Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Desmond Sears says private businesses are not affected by the current political situation in Guyana, however, he is urging political leaders to swiftly resolve the issues.
The Chairman was speaking at the PSC’s Annual General Meeting at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston Georgetown Friday.
“Until such time the business climate which remains largely unaffected by political circumstance, other businesses are closely monitoring the situation as business activities are noticeably dwindling,” Sears said.
Guyana was plunged into a political crisis following the successful passage of the December 21, 2018, No Confidence Motion against the Coalition Government in the National Assembly.
The motion faced a number of legal challenges and on June 18, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) – Guyana’s highest court – ruled that the motion was validly passed, setting the stage for early general and regional elections.
The CCJ will on July 12, make the consequential orders on what will happen next.
“Against this backdrop, the private sector remains cautiously optimistic that the political directorate will come to some compromise, it is a given that everyone agrees that there needs to be fresh elections in which case the people of Guyana and investors alike are therefore hopeful that political stability will be maintained,” the PSC Chairman said.
President David Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo are slated to meet soon to decide on the appointment of a new Chairman for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) after the CCJ also ruled that the process used by the President to appoint Justice (Rt’d) James Patterson in October 2017 was “flawed” rendering it unconstitutional.
As such, Sears is urging the political leaders to resolve the issues that are of national importance and in the best interest of Guyana.
“These situations dampen investors’ confidence and private investments become stagnated,”
The Chairman said while PSC is not affected by the political instability, it can, however, affect the population and economic growth.
