Dear Editor,
Several of my friends and relatives who import various merchandise have complained about long delays in the processing of documents at the GRA. The GRA publicises its accomplishments regularly on national television, especially its new TRIPS system.
I decided to research the TRIPS system and this is what I found. The system is being implemented by a UK company, Crown Agents. It is funded by a loan to the Government of Guyana by the IDB. This is money the people of Guyana will have to repay. It is managed by the Ministry of Finance, and a project unit titled the Fiscal and Financial Management Programme (FFMP).
This GRA TRIPS software had an initial budget of US$4M and was supposed to be fully functional by December 2007. The budget was subsequently extended to over US$5M and the system, over a year later, still appears not to be fully functional. Can the Minister of Finance explain why this is so?
Yours faithfully,
Ganesh Singh
