Forestry, GRA, opposition, others to make up Go-Invest interim board

Last Updated on Thursday, 11 June 2015, 18:54 by GxMedia

by Zena Henry

The country’s investment consultancy agency, Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest) is set to get an interim Board of Directors that will be made up of representatives of several agencies and stakeholders, Minister of State Joseph Harmon related Thursday June 11.

The interim body will be set up for a six month term; correcting the current state where Go-Invest has been operating without a Board since last year. Go-Invest managed by Chief Executive Officer Keith Burrowes has come in for hard hits in the past for alleged foreign business deals that did not exactly have the country’s best interest at heart . 

Burrowes has since resigned.

The Minister noted however that Minister of Business and Investment, Dominic Gaskin applied to have an interim board set up, “for the purpose of guiding and directing the policies of Go-Invest for the next six months until such time those things can be considered properly and a permanent board is established.”

Harmon said Cabinet also gave its approval for the interim board to be established and comprise of representatives of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Lands and Survey, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tourism, the Private Sector Commission, the Opposition, and the Ministry of Business.

Harmon said that the Minister of Business also has the authority to recommend other persons to cabinet as he sees fit and based on the realities of the country’s business environment. Cabinet will however have the last say on these persons.

The Minister noted too that there has not yet been a limit of the number of persons that could make up the board, hinting the need for stakeholder representation given the wide cross section of persons, organizations and groups that stand to be affected in this area of the economy.

The Guyana Office for Investment is the primary contact for investors and exporters. It liaises, on their behalf, with government ministries and other agencies to facilitate and expedite the processing of applications for concessions and other government support measures.