Business community wants code of ethics for elections

Nov 30, 2019 News

The Georgetown Chambers of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Guyana’s oldest Business Support Organisation has called for the establishment of a code of ethics to be adopted by parties contesting the upcoming Regional and General Elections.
The GCCI position was voiced by President Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer during the organisation’s gala business award ceremony Thursday evening at the Georgetown Marriott Hotel.
“We are encouraging a code of ethics for parties contesting the elections in March…We feel that this is necessary given the contentious nature of our elections and the history of appealing to ethno-security fears that has gone on in past elections,” said Deygoo-Boyer.
“The GCCI feels that elections in the future of Guyana should be about principles and visions for developing our country.”
He reminded of the African proverb, “When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.”
According to Deygoo-Boyer, “We must push past suffering as the grass in the fight amongst elephants”.
He said, “We see elections as a chance to have national conversations about who will have the best leadership and policies.”
The business leader, speaking to a different structure in the system of governance, advocated “more diversity and technocrats at the operations level of Government, leaning towards more professional management of our government institutions and agencies; as well as less of the retribution for supporters of the losing side.
“The party that wins our winner takes all elections governs all Guyanese not just its supporters.”
GCCI believes, according to Deygoo-Boyer, that “in order to prepare our country for a new era in its history, we need to have a single all encompassing, nationally bought into development plan, not a plan that will be thrown out at successive elections.”
He said, “This transformative plan must address the structural issues in our economy that will allow us to be a shining example for our region and for the world in the case of how small states deal with windfall natural resource exploitation.”
According to Deygoo-Boyer, the Business community would like to see greater focus on the part of the administration in areas of Energy, Local Content Legislation and Sovereign Wealth Fund, Infrastructure, Healthcare, Education, Governance, Security, Trade and Taxation, Diversified and value added Economy and Labour.

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