Business

Continually declining reliability on the electricity generation service afforded them by the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) an increasing number of Guyanese are beginning to turn their attention to the solar energy option as some the country’s leading merchants seek to provide consumers with an alternative energy source.

In a sense the disclosure earlier this week that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) decided to dispense with the services of six of its senior officers including the Deputy Commissioner responsible for the critical Value Added Tax and Excise Department, is probably not altogether surprising.

E-book Readers The popularity of the Amazon Kindle, an electronic reading device, provides a glimpse into what is perhaps the future of publishing: e-books, a relatively new form of digital media. 

If you happen to drop by Scotia Bank’s Carmichael Street branch you will hear a continual recording of the voice of Branch Manager Matthew Langevine offering mortgages at “rock bottom” interest rates.

– puts Heads of Department through exhaustive budget deliberations If Keith Burrowes insists that his work as Chairman of the 2008 Commission of Enquiry into the operations of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council is done he makes no secret of his intimate involvement in supporting the implementation of a menu of measures which he hopes will extricate the municipality from its present predicament.

– former programme director says state endorsement could unlock further EU funding The positive outcomes of the three-year four million euros European Union-funded Guyana Micro Projects Programme have more than made a case for further funding to allow for continuity, according to Jimmy Bhojedat who served as programme director for the project.

Tightening anti-money laundering laws The parliament of Antigua and Barbuda has been debating legislation aimed at strengthening local anti-money laundering laws.

New sales tax rates approved by Antigua-Barbuda senate ST JOHN’s, Antigua — The Antigua and Barbuda Senate has approved the ABST Amendment Regulations, which are now scheduled to come into effect on March 15.

– health care limitations can keep investors away Economic and social development in the vast majority of Caribbean Community (Caricom) may be under threat as a result the chronic shortage of nurses in the region according to a recent World Bank Report.

Why are we here? The University of the West Indies Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business is an internationally accredited school with the Association of MBA’s in the United Kingdom.

GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 345’s trading results showed consideration of $5,686,129 from 485,234 shares traded in 19 transactions as compared to session 344 which showed consideration of $318,396 from 28,564 shares traded in 11 transactions. 

– efficiency, safety and responsiveness of industry had been compromised The recently released Inter American Develop-ment Bank (IDB) Country Report on Guyana has lauded the joint effort of government and the private sector to modernize the country’s air transport system which, the report says had fallen into “a state of disrepair” over several decades.

In the wake of the recent eagerly-waited opening of the US$2 million casino at the Princess Hotel the issue of access to the facility by Guyanese wishing to exercise that particular option has surfaced afresh.

Business Editorial Public Service Minister Jennifer Westford’s open confession during her contribution to the parliamentary debate on the 2010 budget that there is corruption in the public service was no news to Guyanese who have, for years, grown accustomed to stories of duty-free scams, fraud, shakedowns and revenue-evasion rackets involving private sector entities and the Guyana Revenue Authority, crooked cops,  under-the-counter payments for the speeding up of various state-provided services and a host of other petty and not so petty but quieter, more discreet corrupt goings-on in various public sector institutions.

By Rawle Lucas Rawle Lucas is a Guyanese-born Certified Public Accountant and Assistant Vice-President of the Lending Services Division.

Jacquelyn Hamer Given the fact that both the Government of Guyana and the multilateral financing agencies appear to have a particular proclivity for alluding to the importance of the national Poverty Reduction Strategy I was more than mildly surprised over the fact that the Inter American Development Bank’s (IDB) recent Country Report on Guyana – Guyana and the IDB – Partners for Progress – made no reference whatsoever to small business and its role in the country’s development.

A move that is being seen by political watchers in the region as an attempt by Latin American and Caribbean countries to reduce the United States’ influence in the region is reportedly being closely monitored by the Obama administration, according to a recent BBC Caribbean report.

-world body With Caribbean governments unable to stem the tide of copyright transgressions, royalties accruing to Caribbean music and art dipped a whopping 27 per cent to euros $3.3 million in 2009 according to data released in January in a report published by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC).