In this week’s issue of the Stabreoek’s Business we publish the first Installment of what we hope will be a sustained series of articles titled Talking Points. The objective of Talking Points is to stimulate active discourse on relevant and topical issues in the development of the business community and the Guyana economy. We particularly wishes to encourage businessmen and women, umbrella business organizations, overseas investors, public sector officials, representatives of diplomatic missions responsible for trade and economic affairs, consumer affairs advocates, and students and lecturers in relevant disciplines to contribute to Talking Points.
Articles should be sent by e-mail to stabroeknews@hotmail.com (attn The Business Editor) and should not normally exceed two (2) quarto sheets. Considerations of space might, on occasion, compel the Editor to ask that the length of articles be reduced.
Submissions should be accompanied by a passport sized-photograph and a brief (no more than three lines) biographical sketch of the author
By Lance Hinds
The recent dust-up over the laying of the new Telecommunications Act in Parliament highlights the critical need for wider stakeholder participation in an issue that is vital to the long-term economic growth and evolution of Guyana. The reduction of the cost of computers, the steady rise in the use of mobile devices for connectivity plus the potentially significant increase in internet usage as a result of the Government of Guyana’s One Laptop per Family (OLPF) programme targeting some 90,000 households, indicates a shifting landscape that requires some thought both in terms of policy and action. Regardless of sentiment, it is inevitable that the traditional productive sectors