– Business Minister to change culture of political interference in the investment agencyBy Kiana Wilburg Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest), Keith Burrowes,Wholesale NHL Jerseys, has decided to throw in the towel,Cheap Jerseys China, saying that he has had it with the unwarranted criticisms from some quarters.Go-Invest Head,Keith BurrowesBusiness Minister, Dominic GaskinHe said that many, particularly the businessmen of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) seem to be too preoccupied with throwing stones rather than offering suggestions on how the agency can be improved.Go-Invest is a government agency which provides advice and concessions when necessary to investors, who are looking for the best way to start a business in Guyana. It also enables entrepreneurs from around the globe to tap into the wealth of trade and investment opportunities available in the country.Burrowes, in an interview with this newspaper last night, said that his decision to hit the road was made primarily on comments circulating in the media that he is perceived as a “political appointee of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).”Business Minister, Dominic Gaskin, is also reported as saying that there is the perception of crucial problems plaguing the entity and he is determined to rectify these, even if it means reshuffling senior management.Burrowes said that he agrees with the Minister’s comments and as such, will do the “good thing by stepping down.”“I am happy that the new government has taken this position that there will also be no more political interference and political appointments in GO-Invest. But I would like to say that we are an organization that carries out its work regarding promoting investments in Guyana. We do our work.”But Burrowes took offence to some of the statements made recently by some members of the PSC during a recent meeting with President David Granger.“I keep hearing them (PSC members) say how they want to see Go-Invest revamped but I have some questions for them. Why they never prepared a list of suggestions to give to the government as to how the agency can be developed instead of merely casting stones? These statements uttered by the so called PSC come from a few recycled persons or all their members too? “ said Burrowes.The Go-Invest leader said that he would be happy if the businessmen in the PSC who had help from the investment agency would be so kind as to say how they were able to get certain concessions.“In fact, I am looking at one right now,” he added.But this is not the first time the Go-Invest CEO lashed out at the PSC which has been critical of the entity for several years for its failure to contribute significantly towards Guyana’s economic growth.Burrowes had challenged the “critics” of the business society to state publicly, what are their grievances with the entity.He had said that their “grumblings” would be in stark contrast to his Client Survey which ranks the entity’s performance highly. But the PSC is yet to take up his public challenge.Even though Burrowes said that the agency has been doing its work, he admitted that more can be done. Burrowes in this vein, said, “You know I have been working on some wonderful things that can transform and enhance our work. But we need to go beyond just promoting investments and facilitating the process for it.”He added, “We need to provide economic information. Go-Invest has never gotten a set of guidelines linking it to the economic development and the new administration needs to look at this. I will soon release my recorded changes to transform the agency.”Burrowes also held a position as a Board Member of the cash strapped Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo). But due to years of poor management,Cheap Jerseys From China, he,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, among others, was forced to tender his resignation.While he sat at the helm of the investment company,Adam Shaheen Jersey, he was also accused of failing to keep proper documents on the number of concessions the entity was able to facilitate. There have also been several cases were major investments were steered away from the agency due to political interference.In a previous interview with Kaieteur News, Burrows said that the company was kept in the dark in relation to many foreign investments in Guyana.Minister of the State, Joseph Harmon,Cheap Jerseys, had spoken to the issue of political interference when his party was in opposition.He had said, “We are aware that in the past there were instances where Ministers tried to interfere by giving directions of a political nature to businesses seeking to invest in Guyana.”“This needs to change because it will not foster a healthy environment for which investors need to feel safe. We hope that the support for institutional strengthening of the agency will follow the appointment of Mr. Burrowes as he seeks to energize Go-Invest; so that it becomes what it was intended to be— a one stop shop for investors in Guyana.”Business Minister, Dominic Gaskin expressed that he has conducted some preliminary discussions with Burrowes recently and he is hoping to make moves to strengthening the entity.He said that he wants to bring an end to the political interference which took place under the previous administration.Gaskin said that he has a number of plans in store for the agency but is intent on regularizing the manner in which business is done in Guyana and ensuring that investment opportunities are available to all and benefits granted as the law so allows.
