Businessman, Timothy Tucker, was on Friday re-elected to the presidency of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), an association which represents about 550 businesses. Tucker is the owner of Rid-O-Pes, a pest control company.
His re-election occurred at the first meeting of the Chamber’s Council, following its election at GCCI’s 132nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) on March 24. The re-election signals a sustained promotion of local content in Guyana by the Chamber, which has had considerable influence on public policy.
One of the defining issues of Tucker’s presidency, since his assumption of the first term in April 2021, has been local content.
After a leaked email of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Private Sector Organisation suggested there was a plan to challenge Guyana’s Local Content Act 2021, Tucker saw hypocrisy in the argument that the Act is in breach of CARICOM’s Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.
He has constantly reminded that Guyanese businesses are inhibited by non-tariff barriers to trade which were imposed against them by some CARICOM member states, particularly Trinidad and Tobago. This prevented Guyana from being able to export goods to those countries.
Delivering the main address during the recent AGM, Tucker pledged a sustained campaign for equitable treatment of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states.
Even prior to his assumption of the GCCI Presidency, Tucker had questioned the mistreatment of Guyanese businesses as Senior Vice President of the Chamber, and called on the then government to seriously evaluate the relevance of CARICOM if the trade barriers were not removed.
He has argued that these practices go against the very advancement of Guyanese businesses that the Chamber advocates for.
Tucker leads the Chamber’s Executive Management Committee (EMC) which consists of Senior Vice President Gerald Gouveia Jr., Junior Vice President Kester Hutson, Secretary Shaleeza Shaw, and Treasurer Gavin Ramsoondar.
The GCCI’s 2022/2023 council members are as follows:
- Timothy Tucker, Rid-O-Pes
- Gerry Gouveia Jr., Roraima Airways Ltd.
- Kester Hutson, Dapper Technologies Inc.
- Shaleeza Shaw, Demerara Bank Ltd.
- Gavin Ramsoondar, Zarc Properties Inc
- Rosh Khan, Social Rank Media
- Orson Ferguson, Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company Limited
- Keon Howard, Fix It Electrical
- Briony Tiwarie, BK Supermix Inc.
- Evie Gurchuran, Envisage Marketing & Technology Company
- Anije Lambert, Project Development Consultancy
- Kerri Gravesande, Strategic Recruitment Solutions Inc.
- Komal Ramnuath, Kojac Marketing Agency
- Molly Rampersaud Hassan, The Guyana Oil Company Limited
- Shaam Outar, Merchant Marine Services Guyana Inc.
- Nadene Gilbert, Ascension Business Services
- Navin Prashad, M.P. Insurance Brokers & Consultants Limited
- Rayad Boyce, Sonic Business Services
- Geraldo Alphonso, Innovations America
- Pradeep Ramoutar, Western Logistics
- Carlos Mendonca, Ricks & Sari Agro Industries Ltd
