of just under two hours. At first, he was one of only two coloured pupils, the other being a Nigerian. Needless to say, the students were free with their racial epithets. But by the time Eddie had finished school, immigrant children composed the majority of the students much to his relief.

What the new environment and the sudden change in the family fortunes did was to wake up Eddie to the idea that life would not be a free ride and that he would have to find a career of his own. During the summer holidays in England he had to take menial jobs such as a clerk in the head office of Portland Cement and on several building sites.

He had hoped to go on to college to study economics but his A level grades were not up to snuff and he took one year of a remedial course to sit them again. However, he returned during the summer of 1966 to Guyana and his father gave him an option of starting a business instead of continuing his studies. To this day Eddie's only regret is he did not go onto college although his son, now twenty and studying medicine, points out that he would not have met his wife Donna who was instrumental in paving the way for his later success. Nor could he have redeemed the family name which he believes was his father's wish.

His father at the time, although not well, had opened a hardware store where the Police Consumers Cooperative is today on Robb Street. Eddie helped out and his co-worker at the time was Clement Rohee. The two struck up a friendship that lasts even today. In fact Eddie's father took a shine to the hardworking and very serious future Minister of Foreign Trade.

In 1968 Eddie went on his own and rented a store at the corner of Camp and Regent in the C.A Phillips Limited building. It was a small space perhaps 600sqft and it was also opposite A.H.&L. Kissoon's which at the time was already a giant in furniture. So it did seem rather odd Eddie should go into the same business. It was David and Goliath except within a couple of years David was looking rather beat up mainly because he could not produce the furniture but was only passing it on at the slimmest of margins. He later went into manufacturing but eventually sold out his store and factory to an elder brother.

Never one to accept defeat, Eddie picked himself up and in 1971 started National Hardware Ltd (NHL) buying an old store D'Andrade and Co. on Holmes Street. This he did with three other shareholders whom he has since bought out. It was a slow start for almost the whole of the seventies and the business barely survived. The restrictions on imports, the hassles of getting currency were extremely challenging and largely relied on contacts. In those days if you knew someone had foreign currency they were invited over for dinner. But once your imports were in the country the profit was made. Money chased goods. Now, Eddie says, the goods are chasing the money.

By 1985 and the beginning of free market reforms under President Desmond Hoyte prospects looked brighter. By then Eddie had moved the store to Water Street and business picked up considerably. He also started a wholesale division With the take over of Guyana Nichimo in 1990, NHL started production of fishing nets and carried other supplies for the fishing industry. And with the government divestment of Alproguy, NHL went into the manufacture of galvanized corrugated sheets and aluminium doors and windows.

Today Eddie has no regrets about remaining to struggle with his father for the betterment of his older siblings. Despite missing out on a tertiary education, Eddie has constantly kept abreast with the latest management techniques through countless workshops and seminars. His insatiable thirst for knowledge has led Eddie to innovate locally many of the things that impressed him abroad. For example, he revolutionised the traditional over the counter hardware selling concepts with the introduction of his self servicing hardware supermart.

This has led to a better shopping experience for the customer, who would normally have to wait on a clerk for his purchases in the old behind-the-counter system. It also encourages impulse shopping. The stores are taking on a multidimensional product range and operations of international standards. Despite his many accomplishments, one weakness he admits to is that he finds it very hard to delegate responsibility. He constantly asks his managers and secretaries over and over if they have done a certain task . But this is also a strength as not much slips him by.

Although Eddie is seriously committed to his business obligations, he nevertheless finds time to execute several social functions and even get in some fishing on the side. He is also a voracious reader gobbling up the latest editions of "Economist" and world "Trade Reports".

Eddie is currently the President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, an institution his father was very active in, and a Board Member of the Dharm Shala. He is also a recipient of the Golden Arrow of Achievement Award which is testimony to the many social contributions he has made.

Eddie's vision coincides with his business mission: "To be the leading hardware store providing quality products at a reasonable price through a competent and dedicated workforce".

"If Guyana is to experience prosperity, there must be a strong business community and if our business community is to be viable, there must be a cadre of innovative entrepreneurs and policy makers who are sensible enough to recognise that profits know neither colour nor creed."

Eddie feels that it is up to Guyana's youths to reconcile the current political morass. Youths must reclaim the lost virtues of being the most educated and hospitable nation in the Caribbean. All forms of racism and discrimination must be vehemently rejected.

Leaning back in his chair, a look of concern crosses his face: "Are our youths up to this task?"

This article is prepared by the Guyana Training Agency

"A New Approach To Training"

The New Reality

Can one ignore the "new realities" descending worldwide? Can local companies in Guyana ignore its ripple effects being felt in far away lands? The answer should be a personal one. Indeed, the world has become smaller, faster and more demanding. The push and pull factor, political and economic instability and low consumer spending are daily challenges faced by many companies worldwide.

We cannot ignore the demands of customers, clients and important partners in the market place for premium services and products. A sense of urgency is pervading us locally, regionally and internationally and has been felt by the smallest to the largest of companies. What are we to do? We are at the crossroads, no doubt.

At least, partially accepted in Guyana, a well-trained work force can contribute immensely to a successful organisation. Only a handful of companies in this society are prepared - physically and technologically to be successful or to continually upgrade their managerial infrastructure to prepare for changes down the road. Some of the reasons attributed to this surround the use of traditional management styles and methods. These methods run counter to what is demanded by today's local marketplace. On the other hand, many companies are quickly accepting and embracing new management approaches suitable for the local environment. They are realizing that for their organization to succeed in today's fast-paced, technical world, workforce competence is a necessity.

Do companies today rely on a skilled workforce to get the job done? Of course they do. In fact the demand has shifted to people who are well-equipped not only with educational credentials, but who are skilled and experienced enough to adapt to rapidly changing work and social environments. On the local scene, the upgrading of skills in the workplace has been strongly encouraged.

Through newly-sponsored and collaborative programmes from the government and the private sector, the call has been answered to develop new training strategies which would better reflect the realities of today's world of work.

The competence-based training approach

The concept of Competency focuses on what is expected of an employee in the workplace rather than on the learning process. Competency standards are concerned with what people are able to do and the ability to do this in a range of contexts. The development and implementation of standards is almost universally seen as the most effective way of closing the skills gap, developing the workforce of the future, involving business in education and promoting lifelong learning. Competency standards are described as the skills an employee is expected to have to be able to complete or perform a task, job, or job function. Without this fundamental information, employers do not know how to hire the right people or where to focus limited training dollars; employees and job seekers do not know what competencies (skill) they need to improve their performance; and educators do not know how to prepare graduates for the challenges of the work place.

Training that helps employers grow their skills base and help employees to better perform in their current job is Competency Based Training (CBT). The concept of CBT focuses on the employees' ability to transfer and apply skills and knowledge to various situations and environments in the workplace. In CBT, the emphasis is on productive outcomes and on the current application of skills and knowledge.

Competencies or skill standards identify the essential skills and knowledge workers and job seekers must have, and defines the performance levels they must achieve to demonstrate competency in a specific work function. Employers, employees and job seekers benefit since competencies specify the knowledge, basic skills and technical skills required for recruitment, hiring, education and training, promotion and retention within a company. Companies have began to recognize that their main source of competitiveness is their people. The Competency Based Training approach provides for an effective selection of personnel, which is based not only on academic background but on demonstrated skills and Competency Based profiles. The CBT approach is absolutely useful to workers who are trained and certified by competencies. In the exercise of different job functions, common competencies are put into play, which are not exclusive of a job position and can be appropriated for the exercise of different jobs.

In a high skill labour market, where skills and credentials are the currency between employers and employees, competency (skill) is especially important. The economic strength of the next decade depends on our investment and capacity to train high quality workers. The globalisation of finance, capital, technology and labour has thrust Guyana's workforce into intense international competition. Employers know that a highly skilled workforce centers on the ability of workers to meet the demands of the workplace.

Canada, Japan, England, South Africa, Netherlands to name a few and recently in the Caribbean (Barabados, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, St. Lucia) have incorporated the C.B.T. approach. This is used as a tool as a tool for the impowerment of productivity and to maintain a positive change in relations with their customers and clients. The justification of this effort is to improve productivity levels and competitiveness through the mobilization of skills. Additionally, many companies, encouraged by the pressures of change and the re-organisation of work to remain competitive have begun to set up systems based on the Competency-based approach (i.e. Guyana). The Competency-Based approach makes the panorama considerably clearer for the selection of personnel, which can be based not only on diplomas but also on demonstrated skills. The Guyana Training Agency has adopted this approach to better serve the training needs of the Private Sector.

CBT AND YOU

How can GTA assist your company in the technical and vocational areas? We suggest the following:

* Call or visit GTA's Office to obtain further information on CBT
* Request an in-company presentation
* Identify your company's training needs
* Request a Training Needs Analysis for your company
First in a series of articles
From the Guyana Training Agency
Lot 157 Waterloo Street, Georgetown
226-2142/3557/3651
Project in collaboration with the Government of Guyana and
The Private Sector Commission . Sponsored by the European Union.