GEORGETOWN – Infrastructure at the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) will be upgraded to allow for increased testing and certification for international exports. This will ensure that products leaving Guyana meet local and international standards.
The project was disclosed by Minister of Business with responsibility for Tourism Dominic Gaskin.
It will entail a new laboratory being constructed as well as upgrades to several existing ones. In addition, the project will see the development of a National Export Promotion Strategy and a complementary National Investment Promotion Strategy. The project will be funded through a US$9 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Minister Gaskin said “this project will place Guyana’s economy on a sustainable development pathway by supporting the value-added exporting industries in a serious way.”
The Ministry of Business will work with the Bureau in developing the kinds of industries that Guyana needs, if it is to become a more diversified exporter.
“Industry standards exist for almost everything under the sun, and are demanded on the international market. It therefore follows that we in Guyana need to adopt these standards if we wish to do business with the rest of the world,” Minister Gaskin told the National Assembly during his budget 2017 presentation.
The Business Minister pointed out that without credible certification processes based on analysis and reports from accredited testing facilities, Guyanese businesses will not be able to provide the assurance required to access international supply chains for their products and services.
Meanwhile, the GNBS will continue to advance the use of standards by businesses across Guyana during the coming year. This will see the Bureau marketing its services in all ten Administrative Regions, focusing on increasing awareness of the benefits of standardisation, and also on boosting its clientele.
Minister Gaskin said that the GNBS will be focussing on the agriculture, agro-processing, energy, mining and services sector of the economy in 2017. He further explained that this will require a number of visits and consultation sessions to promote the services of the Bureau.
Additionally, in 2017, the Bureau will begin the process of replacing its aging fleet of passenger vehicles since all but one of its vehicles are more than ten years old.
The Business Minister noted that the Bureau has doubled its budget for training and education in 2017 compared to 2016, in recognition of the need to maintain staff competence.
Critical training will be identified and facilitated. The training, Minister Gaskin explained, is to upgrade skills of officers who will be able to extend the Bureau’s services to the emerging sectors of the economy such as oil and gas, and renewable energy. (Reuters)
