– Guyana attempts to divest hers
The prevailing investment paradigm in Guyana, where the free market system is seen as a paramount factor to sustain a liberalised economy, has seen an explosion of entrepreneurial activities – on large and small scale, with many cottage industries creating overnight millionaires in the nation.

While this Government sustains the free market system through facilitating mechanisms provided by the Guyana Office for Invest (Go-Invest), and while freedom in the land prevails at every level – especially freedom of expression, many other nations are moving to effect controls over their telecommunications sector.

The latest country that has moved in this direction is Belize, through a Bill that the Prime Minister of that country has introduced to have the Belizean Government assume control of Belize Telemedia Ltd, through an amendment of the Belize Telecommunications Act.

What is noteworthy is that the Bill was enacted within hours after its introduction so as to facilitate a swift acquisition of the entity, which Belizeans claim was acquired under questionable circumstances.

A report from Belmopan excerpts the Prime Minister’s speech when he tabled the motion: “I must also say immediately, Mr. Speaker, that government intends to take the Bill through all its stages today. The Senate will then meet tomorrow, and we expect that the Bill will be signed into law by tomorrow evening or Wednesday morning at the latest. At that time the new, Government-appointed Board of Directors will assume operational control over Telemedia, and the re-Belizeanization of the company will be complete.

Now I confess, Mr. Speaker, that the Opposition, indeed all members of the House, are only seeing the Bill for the first time this morning. And yet we intend to pass it today. Members will thus have to read and digest quickly between the introduction and the resumption after committee meets, in order to debate the measure. The lack of notice is regretted, but could not, in the circumstances, be helped. The current owners of Telemedia, as they have repeatedly demonstrated, will stop at nothing to frustrate the business of governance in this country; and will act with every resource at their command to thwart the interest and legitimate aspirations of the Belizean people. While the minimum requirements of our democracy means that there will still be a two day window of opportunity for those that would stymie us, government had to do what was necessary to narrow that opening as much as possible. I say again to all members that I would have wished that we did not have to proceed in this fashion. But the exigencies of the circumstances, the larger demands of Belize’s national interests, left us no choice.”

Guyana’s Government has almost the exact concerns over the acquisition and operational conditions of Guyana’s Telecommunication Company as the Belizean Government has expressed through the Prime Minister’s speech, because the divestment of this major utility entity was not a transparent deal, open to public scrutiny and approval, and valuable state assets were practicably given away in an unconscionable ‘sweetheart deal’ by the previous PNC government.

However, this current PPP/C administration has honoured that agreement, and is even offering its own shares for sale in an effort to completely divest itself of every part of the telecommunication company, but the PNC and its affiliate opposition forces are blocking the sale of those shares on one pretext or another.

The Belizean PM said that the consideration driving the acquisition is “no more or no less than a case of the Belizean national interest triumphing over any other consideration”.

When will the opposition elements in Guyana ever put Guyana’s national interest over any other consideration?