Long awaited reforms to Guyana’s telecoms sector are back on the table, after draft legislation was dropped at the last-minute in September 2011. According to local news reports, PM Samuel Hinds deferred debate on the Telecommunications Amendment Bill and the Public Utility Commission’s Amendment Bill 2012 in parliament, whilst the government holds talks with the nation’s chief providers of telecoms services, pan-Caribbean operator Digicel and incumbent Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T). Other service providers have also been given copies of the new legislation, though it is unclear whether the bills are altered versions of those abandoned last year, or have been drafted from scratch.
Director of Digicel Patrick James Mara commented: ‘We certainly have the president’s assurance that they want to bring liberalisation to the international market, they want to bring it quickly and that they will bring this bill to the select committee as soon as possible with the support of the opposition groupings.’