PSC Chairman – IT will enable Guyana to leapfrog on its development curve

Private Sector Commission Chairman (PSC), Paul Cheong expressed the belief that the use of information technology (IT) “will enable Guyana to leapfrog on its’ development curve.”

Cheong expressed the sentiments while speaking during a media interview recently. Cheong was part of the Guyanese delegation, that accompanied His Excellency, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali to India, earlier in January.

The PSC chair opined that both government and the private sector must start engaging IT companies to look for solutions to some of the problems locally.

He said that the utilisation of technology in every area is essential, for example in agriculture, horticulture, furniture manufacturing, agro-processing, and biomass energy production.

As such, Cheong shared that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been inked to set-up a biomass generation plant that will utilise wood-based by-products, which will create affordable and environmentally friendly energy.

The PSC chair noted that even in sugar production value added products such as paper and cardboard can be derived from the by-products, as is done in India.

“We must tweak our industry to add more value to the production chain, which will make the industry more profitable,” he underscored.

Chairman Cheong further stated that with the use of IT, more accurate information can be obtained in terms of soil nutrients, which enables the correct interventions that will lead to more efficiency and profitability in food production.

This, he noted helps to remove guess-work that is sometimes present in large scale agricultural efforts in Guyana.

With India’s access to technology and Guyana’s access to available raw materials, “We expect many, many good things coming out from this visit [with India]” he said.

Further, the PSC chairman disclosed that committees have been set up to explore the various technological opportunities that exist in India, that can be customised for Guyana.

Cheong also commended the president’s initiative as opening doors of opportunities for Guyanese businesses to seek out joint ventures with their Indian counterparts, which will accelerate the manufacturing sector.