Rupununi Chamber welcomes liberalisation of telecoms sector
– lauds Govt efforts, says Region 9 starving for better service
One of the satellite dishes installed last year in North Rupununi for residents to access the internet
The decision of the Government of Guyana to liberalise the telecoms sector has been hailed by the Rupununi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), which noted that the poor delivery of telecommunication service has severely impacted Region Nine.
In a statement, the Chamber threw its support behind the decision, which was announced by Prime Minister Mark Phillips on Monday. The Chamber expressed appreciation for the Government’s efforts to liberalise the sector.
“Lethem and the wider Rupununi Region have been severely disadvantaged by the extremely poor and costly service given to the Region by telecommunication and internet service providers. Despite using the mechanisms available for complaints, we have been largely ignored and sidelined for more lucrative developments across Guyana,” the Chamber said.
“The Chamber looks forward to speedy closure of this significant development in the communications sector so that we can finally enjoy the technology available in this new decade. Thank you to HE the President and his team for keeping his commitment to Guyanese,” they added.
In July 2016, the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government had passed the Telecommunication (Amendment) Bill to liberalise the telecoms sector by ending the monopoly which the Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company (GTT) has enjoyed.
Under the coalition Government, it was reported that the liberalisation of the sector was heavily dependent upon the settlement of a US$44 million tax claim against GTT by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
According to reports, the local telecommunication giant wanted the tax debt settled before moving ahead with liberalisation. As such, the former Government failed to bring into force the Act that they themselves passed.
Prime Minister Phillips, who is the subject Minister with responsibility for Telecommunications, on Monday evening announced that Government had issued Commencement Orders, fully bringing into force the Telecommunications Act 2016 (the “Act”) and the Public Utilities Commission Act 2016. This was done less than three months after the Government took office.
