Black Immigrant Daily News

The Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) – which serves as a primary contact for investors to liaise with Government agencies throughout their investment process – is now internationally certified in accordance with ISO standards.

During a simple ceremony on Tuesday at his Shiv Chanderpaul Drive Office in Georgetown to mark this achievement, President Dr Irfaan Ali expressed that the ISO 9001 certification demonstrates the agency’s commitment to delivering world-class services.

“It demonstrates that we are committed to delivering world-class service in a world-class environment with world-class standards, world-class guidelines and subjecting ourselves to world-class audits because to maintain the ISO certification, it requires that the organisation and everything we do within the organisation, operates at all time with a high level,” the Head of State stated.

He also noted that this development ultimately speaks to the Government’s commitment to issues of transparency and accountability.

“For the agency itself to be willing to subject itself to the audits to get the certification, tells you about the dynamism, tells you about openness, it speaks to transparency, it speaks about our desire to build systems that follow structure, and structures that follow standards, and standards that follow guidelines. All of these are important parameters in the whole conversation of transparency and accountability…that is why the IMF report spoke about improvement in the overall architecture of the country in advancing and promoting transparency and accountability,” President Ali outlined.

Moreover, he noted that the ISO certification adds tremendous value to the “Guyana brand”.

“This is what we want, demonstrating to the world that we are ready to play at any stage and we’re ready to not only play on any stage but we are ready to stand by the standards that the world requires,” he emphasised.

According to President Ali, the move by GO-Invest to become ISO certified aligns with his Government’s vision of building strong governance systems.

“When we assumed office, we committed to building a Government and a governance system that is efficient, reliable, one that responds to the needs of people and one that is nimble,” he explained.

“For a Government system to be nimble, it has to be both rigid in regulation but flexible in the environment in which it operates. To achieve both of this, it is important that a set of standards that are internationally recognised form the basis on which we operate as a Government,” President Ali added.

The Guyanese Head of State went on to emphasise the importance of investments in an economy, noting that “if investment dries up, then economic growth will not thrive”.In this regard, he noted that GO-Invest, over the last two years, has done a remarkable job at attracting investors to the country.

Moreover, he said there has been great integration of the relationship between GO-Invest and other agencies like the Ministry of Finance, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce.

“It is this collective effort in advancing Government’s policy of creating an enabling environment for private sector investment, for capital formation, that has caused tremendous impetuous and energy in investment portfolio of our country,” President Ali expressed.

For his part, Chief Executive Officer of GO-Invest, Dr Peter Ramsaroop acknowledged that the journey to become ISO certified was inspired by President Ali and his desire to see better standards across Government agencies.

“In doing so, we followed the ISO guidelines over the last two years,” Dr Ramsaroop told members of the media.

Importantly, he noted that “this is not an achievement that stops.”

“It requires us to continue to improve, improve deficiencies that we may have and to deliver better service to our nation and to the international community,” Dr Ramsaroop pointed out.

Asked about the cost of the undertaking, the GO-Invest Head expressed that “the cost is more of our time cost…the audit was minimal, a few hundreds of thousands in terms of getting the audit agencies to send their inspectors in…the significant cost is really us putting the time and effort in ensuring our documentation is in place and our delivery of service meets customer expectation.”

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

The Bartica Housing Programme was launched on Tuesday morning at the Bartica Community Center in Region Seven.

Through the programme, residents will benefit from a three-bedroom flat home at the cost of $9 million. Pre-qualifications are currently being done on the spot by Citizens Bank and the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry.

Selected applicants can receive a 30 year mortgage plan for approximately $42,000 monthly or opt for a shorter arrangement.

Additionally, Barticians will be given the opportunity to register for government’s home construction assistance initiative, to benefit from steel and cement to construct their home.

This publication understands that an area at Five Miles, Bartica, was identified for the construction of some 500 homes. More than 100 acres of land has been identified for the development.

The outreach is in keeping with a commitment made by President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali to provide more housing options for residents, especially teachers and other public servants.

Minister of Housing and Water, Collin D Croal; Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues, Permanent Secretary, Mr. Andre Ally; Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority, Mr. Sherwyn Greaves and Regional Executive Officer, Mr. Kerwin Ward were all present at the launch of the programme.

Other services such as the Land Title and Transport distributions, new applications, application updates and queries are also being processed.

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

Dans une vidéo publiée en direct sur son compte Instagram et partagée sur les réseaux sociaux, le chanteur appelle à ne pas montrer ses armes dans les clips pour ne pas finir en garde à vue. 

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

Spice and condiments manufacturer Spur Tree Spices Jamaica Limited (Spur Tree) has acquired majority ownership of agro-processing company Canco Jamaica, which trades under the brand Linstead Market.

The acquisition is intended to cement Spur Tree’s foothold in canned ackee exports, deepen export penetration and increase the production capacity of both entities.

CEO of Spur Tree, Albert Bailey, said the brand equity of Linstead Market made the acquisition “very attractive.”

“Jamaican products are gaining traction on the international market, and Linstead Market is an iconic Jamaican brand which has tremendous potential to go beyond where it is right now,” Bailey told Loop News.

Sales of both Spur Tree and Linstead Market is generated primarily from exports.

“We are excited about the potential from this investment. Canco has not, in any way, fully net its potential with such a great brand,” he said.

Spur Tree now owns a 51 per cent stake of Canco through a Share Subscription Agreement and a Share Purchase Agreement with shareholders of Canco, Spur Tree reported on Tuesday via a notice on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE).

With Canco’s accomplishment as one of 10 local companies approved to process and export ackee to the US, Bailey sees the investment as “strategic to our growth and expansion moving forward.”

Spur Tree Spices CEO Albert Bailey

The 16-year-old company closed its acquisition of another St Thomas- based agro-processor, Exotic Products Limited, last year, a union which began in 2015.

That company is also approved to process and export ackee to the US and other key North American markets.

“So, this is cementing our placement in that particular growth sector, and we see that as significant for us because ackee is a highly demanded item. This [acquisition] is a continuation of that investment [thrust].

In addition, “Canco has the second largest ethnic distributor in the US distributing their products, so we want to build out a very high portfolio of products under that brand,” the CEO said of plans to leverage the brand’s US traction and appeal.

There are also plans to tap new markets following the expansion of the current product range within existing markets, he said.

“The Linstead Market brand is known for high-quality products, is well respected in the market and has a lot of upside to it. That’s what we see in this,” he said noting the plans to deepen market penetration.

While he was mum on the acquisition cost, Bailey said the intention is to pump capital into improving the capacity of the acquired brand.

“Majority of the acquisition cost will be reinvested into the business for further business development, expansion of capacity and to provide working capital,” he said.

There are also no plans to scale down operations at Canco’s operating plant.

“In fact, through this venture, we will have an expansion of employment opportunities at both plants,” he said.

For his part, founder of Canco, Norman McDonald sees the deal with Spur Tree as the “right fit,” having decided to seek a buyer for his business some time ago.

“We had several interested parties, but they gave us the best offer, not just monetarily but they gave us the opportunity to continue in the business, albeit with reduced ownership. We are very comfortable with Spur Tree,” McDonald said noting the shared vision of growth by both companies.

“We have the vision of expanding our reach more into the Caribbean and the rest of the world. We have big plans. We had them separately, and now we are together pursuing the same goal, so I think it is a very good marriage,” said McDonald.

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The OPEC+ alliance of oil-exporting countries decided Wednesday to sharply cut production to support sagging oil prices, a move that could deal the struggling global economy another blow and raise politically sensitive pump prices for US drivers just ahead of key national elections.

Energy ministers cut production by a larger-than-expected two million barrels per day starting in November after gathering for their first face-to-face meeting at the Vienna headquarters of the OPEC oil cartel since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group said the decision was based on the “uncertainty that surrounds the global economic and oil market outlooks.” Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman stressed the cartel’s stated role as a guardian of stable energy markets.

“We are here to stay as a moderating force, to bring about stability,” he told reporters.

Besides a token trim last month, the major cut in the amount of crude that OPEC+ ships to the world is an abrupt turnaround from months of restoring deep cuts made during the depths of the pandemic. As demand rebounded, global energy prices have swung wildly since Russia invaded Ukraine, helping fuel inflation that is squeezing economies around the world.

The impact of the production cut on oil prices — and thus the price of gasoline made from crude — will be limited somewhat because OPEC+ members already can’t meet their quotas.

The decision could help alliance member Russia weather a looming European ban on most of Moscow’s oil and comes amid an energy crisis created by Russia reducing natural gas supplies to Europe, whose leaders call it retaliation for supporting Ukraine and imposing sanctions.

Oil is trading well below its summer peaks because of fears that major global economies such as the US or Europe will sink into recession due to high inflation, rising interest rates and uncertainty over the war in Ukraine.

“We are going through a period of diverse uncertainties, which could come our way, it’s a brewing cloud,” bin Salman said, adding that OPEC+ sought to remain “ahead of the curve.”

The fall in oil prices has been a boon to US drivers, who saw lower gasoline prices at the pump before costs recently started ticking up, and for US President Joe Biden as his Democratic Party gears up for congressional elections next month.

“The President is disappointed by the shortsighted decision by OPEC+ to cut production quotas while the global economy is dealing with the continued negative impact of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” the White House said in a statement. “At a time when maintaining a global supply of energy is of paramount importance, this decision will have the most negative impact on lower- and middle-income countries that are already reeling from elevated energy prices.”

The Biden administration will work with Congress on additional tools to reduce OPEC’s control over energy prices, the statement said.

Biden has tried to receive credit for gasoline prices falling from their average June peak of $5.02 — with administration officials highlighting a late March announcement that a million barrels a day would be released from the strategic reserve for six months. High inflation is a fundamental drag on Biden’s approval and has dampened Democrats’ chances in the midterm elections.

Oil supply could face further cutbacks in coming months when a European ban on most Russian imports takes effect in December. A separate move by the U.S. and other members of the Group of Seven wealthy democracies to impose a price cap on Russian oil could reduce supply if Russia retaliates by refusing to ship to countries and companies that observe the cap.

The EU agreed Wednesday on new sanctions that are expected to include a price cap on Russian oil.

Russia “will need to find new buyers for its oil when the EU embargo comes into force in early December and will presumably have to make further price concessions to do so,” analysts at Commerzbank said. “Higher prices beforehand — boosted by production cuts elsewhere — would therefore doubtless be very welcome.”

Dwindling prospects for a diplomatic deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program also have lowered prospects for a return of as much as 1.5 million barrels a day in Iranian oil to the market if sanctions are removed.

Oil prices surged this summer as markets worried about the loss of Russian supplies from sanctions over the war in Ukraine, but they slipped as fears about recessions in major economies and China’s COVID-19 restrictions weighed on demand for crude.

International benchmark Brent has sagged as low as $84 in recent days after spending most of the summer months over $100 per barrel. US crude rose to $87.64, and international benchmark Brent went up to $93.21 after the decision.

At its last meeting in September, OPEC+ reduced the amount of oil it produces by 100,000 barrels a day in October. That token cut didn’t do much to boost lower oil prices, but it put markets on notice that the group was willing to act if prices kept falling.

By David McHugh

NewsAmericasNow.com