The Private Sector Commission (PSC) has slammed the CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO) for what the PSC sees as gross disrespect after representatives from the CPSO visited Guyana and did not meet with the PSC or any other private sector organization.

A mission from the CARICOM Private Sector Organization recently visited Guyana and met with President Ali and discussed a number of issues concerning non-tariff barriers and other matters related to the advancement of CARICOM.

The PSC said in a statement that while the meeting with the Government is welcomed news, it has taken serious offence that it’s CARICOM counterpart has treated the local private sector organisations with contempt.

“While the PSC welcomes this high-level meeting and commends His Excellency, the President for his usual hands-on approach on these matters, the PSC nonetheless wishes to register its profound and unreserved disappointment at the CPSO for their failure to engage the PSC which is the apex private sector body in Guyana, or any of the private sector bodies in Guyana. As such, the PSC condemns in the harshest possible tone, the gross and egregious exhibition of disrespect for the local private sector in general, on the part of the CPSO,” the PSC said in a statement.

Following the passage of Guyana’s Local content legislation earlier this year, the local private sector lashed out at the regional body after a leaked document showed concerns being raised by the regional body about Guyana’s local content legislation.

The PSC had said then and has reiterated that that position was ill-informed, since the body, although it could have made submissions on the legislation refused to do so and became vocal after it was passed.

But even as the PSC took offense to not being invited to meet with the CPSO, it is saying that the CARICOM private sector body is not a true reflection of businesses within the Community.

“It is worthwhile to note that the current institutional composition of the CPSO is not reflective of the entire private sector of CARICOM. Rather, a few large regional conglomerates have arguably hijacked and dominated the CPSO and by virtue of so doing, are unequivocally and predominantly advancing their individual and collective agenda, while marginalizing and excluding the wider private sector of CARICOM,” the PSC statement added.

PSC now wants CARICOM to re-evaluate the CPSO, its membership composition, institutional structure, and whether in the current dispensation it is genuinely seeking to achieve its mandate.

The PSC said it looks forward to working together with the CPSO but it must first get its house in order.

CARICOM has largely been ignoring the various positions of the PSC

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