Former Prime Minister of Jamaica, Portia Simpson-Miller, will deliver the keynote address at the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (GCCI) Annual Awards Presentation and Dinner on Thursday, November 28.
The event, set to take place at the Guyana Marriott Hotel, is being held under the theme: Guyana – Ready for the Future.
President of GCCI, Nicholas Boyer-Deygoo, told OilNOW that the Chamber is excited to be reconnecting with its members to discuss the work it has advanced over the year. “This year we are especially excited to welcome our featured speaker, a powerful woman in Jamaican politics, the most Hon. Portia Simpson-Miller,” he said.
The GCCI President said Mrs. Simpson-Miller is expected to share her views on Caricom, “which is quite relevant in our current affairs.”
The free movement of goods and people across the region under the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) has long been a sore point for countries whose nationals have found it hard to move freely in the territory and those, like Guyana, who have complained about unfair trade practices by some member countries.
As Guyana is now poised to become a significant oil producer in the region, the relevance of the Caricom body is being called more into question by some Guyanese who believe the regional bloc has never truly benefited the South American country. Others have been advocating for member countries to work closer at strengthening the body so that it can enhance and better execute its mandate.
Mrs. Simpson-Miller served as Prime Minister of Jamaica from March 2005 to September 2007 and again from 5 January 2012 to 3 March 2016.
