— smart phones to be banned in revenue body

THE Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) says it will be building a main office since the Camp Street, Georgetown building it inherited is sinking.
GRA Commissioner-General, Godfrey Statia, told reporters during a press conference on Thursday that repairs to the Camp Street building to the tune of almost $57 million has been approved by Cabinet and will begin in two weeks.
Works will be done to the roof of the main office and the contract has been awarded to INFAM construction.

He said the building’s roof experiences constant flooding and he had received expert advice that the weight of the roof has to be lighter to prevent the building from sinking further.
As a result, he said, he instructed maintenance staff to puncture the sides of the roof to drain the water out, and it is helping to ease the situation.
However, the building was examined by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI) and it was advised that the roof of the building must also be changed.

“We asked the Ministry of Works to come and pay a visit and check to see what was wrong and what needs to be done and then we asked persons who were actively involved in the construction of the building (previously)… so they knew exactly what was wrong with the building, and they told us that you have to use minimal weight. You cannot put more weight on this building. So you have to find the right material for you to cover the roof.”
The material which will be used for the new roof cover will be much lighter than zinc sheets but will be composite, durable materials, he said.

Meanwhile, a new GRA building will be constructed on a 10- acre plot of land which was recently acquired through a 50-year lease from the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC).
Statia said the area is suitable for the office’s location and will have adequate parking space.
While the construction has not yet been approved by Cabinet, GRA has signed an agreement with the GLSC for the 50-year lease.
“Once we’ve signed that agreement… we have done a Cabinet paper now for the approval of the building,” Statia told reporters.

The Commissioner-General also announced that any staff of the GRA who is caught leaking taxpayers private information to the media will be dismissed and a ban on the use of smart phones by staff and visitors to the GRA, will soon be instituted at the entity.
This is as a result of constant leaking of taxpayers’ information to sections of the media, suspected to be done by GRA staff.

“Anytime I find anybody leaking taxpayer’s information out there, they have to go. It is a breach of secrecy. We have a privacy duty to the taxpayer and we need to understand … We need to understand taxpayers’ information are privileged information and if it’s going to get out there by one way or the other, very soon there will be no smart phones entering my building – both officers who work with me and also taxpayers. I would be putting up a smart phone policy very soon, because we need to stamp it out,” Statia said.