An apology!

Dec 28, 2016 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

It happens to all of us in the worst of times and in the best of times. Mistakes are possible, and at times, those mistakes can seem incomprehensible.
In the Christmas edition, this column indicated that the Minister of Public Security had denied an application for the extension of opening hours for operators in the private sector. This was a falsity. In fact, the very opposite had happened. The Minister had relented on the standing policy and had granted a waiver for entertainment to go beyond the stipulated 2 a.m. during the period, Christmas Eve to New Year’s.
This column unreservedly apologizes to the Minister of Public Security for misrepresenting his decision, and for any embarrassment and confusion which it may have caused. This column also expresses its regrets to its readers who are deserving of an explanation for what happened.
The tenor of the Minister’s letter was based on questioning the deeper implications of the request made by the Chairman of the Private Sector Commission. The response led to the belief that the request was going to be denied, but later in the letter, the Minister did relent, and this was completely missed by this column, leading to the false claim that the Minister did not grant permission. The misrepresentation is deeply regretted.
It does not detract, however, from the substantive view that the government cannot rely, either exclusively or overwhelmingly, on the “legal” argument to deny such permission. The particular column had argued that while the law is the law and must be abided by, the law was itself a product of a policy decision made under regulations issued under the hand of the policymakers, and therefore, it was amenable to changes which consider the broader implications of the 2 a.m. curfew.
The Christmas Day column listed a number of points rejecting a legalese rejection of the extension of the curfew. It now congratulates the Minister for relenting and for granting the extension.
It is a difficult time for businesses in Guyana. Do not be fooled by those who want to make people feel that local businesses are booming in Guyana. They are not. Local businesses are hurting, including the entertainment industry.
One of the challenges is unfair competition to legitimate operators. A business has been established on municipal parapets. It may or may not have official permission. It is located opposite a multimillion-dollar business operation. It is giving competition to that business which pays taxes and which, no doubt, has loans to be repaid.
Some of the customers are patronizing the “parapet” business park on the roadway in a manner that affects the flow of traffic. Legitimate businesses with high overheads, credit facilities, employment costs and taxes, have to compete with roadside operators who do not have comparable overheads, but enjoy comparable patronage.
Businesses need a “break”, especially at this time when thousands of Guyanese come home for the holidays and are in a mood to spend to enjoy themselves. The entertainment industry has made an appeal and the Minister has granted the request for an extension of the curfew hours over a seven-day period. This will assist them, but does not remove the need for a longer short-term policy to be looked at, to boost the entertainment.
No one is asking for a long-term extension. If the tourism sector is to be developed, there will be a need to grant greater support to the entertainment industry, because shows and mega-concerts have become crucial to the tourism industry in Guyana. People will come to Guyana to enjoy the country, but entertainment must be available for them.
The local entertainment crowd, as most promoters will tell you, is not as large as it is presumed. The crowd that is willing to pay entrance fees to mega-concerts on a regular basis is small. Tourists and foreigners working in Guyana help to complement these numbers, and an extension of the curfew during the holidays is a good way of helping to grow the entertainment industry and to support tourism.

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