The Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce in collaboration with its Small Business Bureau, hosted a procurement training workshop today for small businesses across the country.

As part of the programme, small business owners were updated on the procurement laws and processes when bidding for government contracts, and other services.

The training served as a guide for small business owners, who have been complaining about being excluded from government contracts because of unfair competition in the sector and the process.

Addressing the more than three hundred participants, Tourism Minister Oneidge Walrond assured that the procurement process is fair and that every small business can cash in once they follow the processes.

“Contrary to what some may want to say, we have a public procurement law, which means that contracts are not handed out to people based on what you look like or who you voted for, there is a public procurement system, there is a law that this government has instituted, this provides for total transparency but what it does more than ever is that opens the playing field for all of us, and every single Guyanese can benefit, and every single one of us has that opportunity regardless of where you are from,” the Minister said.

However, the Minister admitted that the procurement law might discourage some business owners from bidding for government contracts. That realization she said sparked the need for the training.

“We realized that the law can be a bit daunting, the process could a bit cumbersome maybe, but it is just being able to understand it and navigate it, that is why we are doing this training to give each and everyone one of you the opportunity to be able to clarify what the process takes and what it entails—because the opportunities are boundless,” Minister Walrond noted.

According to the Minister, the increase in construction across the country together with the budding oil and gas sector, mean small businesses now has the perfect opportunity to grow.

“There is a cascading national infrastructural boom and what this means and ought to mean for Guyanese businesses is that there are lots of opportunities for you to take advantage of and that is why we have done this,” the Minister said.

Minister Walrond, pledged that the government will continue to support the private sector, specifically small and medium size enterprises so that they can build their capacities.

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