The president yesterday participated in the private Sector and Government consultation on the draft Investment Code and the Small Business Act at the Tower Hotel, Georgetown.

President Jagdeo said, “The point that I made when we enacted the Investment Code was that it had to be a simple document with a big set of guarantees. The document fulfilled those requirements but there were several other views, one being that the incentive regime should also be a part of the document.”

The Head of State added, “My contention was that this shouldn’t be so, because if you are going to include the incentive regime, then you will have to move the core act.

We should have a code and a guide should enshrine the incentive regime. Fortunately that was accepted.”

He noted that some people from the Private Sector were saying that they prefer to move from an investment code to an investment law.

He explained that the same things that are included in the investment code should be made into an investment law.

“I agree with that, so I think we have reached a wonderful conclusion to this issue. I think it was good, we had some give and take, but we have settled that issue,” said President Jagdeo.

Present at the consultation were Finance Minister Saisnarine Kowlessar, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manzoor Nadir, Head of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-INVEST) Geoffrey Da Silva, Members of the Opposition People’s

National Congress Reform (PNC/R), including REFORM head Stanley Ming, and representatives of the National Bank of Industry and Commerce (NBIC) and other agencies.

The Private Sector Commission proposed the Investment Act to the Government.

The objective of the Act is to further the socio-economic development of Guyana and to attract and facilitate investment by providing legal protection for investment.