New legislation coming to guide hospitality sector

– necessary as Guyana becomes petroleum state

– AG Nandlall

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Hon. Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, says plans are on stream to draft new legislation to guide Guyana’s hospitality industry and other services as the petroleum sector emerges.

The Attorney General made these statements after being admitted to the Inner Bar as a newly appointed Senior Counsel during a special sitting of the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Judicature Wednesday last. 

He said these laws are necessary as Guyana becomes the newest oil-producing state, which will lead to an increased need for a raft of legal services.  Guyana is at an unprecedented precipice, he added, where the petroleum sector is projected to transform the nation.  Therefore, the legal professionals and the judiciary must be prepared for the new heights which the country is expected to achieve. The complete, modern arbitration architecture being pursued locally will require extensive as well as specialised training for law students, lawyers and judges.

“We must equip ourselves and we must be able to rise to the occasion. It will require an almost complete overhaul; we have to build a new legal architecture in the coming years, a complete body of new oil and gas and related legislation will be enacted, many are currently in draft,” AG Nandlall said.

Guyana is already seeing growing interest from major international players in the hospitality sector. The Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, Radisson Hotels, and the Hilton Hotels and Resorts are among international brands that have expressed interest in Guyana. The new laws will also cater for the construction of townhouses, condominiums and zoning in relation to commercial and industrial use of lands.