London House Chambers represented the Government of Guyana  in a US$750 million sale of some of Guyana’s carbon credits to the Hess Corporation. The major deal between the government and the global energy giant, which was the first of its kind, will see the company purchasing 2.5 million carbon credits annually for the years 2016 to 2030. The multi-year pact was signed between the government and Hess Corporation at the Baridi Benab, State House, Georgetown.

Carbon credits provide financial incentives to preserve forests and biodiversity that are at risk due to the growing economic activities and demand for natural resources. President Ali said while the agreement serves to support Guyana’s efforts to protect its vast forests, resources will also be provided to improve the lives of Guyanese through investment, as part of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030.

For context, the LCDS is a framework intended to map the path of a new growth trajectory in a non-polluting way. It outlines how the country’s abundant natural resources can be used to combat global climate change while building the foundation for a sustainable, low-carbon economy.

President Ali said the importance of the forests and their significance in the fight against climate change has consistently been championed by Guyana, particularly by former president and now Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo. The head of state emphasised that the hallmark agreement clearly shows Guyana providing leadership on a critical issue, which has now gone a step further.

The Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) announced Thursday that it has issued about 33.5 million TREES credits to Guyana, making it the first country worldwide to receive the status.

Source: Newsroom

Prominent Attorney Devindra Kissoon was on Wednesday elected, unopposed and uncontested, as the new President of the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) Guyana.

Also appointed during the Chamber’s Third Annual General Meeting (AGM) were Iman Cummings, Shyam Nokta and Edwardo Repele as Vice Presidents.

Along with several other persons who will serve on the new Executive and Board is Fitzroy McCloud who will be returning as the Treasurer.

Kissoon received congratulatory greetings from President Irfaan Ali and United States Ambassador to Guyana Sarah Ann Lynch who both joined the Chamber for its AGM at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).

But accompanying the Head-of-State’s congratulatory message was a challenge to Kissoon who, Dr. Ali said, served as his lawyer in the past.

The President said AMCHAM must be at the forefront of ensuring Guyana’s Catfish and Gilbacker get back into the US market and challenged Kissoon to ensure that at least one of Guyana’s agro-processing facilities gets FDA approval within the next year.

Dr. Ali urged Kissoon to be aggressive in his work to get Guyanese businesses into the U.S market.

With Kissoon’s predecessor Zulfikar Ally securing a diplomatic post to Washington D.C (Deputy Chief of Mission), Dr. Ali said there should be no barriers now to representing Guyana’s interest in the United States.

Kissoon is the founding member of London House Chambers, and has been routinely ranked by Chambers and Partners as one of the most accomplished lawyers in Guyana.

He has handled the largest capital markets transaction in Guyana  and most recently represented
Morgan Stanley and Bank of America in a US$300,000,000 private bond issuance secured in Guyana. He was responsible for the liberalization of the Telecommunications industry in Guyana and is currently working on some of the Guyana’s most sophisticated commercial transactions

In his first speech since being elected as AMCHAM’s President, Kissoon said since the launching of the Chamber in 2018, it has firmly established itself as a key and leading private sector organization that continues to foster mutually beneficial trade and commercial relationships between the United States and Guyana.

He assured that under his presidency AMCHAM is ready and able to play a pivotal role.

“We will continue to take our fiduciary role seriously, to provide our members with the highest possible service in promoting trade and investment, business development services, continued representation, and efforts to improve the local business climate.

“During my tenure as President, the Chamber will increase focus on attracting foreign investment to Guyana, increase joint ventures between Guyanese and American firms, increase AmCham’s civil society role and work with the relevant authorities in bolstering our legal system to increase efficiency and enforcement of contracts as well as general improvement in the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) Rankings,” he said.

Ally also delivered brief remarks, listing among the Chamber’s major achievements since its launch to be:

• Facilitating US Companies entrance into Guyana and promoting joint ventures;
• Supporting democracy; and
• Promoting Corporate Social Responsibility.
• Diversity and Inclusion

Source: NewsRoom

Guyana’s Telecommunications Sector was formally liberalised on Monday with the Government issuing the Commencement Orders to fully bring into force the Telecommunications Act 2016 and the Public Utilities Commission Act 2016.

Both laws were passed in the National Assembly since 2016 but were never brought into force by the previous APNU+AFC Government.

But within two months of assuming office, the People’s Progressive Party Government has sought to move the process forward with Prime Minister Brigadier (Retired) Mark Phillips issuing the orders and putting aside a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the Coalition Government had signed with the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT).

The liberalisation, while allowing for completion and an expansion of services, essentially ends the monopoly GTT holds.

“The commencement of these Acts is nothing less than historic, aligning Guyana’s telecommunications regime to those found in other countries in the world, including most Caribbean countries, ending a thirty-year-old anti-competitive telecommunications monopoly, that has left Guyanese weary, frustrated and lagging behind in the telecommunications arena,” the Prime Minister noted in a statement.

It is anticipated that Guyanese will feel an immediate positive impact from the implementation of these legislation, which create a modern and competitive environment for telecommunications, and which will immediately result in greater choices, better quality of service and lower prices for consumers.

The liberalisation also seeks to ensure that all operators continue to enjoy all benefits conferred under the old legislative regime.

“This decisive step is consistent with our Government’s vision of furthering national and regional social and economic development. The legislation specifically addresses the expansion of telecommunications networks and services into unserved and underserved areas through the institution of a new universal access/universal services programme,” the statement added.

The legislation creates a clear, harmonised framework and a level playing field for the sector that is currently lacking, and which are characterised by transparency and non-discrimination in the issuance and monitoring of licences and authorisations to use the spectrum, seamless interconnection and access between and among telecommunications networks and services, and price regulation where required to ensure competition and at the same time guarantees equal treatment of stakeholders, to the ultimate benefit and protection of consumers.

The Telecommunications Act 2016 was first laid by the PPP Government in the 9th Parliament in August 2011, and laid again in the 10th Parliament in 2012, after extensive consultations with both the public and operators.

During the life of both Parliaments, the Act enjoyed bipartisan support. It spent considerable time before a select committee, chaired by Carl Greenidge, and included Former Prime Minister Samuels Hinds, and then Minister Mohamed Irfaan Ali.

The Act was finalised before the 2015 elections and was enacted by the Coalition Government in 2016 by Minister Catherine Hughes, again with bipartisan support.