Why are hard working youths made to suffer so much?

Dec 03, 2008 Letters

Dear Editor,
I make reference to the issue of Internet Cafe’ and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Why is it that every time young people in this country try to make something of themselves, they are given the harshest of treatment? Why can’t the Government of Guyana give young people a chance to grow?
I am 25 years old. I have managed to open a small business, which is of the internet cafe nature.
Now this may seem as a very profitable business but it’s not. I make enough income to take me through UG, where I am trying to educate myself and make myself a better person.
When the government is going to fight me down, a hard working young man, to close down the one business venture that I have managed to keep alive to sustain myself, what are you telling me to do?
If I have a very lucrative business plan there is nowhere I can go to get financing and so it is either forgotten or passed onto someone who has the finance.
Please don’t even mention the small business loans; for you to get this you need to have $500,000 worth in assets to get to borrow $50,000 and tell me please, what business can you start with $50,000? The bottom line is money makes money.
Please don’t get me wrong. I am fully aware that there are laws by which we must abide but at the same time everyone has to survive. What I am suggesting is that instead of putting a youngster, who is trying honestly to make a living, out of his livelihood, work along with him to make him better and by so doing make Guyana a better place.
It’s simple. I understand that revenue is lost due to the internet cafe’ because most outbound calls are made through the internet.
To regain the tax, all that has to be done is have the internet cafe’ pay whatever tax and so if someone makes a call from the larger providers or the internet cafe’ the country will gain its revenue.
But then I’m sure that you will tell me that there are contracts that prevent other persons from making calls from other networks other than GT&T because they have the monopoly. That is another issue because such arrangement needs to be re-examined.
Growing up in Guyana I had always thought to myself that here is the place that I would always want to be, but each day as I live and I try, all that I can think of it makes me think different.
There is nothing here for the youths and we are either left to struggle until we reach where we are hoping to go or in the worst case, if we are not strong enough we become criminals.
But luckily I’m a hard worker and when one door closes another one will open.
When I’m finished studying in about eight months’ time I will be making a choice of staying in Guyana and serving my country or going somewhere else.
Which do you think I will make?
Fed Up Young Entrepreneur

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