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Head of America’s Development Bank, Adam Boehler (centre), US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch (left) and Private Sector Commission Chairman Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer at the press conference held yesterday at the Pegasus Hotel.

Head of America’s Development Bank, Adam Boehler (centre), US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch (left) and Private Sector Commission Chairman Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer at the press conference held yesterday at the Pegasus Hotel.

October 14 ,2020

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Facilitating access to cheap electricity was among key issues for possible assistance when head of America’s development bank, Adam Boehler and a team of investment officials met yesterday with Guyana’s private sector.

Sources say that government’s proposed gas-to-shore project could also be one of the first multimillion dollar investments.

Boehler, who is the Chief Executive of the US’ International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) told a press conference last evening at the Pegasus Hotel that how to get the cost of electricity down so that the average person pays less was one of the questions asked yesterday.

The press conference was held following the meeting with representatives from the Private Sector Commission (PSC).

US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch was also at the meeting and press conference.

Boehler is leading a US government delegation, comprised of officials from the US Department of Treasury, the US Export-Import Bank, the Department of State, the National Security Council and the Department of Homeland Security, on a mission he said that would “build” on US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent visit to Guyana and Suriname.

Boehler yesterday was quick to point out that the US was not looking to invest only in mega projects here and noted that talks with the PSC were also about “investments in small- and medium-sized businesses. We talked about investments in agriculture and farmers… at the end of the day one of my main goals at the DFC is to increase the amount of jobs and [the] livelihood of the individual person living here in Guyana.”

“What is important to me is not the amount of money but the impact we are going to have. We will look at projects in the multimillions to hundreds of billions of dollars down to projects that are going to get $500 to a small entrepreneur that needs it,” he said.

During Pompeo’s visit, Guyana signed on to the Growth in the Americas initiative, which seeks to catalyse private sector investment in infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean.

When asked precisely how the local private sector and Guyanese would be able to benefit from the recently signed Growth of the Americas Framework agreement, Lynch told this newspaper last month that it will unlock opportunities to attract trade and investment and attract capital to Guyana.

“It will unlock resources as well as expertise and enhanced relationships between the US business community and the Guyanese business community. It does require the US government, the Guyanese government and the private sector to come together and form a working group to figure out the details of how they want to take this forward. So it is basically, a framework, if you will, and then this working group will figure out,” she further explained, while noting that the group will be coordinated by senior representatives from both countries to develop a joint work plan towards the achievement of the objectives of the framework within 90 calendar days of its effective date.

The framework, facilitated by the US Embassy in Guyana, is to be developed and will allow for follow-up talks on investments. Boehler said that lending terms and how much will be accessed had not yet been discussed and that when that framework is set up it will allow for those discussions. However, he assured that whatever projects are pursued by US companies will see local content playing a key factor. “Our focus is on high quality projects and local labour to drive those. We may not always be the quickest but we will always be the best,” he said.

When a US company is responsible for an infrastructural project, Boehler said, its focus will always be on high quality infrastructure and that is what gives them an edge in the business sector. He also stressed that any American company working here will have to follow the rule of law and win contracts through a competitive bidding process.

The PSC head was optimistic after the engagement. “It’s hard to tell at this point [financial terms], but I would say based on what they were saying, we are going to assume that the interest rate and the lending terms are going to be a lot better. You taking that much funding, looking for projects and putting it to compete where we have a high cost of capital, so I’m going to expect that the cost of capital is going to be the difference,” PSC Chairman Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer told the Stabroek News following the meeting and press conference.

Deygoo-Boyer added that an initiative that would allow financing to be accessed by Guyana’s smaller businesses was also most welcomed as persons in that category are most times shunned by lending institutions since they are seen as high risk.

“We would love that [that small businesses can access funding]. Here in Guyana, we have a lot of risk averse institutions in lending, and so if this is possible; that a way can be provided to allow, let’s say village level financing, it could help with expansion of businesses and independence of persons and we will see additional growth…we welcome this,” he said.

On infrastructural and other development projects, Deygoo-Boyer said the DFC is a “great partner now who can help us with access to capital now and help us with our infrastructure build out to really unlock the potential of a number of sectors in Guyana.”

The establishment of the DFC has been seen by some analysts as a counter to Chinese financing of projects in the Americas.

Replies sorted oldest to newest

OMG! Where the cynic and the naysayers. Guyana is on the rise.  Cheap shots by the resident *****cats are not going to work anymore.

This is what I was talking about all year.

Boehler yesterday was quick to point out that the US was not looking to invest only in mega projects here and noted that talks with the PSC were also about “investments in small- and medium-sized businesses. We talked about investments in agriculture and farmers… at the end of the day one of my main goals at the DFC is to increase the number of jobs and livelihood of the individual person living here in Guyana.

Constructive criticism, Mits, Tota, and Seig.

R
@Ramakant-P posted:

OMG! Where the cynic and the naysayers. Guyana is on the rise.  Cheap shots by the resident *****cats are not going to work anymore.

This is what I was talking about all year.

Boehler yesterday was quick to point out that the US was not looking to invest only in mega projects here and noted that talks with the PSC were also about “investments in small- and medium-sized businesses. We talked about investments in agriculture and farmers… at the end of the day one of my main goals at the DFC is to increase the number of jobs and livelihood of the individual person living here in Guyana.

Constructive criticism, Mits, Tota, and Seig.

The mindset of the PRESENT PPP is not to allow business activities in Guyana. The ppl in high places do not know anything about business, they thinking like a cake shop business.

Marcia Nadir-Sharma would send me a letter, telling me that Joint Ventures were not permitted once you have a lease on the Industrial Estates. Chupidness nah get cure. You really doan know much about these ppl who are entrusted with progress. Dem razz lack the basics, all a dem.

America will have to govern Guyana by a paralell government. And they will. Nothing against Jagdeo, he calling the shots, and he much prefer to keep things local.

S
Last edited by seignet
@seignet posted:

The mindset of the PRESENT PPP is not to allow business activities in Guyana. The ppl in high places do not know anything about business, they thinking like a cake shop business.

Marcia Nadir-Sharma would send me a letter, telling me that Joint Ventures were not permitted once you have a lease on the Industrial Estates. Chupidness nah get cure. You really doan know much about these ppl who are entrusted with progress. Dem razz lack the basics, all a dem.

America will have to govern Guyana by a paralell government. And they will. Nothing against Jagdeo, he calling the shots, and he much prefer to keep things local.

You just describe the Coalition Government. You have to be really stupid to think that Ali and Jagdeo do not know anything about business.   It's the PNC that cannot run a cake shop. Of course, you know everything about the cake shop business. That's why you are on the outside looking in and feel sorry for yourself.

Onward goes the PPP.   In two months they have done what the PNC, APNU, and the Coalition couldn't do in their 37 years of Governing the country.

R
@Ramakant-P posted:

You just describe the Coalition Government. You have to be really stupid to think that Ali and Jagdeo do not know anything about business.   It's the PNC that cannot run a cake shop. Of course, you know everything about the cake shop business. That's why you are on the outside looking in and feel sorry for yourself.

Onward goes the PPP.   In two months they have done what the PNC, APNU, and the Coalition couldn't do in their 37 years of Governing the country.

Expected, Indians get excited about anything another cooolie duz.

S
@seignet posted:

Expected, Indians get excited about anything another cooolie duz.

Blacks also get excited about what another black does anywhere in the world.

Your assumption that Indians get excited about anything another Indian does, do not apply to Tota and Mitwah.



You should pay more attention to the topic. Why are you evading the topic.?  It proves that the PPP knows what they are doing and they are not interested in running cake shops.

R
Last edited by Ramakant-P
@Ramakant-P posted:

Blacks also get excited about what another black does anywhere in the world.

Your assumption that Indians get excited about anything another Indian does, do not apply to Tota and Mitwah.



You should pay more attention to the topic. Why are you evading the topic.?  It proves that the PPP knows what they are doing and they are not interested in running cake shops.

The PPP do not know anything, they are zilch. There is no animosity in my comment about them. They juss doan know beyond a certain limit and that limt is juss to get the government. Nation building, race relation, human infrastructure requires the anglo mind. Once the PPP and PNC governs the country it has no place to go. Comparisons made with Asian and White countries. I think culture has alot to do with it, Guyana do not have a culture that unites. Everybody has dem own tings.

S
@seignet posted:

The PPP do not know anything, they are zilch. There is no animosity in my comment about them. They juss doan know beyond a certain limit and that limt is juss to get the government. Nation building, race relation, human infrastructure requires the anglo mind. Once the PPP and PNC governs the country it has no place to go. Comparisons made with Asian and White countries. I think culture has alot to do with it, Guyana do not have a culture that unites. Everybody has dem own tings.

To say that the PPP does not know anything is the most asinine statement anybody can make. ( your grammar is atrocious). The PPP is the only party that built the country into what it is today. Indo_guyanese have an amazing culture. It is the blacks who don't have anything that resembles culture. The PNC never did know how to run a cake shop so don't tell me that they ran a country. They destroyed everything the PPP built.  You can take your vindictive statement and shove it.

R

Yuh keep mentioning Grammar. Show me. Tek my comment and write the same commentary in the proper grammar. I write the way I talk, for me it is conversation. I await for your critique. I hope to heed your seriousness of this language thing.   

S
@Ramakant-P posted:

Indo_guyanese have an amazing culture. It is the blacks who don't have anything that resembles culture.

Hmmmm!

Defininition of Culture : Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. ...

Mitwah

The PPP does not know anything, they are zilch. There is no animosity in my comment about them. They just don't know beyond a certain limit and that limit is just to get the government. Nation-building, race relation, human infrastructure requires the anglo mind. Once the PPP and PNC govern the country it has no place to go. Comparisons made with Asian and White countries. I think the culture has a lot to do with it, Guyana does not have a culture that unites. Everybody has dem own things.



Compare the two

R
Last edited by Ramakant-P
@seignet posted:

Yuh keep mentioning Grammar. Show me. Tek my comment and write the same commentary in the proper grammar. I write the way I talk, for me it is conversation. I await for your critique. I hope to heed your seriousness of this language thing.   

Tell e fo shut e patax ....tell e... tell e

cain

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