The Government has deemed a statement made by the Private Sector Commission (PSC) on its management of the economy as “political”, speaking after the political opposition and seeking to “undermine confidence in our economy and good governance.”
In a statement on Friday morning (February 17, 2017), the PSC said members of the business community expressed a lack of confidence in the manner the Government is managing the economy. This it said is reflected in the flight of capital from Guyana and the lack of significant new investments in the last 2 years.
Noting that it was not caught by surprise, the Government said the PSC’s statement was obviously timed to coincide with Guyana’s hosting of the 28th Inter-sessional Meeting of the Conference of the Heads of Government of CARICOM as a thinly veiled attempt to embarrass and discredit the Coalition Government.
“Rather than sharing in the pride that Guyana is a stable democracy that enjoys full respect for business and security for investment, the PSC yields to its political handlers in attempting to be a spoiler,” the coalition said.
This it said has eroded the body’s credibility as an independent private sector umbrella body, while accusing the PSC of remaining “silent” under the former administration.
Pointing to the 2017 Index of Economic Freedom, the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index, the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, all on which Guyana improved its ranking, the coalition stated that since the change of Government in 2015, Guyana has embarked on a challenging task of restoring confidence in governance and repairing the country’s tattered international image, something which the PSC would not “grudgingly admit.”
