The Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association LTd (GMSA) Tuesday called for a review of the proposed state-owned bottled water plant, emphasising the importance of protecting private investment while advancing the country’s goal of achieving 100 per cent locally produced bottled water.
In a statement, the association said it believes this objective can be achieved by strengthening and partnering with existing local manufacturers, who have already invested significantly in the industry’s growth and capacity.
Last week, the National Assembly approved a government request for GUY$496.3 million (One Guyana dollar=US$0.004 cents) for a state-owned water bottling facility under Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI).
The Government has said that the facility is aimed at reducing the reliance on imported bottled water, by giving consumers another bottled water choice that will come from GWI.
But in its statement, the GMSA said that earlier this year, together with local bottled water manufacturers, they met with the Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar, and the leadership of GWI to discuss opportunities and challenges facing Guyana’s bottled water industry.
‘During that engagement, the Association welcomed the Government’s vision of achieving 100 per cent locally produced bottled water recognising it is a strategic opportunity to strengthen local manufacturing, create jobs, and embrace Guyana’s economic resilience,’ GMSA said, adding that it remains firmly committed to that objective.
The GMSA said a number of its members have invested capital and have made business decisions to reflect the government’s commitment and that ‘any initiative by the state should be structured to strengthen, not to compete with or undermine, that existing private investment’.
The Association said it recalled President Irfaan Ali in February calling for ‘close collaboration’ between the government and the private sector including shared production infrastructure such as bottle manfacturing.
‘GMSA welcomes the President calls and urges GWI and the Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation to structure this project accordingly, as a partnership that lowers cposts and expands capacity for the whole sector, rather than a tax-payer funded competitor to existing private sector industry’.
The GMSA also stated that GWI’s foundational mandate, which is to provide reliable, safe potable water delivery to every household, must remain its core priority, and any commercial diversification should be additive to, not a distraction from, that mission.
The Association now wants the government to review the proposed investment and engage in further consultation with local bottled water manufacturers and other stakeholders before proceeding.