Thumbs up or thumbs down on 2004?
With 2004 almost over, we polled business people from diverse sectors on how they fared and what they plan for 2005
Business December 24, 2004
Stabroek News
December 24, 2004
'We came out of receivership and we were restructured by the bank very generously. The only thing that is halting us now, is the working capital since the price of rice is not looking too bad.
Well I can't complain; we are looking at starting back rice cultivation in Vonbetter.
We are hoping that next year will be better. As for the economy I think the present administration is not doing a bad job. I think they should keep the pressure on and get the investment the president is promising us.
I will still like to see the two political parties be more friendly and try to work together to move the economy forward. I am very hopeful.'
Edward Boyer, owner of National Hardware
Ronald Bulkan, Precision Woodworking Ltd:
'2004 has been an important year for us, as it has marked a reversal of our decline in performance that we experienced in the years 2001-2003. What 2004 has done is to firmly put 2003 behind us which was a very painful year.
The increased turnover and profitability achieved in 2004 has been largely due to increased efficiency and productivity of our 140-odd employees and their dedication. As things stand, there is every indication that we will do better in 2005. Next year will also see the execution of our plan to have a distributorship in the USA by mid-2006.
The major problems we face are the unaffordable electricity tariffs, which force us to self-generate power and a serious shortage of raw material.
In this regard it is sad to note that while all the policy statements advocate the necessity of increasing value-added production, we are in fact regressing toward more primary production.'
Brian James of Auto Supplies:
'We had a devastating fire at the end of last year. We haven't been able to come back fully. So what we have done, is that, we have kept about 60% of the staff. Appliances and all that sort of thing we are not carrying (only Suzuki and Hawkins parts, Hawkins pressure cookers and Peak Air conditioners).
This year we operated a reduced business. For the moment we are not going to be going back to Hadfield Street [Auto Supplies is in Peter Rose Street]. I think the economy should get a little stronger - a little better.
I think, well as you can see, The government is doing a lot of infrastructure work. In general things have brightened up and I think this trend will continue. As a people, as a nation we need to move on. We can't keep pulling down. I think we have a lot to look forward to, there is a lot to look forward to. Both parties have to realize that they have to work together.'
Abdoul Ba, sales and marketing manager of Baganara Island Resort:
'The year was fairly good, in terms of the corporate business, we accommodate at Baganara. For example, what we have at Baganara are conferences. To further promote business we invited overseas tour operators.
Already, for next year we have bookings from these tour operators. Apart from that, we continued with our usual promotions while following up whatever contacts we have. And then, the climate in Guyana was very favourable.
It's just to pray for the country to generally continue like this. From what I see, now, maybe next year promises to be better. This year was pretty good, I think.'
Dr. Leslie Chin, executive director of the Institute of Private Enterprise Development noted:
'From my point of view...we didn't make our budget but we did much better than last year. We are not complaining like a lot of people [high fuel cost and increased freight rates have caused businesses some difficulties]. It's a little below expectation but it is better than last year. We started to look at the potential of where we can go as a nation so we will be looking at some new loan products.
Secondly, we are going to be looking at some of these new agro- industries. I don't want to predict but we will do our part and contribute to the growth of the economy. It is to focus on the things you can do. There are still little things you can do to improve your production.'
Jill Power, of Power Marketing:
'Generally we have had a good year. Our main work is social marketing. Our main focus is printing. I have quite a lot of growth for the promotional products. [For this increase] I don't think we have done anything new. We try to maintain our standards as high as possible.
Most of our clients have come through referrals. We are fortunate enough to have a good reputation. I don't think we get hurt so much, because we cannot entirely depend on commercial advertising.
I think people have become more comfortable investing in their business, so next year it is just a matter of steady growth.
It is very hard to predict anything because you don't know what is around the corner. But so far, so good.'
Brian Yong, of Broad Brand Communication Inc, Palm Court:
'It's been OK. It was a difficult year. At Broad Band we extended our network. We cover every village on the coast of Guyana from the Corentyne to Parika with wireless internet service. As to what hurt my businesses it happened last December 19 with the fire that destroyed Subway and we spent all year trying to recover.
We were expecting a really good year... but because of the fire this growth was not achieved. Next year we hope to cover every populated area, Guyana has to cover with wireless internet.'
Ronald Deen, finance manager of Pritipaul Singh Investment noted:
'This year has been rather slow. The shrimp prices have fallen by 40%. There was a greater conservation on the use of fuel.
There is no likelihood that the prices would ever go down to US$30 per barrel(now over US$40 a barrel).
There is no getting away where high oil prices are concern. First, of all when you cut back, that means less work for your staff. The high fuel prices have put a damper on things. You can't run the boats that you would like to because you have to limit your trips.
We still are on our programme hoping that things will turn out to be better next year. I don't think that right now I would want to get involved in predicting what the economy will be in the New Year.'
Victor Pires, managing director of Caribbean Chemical (Guy) Ltd., noted:
'This year was not as good as it was in the past...but it was better because sadly one of my competitors went into receivership. We were just able to hold our own. The rampant smuggling - it has reached Essequibo - that is the main problem. The Ministry of Agriculture has tried their best to help.
We had planned to do some repairs at the main office and in Essequibo, now we have to do it next year. We continue to try and find products to solve the farmers' problems. It would be very hard for me to predict what will happen in the economy next year.
I think that fuel is going to affect us badly, both the farmer and I. We can't hide our eyes in the sand and think it is not going to affect us.'
Vic Insanally, of Guyenterprise Advertising Agency:
'Well for this agency, it's been a good year. But we had to adapt to the changing advertising environment. We are doing less straight media advertising. We have diversified in that we have brought in sign-making equipment.
We are creating new avenues for our business since we can't survive, really at the increased rate for everything. So we can no longer survive on just an agency commission. Our aim is essentially to use Guyanese talent for Guyanese projects.
It is a challenging time but a lot of groundwork has been laid for the economy to take off. We are finding a lot more contentment and satisfaction from the type of work we are doing now.'
Edward Boyer, owner of National Hardware:
'Basically the issues that confronted business was the increase in utilities. The high increase in fuel over the years... would have impacted the whole economy. There-fore it slowed the economy down when you have these increases.
Also the customs rate over the year has increased under the sliding scale. The plans for NH in 2005 will definitely be to improve on delivery; NH will improve to make the business more friendly. We are installing a new computer system and we hope to build an efficient service.
We in the commercial sector hope good sense prevails and the politicians head to the Berbice area and bring us the oil we so badly need.'
Karen Bacchus, of New Era Bookshop:
'Fairly good, but challenging. I am very optimistic with what I do. In life generally things are challenging. The other thing is that we are focusing a lot on education. Our plan next year is to expand on what we are doing. We want to start a literacy drive.
As a private sector entity we want to do the kind of things that can impact positively on society. We are going to couple our sales of toys with our literacy campaign. I will want to appeal to the business community to give their support to any programme that will promote literacy. So I am going into my 2005 filled with optimism.'