US Ambassador Godard leaves hopeful for Guyana’s future
-despite turmoil of last three years
Stabroek News
June 29, 2003
Introduction
US Ambassador to Guyana, Ronald Godard leaves his posting early next month after serving for two-and-a-half years. His next posting will be at the University of Illinois in Chicago where he will be Diplomat in Residence. He spoke with Stabroek News about the highlights and disappointments of his tour of duty here which despite everything he says he thoroughly enjoyed. The interview was wide-ranging and some of the topics on which he commented include the US assistance programmes, Guyana’s economic prospects, crime and the political situation.
Godard believes Guyana’s economic prospects look good and sees the May 6 communique as providing a hopeful sign that the government and the parliamentary opposition are prepared to work to ensure the country is politically stable.
He is also encouraged by Guyana’s young people whom he describes as talented, intelligent and highly motivated.
He says programmes now being implemented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are helping to put in place the legal framework that Guyana needs to position itself for the time when the world economy picks back up.
Godard is convinced that the world economy would pick up in the next few years and that it is necessary for Guyana to make itself attractive to investors looking around for countries in which to invest.
Godard, when he presented his credentials, had indicated his intention to work towards increasing American investment in Guyana, but is somewhat disappointed in not being able to get more investment for the country.
He attributes this to the civil unrest that followed the March 19 2001 elections, September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, and the crime wave that gripped this country following the February 23, 2002 prison escape along with the suspension of Jagdeo/Hoyte dialogue. Additionally, he says that the downturn in the world economy is an added factor that has prevented investors from exploring investment opportunities here.
Godard says the local USAID office has been working closely with Go-Invest and the private sector on several pieces of legislation, which together with the recently passed Procurement Bill would help create an investment friendly environment not only for foreign investors but also for domestic investment. The legislation includes a Small Business Act and an Investment Act, which should be tabled shortly.
Godard adds that an important source of investment, which Guyana should look at very seriously, is the expatriate Guyanese community. He paid a visit to New York last year and was impressed with the range of talent and skills and the continuing interest of the Guyanese there in the developments taking place in Guyana. He says the Guyanese community should be encouraged to return with their talents and resources.
Another project in place by the local USAID office, according to Godard, is the identification of markets for some of Guyana’s exports. This includes helping small exporters of non-traditional agricultural exports with packaging and marketing as well as acquainting them with phyto-sanitary requirements for the US market. He explains that non-traditional exports would be very important to Guyana’s future economic growth, as there is considerable scope for expansion in this area and for tapping into niche markets.
Other programmes, according to Godard, on which USAID is working include one which would help identify projects that could be financed from remittances from Guyanese associations in New York, which he himself promoted when he visited the Guyanese community last year. He remarks that not many countries have an expatriate community as large as Guyana’s, said to number about 400,000.
Godard believes one of the factors which could help Guyana is its geographical position on the continent which should help it to become the gateway to countries like Brazil when the Free Trade Areas of the Americas comes into being in 2005.
He says he has visited Boa Vista, in Northern Brazil and seen the opportunities for cross border trade which are sure to expand with the completion of the Georgetown-Lethem road.
US immigration policy which focuses on the reunification of families has resulted in some 8000 permanent visas being issued last year and from the figures he has seen so far, Godard expects that a similar amount will be issued this year.
A not unimportant factor in the immigration to the more developed countries, according to Godard, is the lack of economic opportunities and his government is trying to help the Guyana government address this by the programmes it is implementing through USAID.
Also he says the health programmes being implemented would help to provide a stable and healthy workforce. One of the programmes being implemented by USAID has been extended with the addition of the Centre for Disease Control from the US Health and Human Services to the agencies represented in Guyana. He says in addition to the HIV/AIDS prevention and education programme USAID is conducting, the CDC will be able to provide care and medical treatment in HIV/AIDS and provide the expertise to help with problems that might arise.
Guyana is one of the countries, which will benefit from the US$15B allocated to fighting HIV/AIDS.
Godard says he has met a team from the New Jersey Medical School which will be engaged in implementing one of the AIDS programmes.
“Given the leadership roles being taken by the government and the non-government organisations I am confident that Guyana can defeat the pandemic.”
About some immediate matters affecting Guyana, Godard says the issue of the rice the US sells to Jamaica will have to be settled in the wider context of the World Trade negotiations on the subsidising of agricultural production. He notes however the US sells rice to Jamaica at the world market price.
Godard adds that the US would like to sell its agriculture products to the European Union but is at a disadvantage because of the subsidies provided by the European governments to its farmers.
About the fear of the region’s small manufacturers being swamped by the larger manufacturers when the FTAA comes into being, Godard says his government through the US Trade Representative has indicated its support for the smaller economies being given special and differential treatment which would allow longer transitional periods. However, he says the problem is not with the USA but with the other larger economies in the hemisphere.
