FOR years, persons in the creative industry have complained that the absence of copyright legislation was making life difficult for them.

In the near future, such cries may become a thing of the past as the government is expected to table legislation to this effect in 2018.

During the budget debate on Thursday evening, Minister of Legal Affairs, Attorney General, Basil Williams, told the House that several pieces of legislation will be tabled in the National Assembly next year. Among those pieces of legislation is a Copyright Bill.

Last June, during the airing of the television programme, “The Public Interest”, President David Granger had given his word that the government was committed to introducing such legislation. “I cannot say for sure when that legislation will be laid,” he said, “but it is a commitment on our part to protect the rights of artistes and publishers of other forms of material. We are committed to suppressing piracy.”

On Thursday night, besides the Copyright Bill, the Attorney-General listed several others to be taken to Parliament by the government, among them the Public Debt Management Bill, Electronic Communication and Transaction Bill, Juvenile Justice Bill, the Gaming Bill and the National Accreditation Council Amendment Bill.

He also said that existing legislation will be amended to meet the government’s policy objectives for the laws to be more effective to the benefit and well-being of the people.
While providing an update on the agencies under his ministry’s portfolio, Williams complimented the staff of the Land Registry for bringing a backlog of records up to date. He said that the backlog, which existed prior to the year 2015, has been cleared and that all transactions are now current. He said, too, that the public can now expect to have titles issued within two weeks, and to have excellent customer service.

“As of now,” he said, “there are no outstanding cases of customer dissatisfaction.”
Over 800 registers, he said, have been fully restored and the previous “loose leaf” state of the facility no longer exists, thanks to an exercise to have all volumes bound.
He said that the digitisation of records at the registry began in the second quarter of 2017 and is moving apace. The completion date is projected at the end of 2018.

And, taking a well-aimed dig at his predecessor Anil Nandlall, who is in the habit of boasting about his “impeccable” track record as attorney-general, Minister Williams made it known that since assuming office back in 2015, the coalition government has had to be cleaning up the shortfalls left behind by the People’s Progressive Party administration.

During his presentation Thursday night, Minister Williams provided the House with an update on Guyana’s current position now that it has assumed chairmanship of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), which he noted is a major achievement for the country.

As incoming chair, Minister Williams will be responsible for 25 countries and will be receiving support from the outgoing chair and other members.
Minister Williams has been commended for doing an “excellent job” representing the interest of Guyana.

From the inception, as the point of contact for the body, the attorney-general has ensured that all stakeholders involved in the regulation and monitoring of the financial services industry in Guyana became involved in the work of the CFATF.