“We need to start being able to go about our business as normal. We need to not let the politics and elections divide us. We just need to see it as a normal part of our lives.” This is according to the President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), President, Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer, who was at the time bemoaning the slow business climate in the country as the Nation awaits the official results from the March 2 General and Regional Elections.
GCCI Executive Member, Timothy Tucker, also echoed the call for businesses to resume operations. He said: “Our society, I’m hoping, has grown enough. Even though we look at the results and we see a cut straight down the middle, I’m hoping that with all the newfound wealth and all of that, we act responsible even though some of the people we respect in society are acting irresponsible, we’re hoping that good sense prevails,” he said.
After the poll closed three days ago, the two major political parties – the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) – have been seen celebrating; both claiming to have won the elections. But, only the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is mandated to make such a pronouncement, which it is yet to be done.
The GCCI called on political parties to be responsible in their utterances to supporters, as this is also lending to the slowdown in business activity, primarily in the Capital. The Chamber is appealing for normalcy.
“Business community is concerned…As you can see, the business community is either on a go-slow, or almost ground to a halt. And, this is not because we have deliberately put out anything saying: we are not opening. There are business owners who are fearful of not opening; staff, who are fearful – not coming to work. So, for us, it is important that we get past this elections process and get back to some normalcy and allow the nation to heal,” the GCCI President, Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer, told the media this afternoon.
The Private Sector Commission (PSC), recently made similar statements regarding the slowdown.
The PSC Chairman, Captain Gerry Gouveia, said that this apprehension does not bode well of the business community or the economy at large. He added that the delay in declaring the results is fueling “individual paranoia”, and the Commission has been reaching out to its members to be patient during this time.
“So, what this is causing for us in the Private Sector Commission – those of you who drove around the city today, would have noticed that the entire city is still shutdown, and that is not good for Guyana; it is not good for our economy…Across the city and a lot of parts of the country, there’s an apprehension by business owners and we are actually reaching out to say to them: ‘We have confidence in the GECOM system, and hopefully will get these results very quickly’” he said.
