GUYANA’s fight against the deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19), requires a fully functional Government, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) said as it calls for a speedy resolution to the electoral challenges facing Guyana.
GCCI’s statement comes even as the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is putting the requisite systems in place to facilitate a National Recount of all votes cast at the March 2020 Elections.
“GCCI is extremely concerned about the situation which besieges Guyana at this time – the spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the lengthy delay in the announcement of the Election results,” the Georgetown Chamber said in a statement on Friday.
GCCI projects that there will be 19,500 cases of the virus here in Guyana by the end of the first week in May – 500 less that the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) had projected.
“It is with this pandemic and its magnitude in mind that the Chamber notes the need for Guyana having to spend a massive amount on the healthcare sector including, but not limited to, more on wages, new facilities and equipment as well as more on consumables. As case numbers increase the Government will have to issue mandatory stay at home orders, which are far more restrictive, and which will shut down the Economy which was already in a slowdown due to caution around the Election,” GCCI reasoned.
If the curve does not flatten, and the virus spirals out of control, GCCI said thousands of Guyanese could be laid off. “One only has to look at the devastation done to our Tourism and Hospitality Industry and extrapolate from there. Without fiscal stimulus to help at that time, the economic and social impacts will be devastating. It is noteworthy to mention that in order to have fiscal stimulus, we must have a fully functioning Finance Minister and Parliament convened,” it posited.
As such, the Georgetown Chamber is urging that there is a speedy resolution to electoral challenges. GCCI is fearful that, should there be further delays in the declaration of the results by GECOM, the Health Ministry would experience difficulties in meeting the health needs of the country. On this note, GCCI urged that the National Recount be done within 30 days or less. “It is with this and our preceding points in mind that the business community urges to see a recount plan for 30 days or less, and see a Government in place with the full confidence of the people so that all the tools in our Country’s arsenal can be brought to bear in the fight against COVID-19, including both fiscal policy and international loans so that the impact of the pandemic can be lessened and the loss of life reduced,” it said.
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_e-paper_4-19-2020