"There seems to be no record of a new entity"
(Kaieteur News editorial for Thursday, July 24)

Advertising is the lifeblood of any media organization. A newspaper may print enough copies to satisfy the reading population of a country, selling every issue, but at the end of the day it will be operating at a loss.

The cost to a publishing company of producing a newspaper without advertising could be crippling unless that company charges a rate that would compensate.

For that reason newspapers have a formula that dictates the advertisement to news space ratio. The larger the newspaper the greater the advertising space should be because as the number of pages increases so too does the cost to the publisher.

When the government withdrew its advertising from Stabroek News, the reason was that it was going to secure the best deal for the taxpayer. That deal was to place the advertisements with the newspaper with the widest circulation and that made sense.

The wider the circulation, the greater the possibility of people seeing the advertisement. But the government also issued a caveat.

It said that it was going to also advertise with the state-owned Chronicle because it is the duty of the government to support any state entity.

That could be understood, and was understood until the new newspaper emerged with a circulation that is undoubtedly smaller than that of any of the newspapers already in existence.

Lo and behold, there appeared in those pages some Government advertisements. Surely this was ground for objection because the government was going outside its stated norm.

It was saying that the comments about seeking the widest possible circulation did not represent the whole story.

Surely, when the first Government advertisement appeared in those pages one would have expected a comment from Stabroek News because that was the newspaper that was forced to wage a campaign for a restoration of advertisements. Instead, this passed almost unnoticed when it should not have.

The government advertisement cake is only of a certain size and once there is a wider dissemination some existing agency must suffer.

This should not be allowed unless the government comes out to say that it has changed its outlook about advertising.

Recently, there was a report that the Guyana Revenue Authority was conducting investigations of certain entities for the purpose of deducing whether all operations were above board.

And this is good. This newspaper has always suggested that the GRA investigate all the taxpaying entities to ensure that it collects every cent due to it.

For such an investigation to be done there must be records of the operations of a company. It must first of all be registered and these days it must be assigned a taxpayers’ identification number (TIN) once its annual turnover exceeds $10 million. For any newspaper the turnover must be in excess of $10 million.

We have checked the records and can find none for the new companies that operate under the umbrella of Queens Atlantic Investments Inc. The Deeds Registry has no record of any of the companies being registered and this then is cause for concern for more than one reason.

For example, if there is to be litigation, then the litigant will be hard pressed to determine whom to sue. In fact he cannot. The use of a name is also something that must be registered.

In Guyana no newspaper can use the name Kaieteur News or Stabroek News, or the Guyana Chronicle. These are registered trademarks. Has the new newspaper been registered?

Another factor would involve the payment of taxes. If a company is not registered then there is no way it can be located for tax purposes. Surely the GRA is aware of this. It must be and if indeed it is aware then one must question the reason for its silence.

There are many things surrounding the operations of Queens Atlantic and it is hoped that some of these would be explained on Tuesday when the Privatisation Unit in association with the GRA and Go-Invest hosts a seminar on Guyana’s privatisation and taxation policies and practices.

We will learn about tax concessions and tax holidays; we would find out why some companies failed to secure such; and we would know what to expect when a new investor appears on the local scene.

Hahahahahahahahahaha!

Jagdeo, the corrupt and inept President owes the people an explanation, apology and resignation.

Jagdeo didn't learn economic; he learned stupid as well.

this is a joke..right?

quote:

Originally posted by BONUS:
this is a joke..right?

Bonus,

Not a joke in the sense of material for a stand up comedy and a night of laugh fest. It is a joke in the sense of getting a closer look at the folly of the President in making a whole lot of noise about the QAII investments that would open up 600 new jobs, but even though he was forced to pass a law to retroactively take care of some missteps in the QAII investments, here we have another shocking mistake: the parent company is not even registered in Guyana.

Can we not see the same ambivalent attitude he showed in the Buddy's 168 million dollar hotel completion deal being displayed in this new deal?

And when the news media - in this case, Kaieteur News - reports this kind of stuff, the President castigates the media houses as too negative. He is the reason for negative news in his government.

There has to be a logical explanation.

Did Kaieteur News contact the GRA, Ministry of Finance, Go Invest, Privatization Unit etc for an explanation?

quote:

Originally posted by BLACKBEARD:
There has to be a logical explanation.

Did Kaieteur News contact the GRA, Ministry of Finance, Go Invest, Privatization Unit etc for an explanation?

BB,

Apparently all major businesses must first register with the state's Deeds and Registry Department to receive permission to become legally recognized. To get married, you need a license forst. To drive a car, you need a license first. To start a business, you need a license first.

QAII has been established over a month now, so it had to have permission at least a month before launching. What KN is saying is that it checked D&R and found nothing there to indicate QAII has been legally established as a business entity.

This is not surprising, because after Christopher Ram exposed a flaw in the state's argument in defence of the investment, the government raced a piece of legislation through Parliament that was made to retroactively to cover its mistakes relative to QAII's investment.

It's one of those ooops!! rather than one of those wow!! moments.

quote:

There has to be a logical explanation.

Did Kaieteur News contact the GRA, Ministry of Finance, Go Invest, Privatization Unit etc for an explanation?

BB,even one of the 'Peepers' made mention these matters in his article today. Something is at hand here and someone is leaking big time to KN.There is an internal proxy war within the PPP being played out in the media.

quote:

Originally posted by BLACKBEARD:
There has to be a logical explanation.

I used to say the same thing about other discrepancies that were being reported. Now, I don't.

I understand, but even though I am one of his harshest critics on this BB I still refuse to believe that Baby Kong is this STUPID!

Was due diligence not undertaken? Did the GOG lease the Sanata facilities to an entity that does not legally exist? This just cannot be true. No one is this stupid.

quote:

I understand, but even though I am one of his harshest critics on this I still refuse to believe that Baby Kong is this STUPID!

Was due diligence not undertaken? Did the GOG lease the Sanata facilities to an entity that does not legally exist? This just cannot be true. No one is this stupid.

The paperwork is on someone's desk.Blame this on administrative delays.

Suh, where is the proof that the registration does not exist?

quote:

Originally posted by Mitwah:
Suh, where is the proof that the registration does not exist?

"We have checked the records and can find none for the new companies that operate under the umbrella of Queens Atlantic Investments Inc. The Deeds Registry has no record of any of the companies being registered and this then is cause for concern for more than one reason."

quote:

Originally posted by BLACKBEARD:

quote:

Originally posted by Mitwah:
Suh, where is the proof that the registration does not exist?

"We have checked the records and can find none for the new companies that operate under the umbrella of Queens Atlantic Investments Inc. The Deeds Registry has no record of any of the companies being registered and this then is cause for concern for more than one reason."

This just a statement. Where is a copy of a memo or document from the Deeds Registry confirming 'no record found'?

quote:

Originally posted by Mitwah:

quote:

.

This just a statement. Where is a copy of a memo or document from the Deeds Registry confirming 'no record found'?

Mitwah,

Tell us you're not serious. Please. When you ask for a copy of the memo, are you saying KN should have obtained a copy of a letter from D&R stating a request was made and no record was found? That's not how the media sector operates trying to get information. KN said it made an effort and was told nothing exists. We have to wait for D&R to put out a statement refuting or confirming KN's version. Maybe D&R can produce a document overnight. Hey, anything is possible in Guyana.

Does the Deeds Registry normally issue any written information confirming/denying the existence of a business?

quote:

Originally posted by BLACKBEARD:
Does the Deeds Registry normally issue any written information confirming/denying the existence of a business?

You would think if one were to enquire for copyright infringement purposes they would provide some sort of verification.

Communicator, I am sure something will turn up by next week.

quote:

Originally posted by Petal29:
I am sure something will turn up by next week.

quote:

Originally posted by Petal29:

quote:

You would think if one were to enquire for copyright infringement purposes they would provide some sort of verification.

Communicator, I am sure something will turn up by next week.

AND WHEN IT TURNS UP IT WILL BE MADE TO LOOK RETROACTIVE TO WEEKS BEFORE THE ORIGINAL LAUNCH OF QAII.

quote:

Originally posted by Communicator:

quote:

Originally posted by Petal29:

quote:

You would think if one were to enquire for copyright infringement purposes they would provide some sort of verification.

Communicator, I am sure something will turn up by next week.

AND WHEN IT TURNS UP IT WILL BE MADE TO LOOK RETROACTIVE TO WEEKS BEFORE THE ORIGINAL LAUNCH OF QAII.

You haters of the PPP govt, we will get you. Does it makes sense that a group of people will get 2gether and start a big business as this and not do something as register it?

quote:

Originally posted by Communicator:

quote:

Originally posted by Mitwah:

quote:

.

This just a statement. Where is a copy of a memo or document from the Deeds Registry confirming 'no record found'?

Mitwah,

Tell us you're not serious. Please. When you ask for a copy of the memo, are you saying KN should have obtained a copy of a letter from D&R stating a request was made and no record was found? That's not how the media sector operates trying to get information. KN said it made an effort and was told nothing exists. We have to wait for D&R to put out a statement refuting or confirming KN's version. Maybe D&R can produce a document overnight. Hey, anything is possible in Guyana.

Is this a foreign or a domestic firm ? Note, it takes about 3 days to register a company with the Business Registrar and the cost may vary according to the share capital.

quote:

Originally posted by BONUS:

quote:

Originally posted by Communicator:

quote:

Originally posted by Petal29:

quote:

You would think if one were to enquire for copyright infringement purposes they would provide some sort of verification.

Communicator, I am sure something will turn up by next week.

AND WHEN IT TURNS UP IT WILL BE MADE TO LOOK RETROACTIVE TO WEEKS BEFORE THE ORIGINAL LAUNCH OF QAII.

You haters of the PPP govt, we will get you. Does it makes sense that a group of people will get 2gether and start a big business as this and not do something as register it?

Bonus,

You're soooo right! What can we be thinking? D-uh! Matter of fact I recall when Peter Ramsaroop started his business while running an opposition political movement, he also got a lot of help from the government and today his business is so, like, flourishng, don't ya know.

But don't just blame us; blame that Kaieteur News for exposing the government dirty underwear. Without KN we won't know this kind of stuff, because I am sure government would never let Chronicle do this type of exposure. It's not good for the image of the President and his government.

I will ask my sweetheart Adanna if she heard any bedroom whispers on this issue.

quote:

Originally posted by Mitwah:

quote:

.

Is this a foreign or a domestic firm ? Note, it takes about 3 days to register a company with the Business Registrar and the cost may vary according to the share capital.

Mitwah,

Before you do another post, please read the editorial in its entirety. This is a Guyanese-owned firm that purchased the former Sanata Textile mills property with a pharmaceutical facility and a newspaper - Guyana Times.

This deal was in the works since last year, I think, and the President spoke at its launch over a month ago. So even if it takes 3 days to get a D&R document showing resgistration, we are talking about over a year that elapsed, not a mere three days.

quote:

Originally posted by Communicator:
Bonus,

You're soooo right! What can we be thinking? D-uh! Matter of fact I recall when Peter Ramsaroop started his business while running an opposition political movement, he also got a lot of help from the government and today his business is so, like, flourishng, don't ya know.

But don't just blame us; blame that Kaieteur News for exposing the government dirty underwear. Without KN we won't know this kind of stuff, because I am sure government would never let Chronicle do this type of exposure. It's not good for the image of the President and his government.

So what can be the negatives of something like this?