Christopher Ram

Introduction The conglomerate, Demerara Distillers Limited, which has as its flagship the world famous El Dorado rum, will be holding its annual general meeting next Friday April 26 when the directors will report on the performance and state of affairs of the parent company and its ten subsidiaries and one joint venture.

Introduction I closed last week by introducing a table which set out the transactions between Demtoco and other companies in the group.

Introduction: The Demerara Tobacco Company Limited (Demtoco),  held its Annual General Meeting this past Tuesday April 2, 2013, kicking off the season of annual general meetings of Guyana’s public companies with a December 31 year end.

Introduction: For decades, perhaps in some cases even close to a century, family businesses have formed the backbone of the Guyana economy.

As expected, the section of the Budget Speech from which this is taken takes up the largest part of a very long speech.

When the University of Guyana (UG) was established in 1963 by statute under the premiership of Dr.

Budget 2012 Facts and 2013 Targets. 2012 Facts Growth in real GDP of 4.8% compared to a target of 4.1% and actual rate of 5.4% in 2011.

Sectoral Performance Source: Annual budget speeches and Half Year reports. The Table shows the sectors in which the economy is divided; by what percentage they are expected to grow in 2013; how the Sectors performed in 2012 compared with how they were expected to perform in 2012, their first half year in 2012 and their actual performance in 2011.

The Government’s projected Financial Plan for 2013 is summarised and tabled on page 26.

Current Non-Interest Expenditure In this section we consider how the budgeted expenditure is allocated among the principal Ministries, Departments, Regions and Programmes.

1.  Support to the Sugar Industry $1 billion to support the company’s transformation plans on top of $39.5 billion which the Minister notes was injected to recapitalise the industry and to support its operations over the years.

Choosing the topics for inclusion in this part of Budget Focus has its own challenges.

Introduction Generations of Guyanese in this Land of Many Waters have been enchanted by the dream of Hydro-electric power with its assumed potential for lower electricity charges.

For several decades, the Standing Orders of the National Assembly preserved and protected by successive Constitutions have given to the National Assembly control over spending proposed by the Minister of Finance.

His funeral attracted an eclectic mix of international mourners: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, center-right presidents of Chile and Colombia, Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, President Donald Ramotar of Guyana, Brazil’s former leader, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Oscar winner Sean Penn and U.S.

While US President Barack Obama may have intended his remarks about inequality in the USA he could have been speaking of anywhere when he said, “over the last few decades, the rungs on the ladder of opportunity have grown farther and farther apart, and the middle class has shrunk.”

Repetitive though it might be, we just cannot afford to ignore the state and prospects of the National Insurance Scheme as it continues some of the toughest challenges it has faced in its 44 years history.

There is a certain uneasiness if not fear about the increasing prominence and self-assurance about the rapid growth of the Chinese not only in Guyana but in the rest of the Caribbean and very particularly Africa.

The Budget contained several of the proposals made to the Minister by the Private Sector Commission.

Introduction I take these words not from Dr. Roger Luncheon who used it around the time of the Agricola protests but from the American boxing announcer who trademarked it.