Government to consider stimulus packages to boost economy -Minister Trotman
Georgetown, Guyana – (July 15, 2015) The Government of Guyana has signaled its intentions to consider fairly stimulus packages to the private sector in an effort to re- energise and boost the economy in light of a perceived slowdown of economic activities over the past few months.
According to Minister of the Governance, Raphael Trotman, who was speaking at this week’s post Cabinet Press Briefing, the Government is prepared to engage in discussions with the private sector to see how best a suitable solution can be formulated.
“What government is prepared to do is to sit with the business community and to work out how the economy can be stimulated. I don’t think that we can come out and say this is what you need. We believe, of course, that some of what we are hearing comes with a self-fulfilling prophecy. Before elections there were the normal pre-electoral jitters, and after elections, to some extent. Then we have seen some rattling from Venezuela which did not necessarily help so what I would like to say is that we are not in a bad shape. There are some jitters but we do not want to feed into the belief that we are in a recession or that we are heading into a recession,” he explained.
He further noted that that the Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin and the Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, have been and were in the process of conducting consultations and discussions on the health of the economy.
“The Minister of Business and the Minister of Finance, and in fact all of the Ministers, including the President, have been meeting with different stakeholders to see how we can get things back on a faster track…But we would not offer prescriptions without first hearing from them [private sector]….We are prepared to work out stimulus packages where we believe that they are warranted,” the Minister said.
Trotman also disclosed that any sloth of the economy can be linked to the slowdown in the rice sector and the mining sector where operations are currently at a standstill due to the inclement weather, coupled with the high crime rate in the area.
However, he disclosed that the Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan on Tuesday met with the President of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA), Patrick Harding, and discussed the matter of the high crime rates in the interior locations to help inform crime fighting strategies.
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