Business

In the high-tech electronic security business, Nirvana Mahase is very aware that female entrepreneurs aren’t so common and aren’t always taken seriously.

Three years after a South African manufacturer first sought to introduce a soil stabiliser into road building and road rehabilitation in Guyana, the company is yet to receive a definitive response from either the public or private sector here.

Local miners have already come to terms with the inevitability of a mercury-free  gold mining sector in Guyana in the foreseeable future but are seeking government’s support to lobby the international community to protect the industry against any ban on the purchase of gold produced through the application of mercury, Guyana Gold & Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) official Colin Sparman told Stabroek Business in an exclusive interview earlier this week.

An official of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) who has been part of the processing of applications for duty-free concessions has told Stabroek Business that the high degree of distrust of middle level and junior officials functioning in some departments has created “an unacceptable situation” that is poisoning the work environment.

Ray and Angela Rahaman are the proprietors of Rent-A-Tent, one of the best-known local enterprises offering services and facilities associated with the hosting of public functions.

LUCAS STOCK INDEX In the first week of trading in August 2012, the Lucas Stock Index (LSI) rose 1.04 percent.

Come 2013 Ramroop’s Furniture Store will be celebrating forty years in the household furnishing industry and the proprietor, Dinesh Narine looks back on the impact which the enterprise has made on the sector with a considerable sense of accomplishment.

Cheryl Bassoo exudes the satisfaction of a woman who is enjoying the rewards of having realized a lifelong ambition.

Managing Director of the recently launched Guyana Logistics & Support Services Inc.

GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 471’s trading results showed consideration of $846,600 from 43,600 shares traded in 7 transactions as compared to session 470 which showed consideration of $2,984,704 from 161,470 shares traded in 22 transactions. 

Last week’s meeting between President Donald Ramotar and the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) followed what has now become a familiar pattern of the Head of State having to step in to resolve issues between the government and one sector or another rather than  having the matter placed in the hands of the relevant Ministry or state agency.

Business Cartoons

While the local mining industry is both morally and legally bound to respect the rights and privileges of indigenous people in their own communities, the prevailing view in mining circles is that the authorities are advancing the issue of the rights of the country’s indigenous Amerindians as a means of enforcing its own agenda as far as mining in the country’s interior regions is concerned.

Just back from a tour of several European countries, a delegation of private sector officials from CARIFORUM member states have concluded that trade agreements with the European Union (EU) are unlikely to bring significant economic gain to small operators in the short to medium term.

In recent weeks local gold miners and particularly the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA), the umbrella organization for small and medium-scale gold miners have been making clear their discomfort with the role of the recently established Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment.

The spectre of high food import bills that have haunted much of the Caribbean for several years appears to be persisting in some countries in the region, notably Barbados where local analysts estimate that the CARICOM member state’s food import bill for the first four months of 2012 reached Bds$178m.

The Guyana operations of the Trinidad and Tobago-owned conglomerate Neal and Massy has again come in for high praise from company Chairman Arthur Lok Jack in his most recent disclosure regarding the financial performance of the company.

Bank of Guyana (BoG) Governor Lawrence Williams has been seeking to allay fears that the decision to introduce a new $5,000 note will trigger inflation in the country’s economy.