Caricom told regs needed for SMEs

Caricom told regs needed for SMEs A government minister from Guyana to a meeting of Caribbean Community (Caricom) officials last week said that member nations need to adopt legal and policy guidelines aimed at protecting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) if those key elements of the economy are going to survive in the future.
   Maniram Prashad made the remarks in the feature address and a Caricom roundtable on strategic planning for SMEs that was held in Guyana.
   'Without the legal and policy framework, not much can be accomplished in moving the SME sector forward,' he said, adding that policies and regulations aimed at large businesses do not transfer adequately to the business environment under which SME's operate.
   Prashad, the minister of tourism, industry and commerce in Guyana, said his country passed the Small Business Act in 2004, stressing that a good legal framework for small businesses needs to be backed up by complimentary government policies.