About Us

Winston S.L. Kassim, C.M., MBA, ICD.D

Winston Kassim is President of Winston Kassim Consulting (WKC), a founding Director and Co- Chair of the Canada-Guyana Chamber of Commerce, and inaugural Governor for the International Business University (IBU). Winston is a Member of the Order of Canada (C.M.), the nation’s highest civilian honour for Canadian citizens.

He is also a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for Volunteerism. Winston began his business career with Barclays Bank in the Caribbean before immigrating to Canada in 1975. He then joined Royal Bank of Canada where he enjoyed a distinguished 40 year career, eventually retiring as the executive Head of Performance Management and Business Strategy. Winston is a certified board director and has served on a variety of boards including Royal Bank Barbados Limited, Institute for Canadian Citizenship, Canadian Museum of Indian Civilization, private companies and non-profit organizations.

A champion of diversity in the workplace and social justice in the community, Winston has led a number of initiatives to promote a more inclusive environment and culture. As a consultant at WKC, Winston advises businesses, associations and charitable organizations on how to improve their strategy, performance and culture. In particular, Winston helps organizations establish powerful strategies, translate that strategy into impactful communications, set meaningful goals that can be
monitored and measured, and create governance structures and processes that will ensure a leading-edge culture, brand and performance.

Mr. Kassim has advised organizations on business opportunities in Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, India, South America, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Winston holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA), an Advanced Graduate Diploma in Management (AGDM) and is a Certified Corporate Director, Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D., University of Toronto). He is also a past Chair of the Board of IDRF from 2010 to 2014.

His Excellency Mark Kevin Berman

His Excellency Mark Kevin Berman is accredited as High Commissioner of Canada to The Co-operative Republic of Guyana, as well as being Ambassador-designate of Canada to the Republic of Suriname and Ambassador of Canada to CARICOM. He presented his Credentials to the President of Guyana on 1st February 2021.

Mr. Berman joined the Government of Canada in 1989 as a Staff Advisor to the Minister of the Environment, followed by various positions including the United Nations Environment Program in Nairobi as a legal officer. After 6 years in Nairobi and Geneva he returned to Canada as a Director in the Office of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. He then joined the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in 2000 as Deputy Director for Human Security/Peacebuilding. Mr. Berman returned to Environment Canada as Director for Climate Change Negotiations in the lead up to Canada’s hosting the UNFCCC’s CoP 11 held in Montreal. In 2008 he was seconded to CIDA’s Multilateral Branch as Acting Director General for Environmental Sustainability and Economic Growth.

In 2009, Mark joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (now known as Global Affairs Canada) as Executive Director for Climate and Energy and was Canada’s representative on the Kyoto Protocol’s Compliance Committee. In 2012, he served as Executive Director for International Crime and Terrorism and in 2017 was appointed Director General for Consular Policy where he has most recently overseen the development of a new consular strategy.

Mr. Anthony Whyte

Chief Executive Officer of the GO Integrated Group of Companies, which includes: GO Logistics; Go to Home; Empire Direct Appliances; Burada Logistics; Strategic Logistics Services; Citrus Personnel; Whyte Capital Inc.; Anthony James Whyte Holdings; Sulpana Automotive Leasing.

Anthony Whyte is one of Canada’s leading entrepreneurs and the CEO of GO Logistics, one of the country’s fastest growing companies according to both: Canadian Business magazine (Maclean’s), and Report on Business magazine (Globe and Mail).

Within the context of such professional accomplishments, Anthony remains committed to meaningful causes that support the underprivileged. From sponsoring a cancer ward at Humber River Regional Hospital, to helping infants in need of incubators through the Guyana Help the Kids Organization, Anthony has consistently taken social responsibility to heart. Other notable causes he continues to support include: The Home Depot Foundation and the Ladies Auxiliary of Canadian Italian Business and Professional Association (CIBPA).

Liz Wyatt

Ms. Wyatt is the General Manager at Sol Petroleum in Guyana and previously in the British Virgin Islands. The Sol Group is now part of Parkland, an international team of leading petroleum marketing companies represented in 25 countries. It is the largest petroleum marketing company in the Caribbean Basin, supplying fuels, lubricants, and LPG.

Prior to joining Sol she spent 25 years in the financial services industry. In her career she has been involved at a senior level in the operational, technology, marketing, and human resources areas of large Canadian companies.

She is a certified financial planner and holds the designations “Chartered Life Underwriter” and “Chartered Financial Consultant”. In addition, she is a Fellow of the Life Management Institute. She is also licensed under the National Association of Securities Dealers (“NASD”) in the United States.

Prior to Sol she has held senior executive positions with:

– Whitten Capital Group – President, Whitten Asset Management Limited
– Canadian Home Income Plan – Vice President, Western Canada
– Toronto Dominion Bank -Estate Planning Advisor
– Manulife Financial – Advanced Marketing Manager
– Marktrend Research Inc. – Director of Research

Mr. Fareed Amin

Fareed M. Amin spent over 26 years in the public service at the provincial and municipal levels in Canada. He served as the Deputy Minister in a number of ministries in the Ontario Public Service, as a Deputy City Manager in the City of Toronto and as the Chief Administrative Officer with the Town of Collingwood.

Fareed also worked in the private sector as Senior Vice President, Public Policy for Walton Global Investments. He served as an Advisor in the Infrastructure and Environment Sector, General Secretariat of the Executive Council, Government of Abu Dhabi and as an Advisor in the Department of Municipal Affairs, where he was heavily involved in the Business Process Re-engineering for the entire municipal system in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. In the Ontario Public Service, Fareed served as Deputy Minister in the following ministries:

– Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
– Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure
– Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
– Ministry of Consumer Services
– Ministry of Economic Development and Trade
– Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration
– Ministry of Small Business and Entrepreneurship
– Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs

Fareed also served as the Assistant Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Finance.
Fareed has an undergraduate degree in Applied Geography and Planning from the University of Guyana; a Certificate in Public Administration from the University of Toronto, Canada; a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada and a Certificate in Leadership from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA.

He is currently pursuing his Certified Professional Coach designation with the College of Executive Coaching. Fareed serves on a number of Boards in the not-for-profit, private and public sectors including the Seneca College and the University of Toronto (Scarborough Campus) and as Chair of the Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee.

Patricia Bacchus

Patricia Bacchus is an Attorney-at-Law by training, and is currently the Managing Director and Board Chairperson of Caribbean Container Inc., a Guyanese Manufacturing Company with Shares Publicly Traded on the Guyana Stock Exchange. Since 2019 Ms. Bacchus has also been serving as a Director on the Board of Demerara Tobacco Ltd., a subsidiary within the British
American Tobacco (BAT) Group.

Ms. Bacchus graduated Valedictorian at President’s College where she wrote her GCE ‘A’ Levels; in 2004 she graduated with her LLB from the University of Guyana, obtaining the Pro-Chancellor’s Medal for Best Graduating Law Student. In 2006 Ms. Bacchus graduated from the High Wooding Law School in Trinidad, having earned a Legal Education Certificate of Merit and the Government of Guyana Prize for the Most Outstanding Law Graduate.

Since her return to Guyana in 2006, Ms. Bacchus has been engaged in various capacities within both the Public and Private Sectors. She has Chaired the Board of Directors of the Environmental Protection Agency, and has been a Director on the Guyana Gold Board and the Protected Areas Commission Board. Ms. Bacchus also served as a Director on the Board of Atlantic Hotels Inc. (Marriott) and as Director on the Privatization Board. More recently, Ms. Bacchus was appointed to the Board of Directors of GO-Invest where she served as Chairperson for the years 2016 to 2019. Other prior engagements include Lecturing in the area of Corporate Governance at the University of Guyana, and taking up appointments to the Council of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and the Executive Management Committee of the Private Sector Commission.

Note

The Chamber reserves the right to refuse membership to or terminate a membership in the Chamber, in the sole discretion of the Chamber’s Executive Committee, where the Association is made aware that the person or entity has been a) convicted of an indictable offence involving moral turpitude, including without limitation, theft, fraud, embezzlement, forgery, misappropriation or wilful application or an offence of a similar character involving dishonest acts and as a result of such conviction the admission or maintenance of such person or entity in the Chamber is likely to negatively impact the standing of the Chamber in the sole discretion of the Chamber, or b) identified on a government watch list for known or suspected activities involving terrorism, money laundering or other illicit activities.

Firms producing Non-traditional products for export

Export Allowances for non-traditional exports to markets outside of CARICOM. The allowance is calculated on a ratio of export sales to total sales.

% of Export Sales to Total Sales	% of Export Profit Deductible from Income Tax
10% – 20%	25%
21% – 30%	35%
31% – 40%	45%
41% – 50%	55%
51% – 60%	65%
Above 61%	75%

Mining

Situated on the mineral rich Guyana Shield, Guyana has attracted international interest from some of the largest mining companies in the world. While the mining sector is primarily focused on gold, bauxite and diamonds, Guyana also contains deposits of semi-precious stones, laterite, manganese, kaolin, sand resources, radioactive minerals, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, iron, and nickel among others. The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission facilitates all fiscal incentives concerning the Extractive Industries. https://www.ggmc.gov.gy/

Information & Communication Technology

Includes Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Call Centres (inbound/outbound), Software Development, Medical & Legal Transcription.
Exemption from customs Duty on a wide range of ICT equipment including computers, hardware accessories, integrated circuits, micro assemblies, and apparatus.
Zero rates of VAT on computer accessories, routers, switches and hubs for networking computers, toner cartridges and ink cartridges for computer printers.
Exemptions from duties and taxes for items covered under an Investment Agreement.
Tax Holiday for some projects (with positive net economic benefit).

Forestry/Wood Products

Downstream Wood Processing (flooring, decking, moulding, doors, shingles dimensional lumber, furniture, plywood and veneers.

Tourism

Resorts/ Hotel, Restaurants, Recreation (cruise ships, yachting, bird watching, fishing), Tour Operators, etc.
New Guesthouses/Hotels/Lodges with not less than 30 rooms outside of interior locations
Expansion of hotels and resorts with no less than eight rooms in interior locations and no less than 30 rooms outside of interior locations.

Items eligible for concessions.

For Interior locations, the following items in addition to the above may be accorded concessions:
- Energy system generators.
- Communication equipment – radio sets.
- Boats, engines & life jackets.
- Portable chemical toilets.
- Water bikes – recreational vehicles and camping equipment.
Construction materials, furnishing, fixtures, appliances, and vehicles necessary for operations.

Light Manufacturing

Textiles and Garments, Pharmaceuticals, Building & Construction, Packaging, etc. Zero Rated Duty and VAT:

A wide range of process machinery and equipment, including packaging equipment, raw materials for manufacturing companies registered under the VAT Act.
Exemption on a wide range of auxiliary plant equipment such as boilers, forklifts, scales for continuous weighing, continuous-action conveyors, etc.
Exemption from import duty and VAT on packaging materials for manufacturers registered under the VAT Act.
Exemption from Duty and VAT on vehicles qualifying under the Customs Duties (Amendment) (No.1) Order 2004.

Services

Financial, Medical, Environmental, Transportation, Retail/Commercial, Housing, Fashion, Music & other Entertainment, Machining, downstream activities within the Oil and Gas Industry, etc.

Energy

Includes Solar Power, Hydro Power, Bio-fuels, Bio-diesel, Wind Power, Co-generation from Rice Husk/ Bagasse & Biomass Power, as well as, Petroleum & Gas Exploration and other downstream activities within this area.

Exemptions from duties and taxes on machinery, equipment, tools, spares and supplies and motor vehicles for industrial use.
Investments (except wind and solar energy) may benefit from exemptions from property, corporate, withholding and capital gains taxes for periods of 5 years renewable depending on the type of new employment created.
Income from the provision of wind and solar energy may be exempted from corporation tax for a period not exceeding two years.
A complete list of Zero-Rated Supplies can be found on the GRA Website at https://www.gra.gov.gy/tax-services/vat-services/zero-rated-exempt-supplies/.

Fisheries

Exemption from Import Duty on trawlers, fishing vessels, spares for fishing boats and trawlers, a wide range of fishing equipment.
Exemption from Duty and VAT on fish/seafood processing equipment, packaging material and other inputs for processing.

Agriculture & Agro-Processing

Including seafood & aquaculture, processing (fruit juice concentrates and pulp, vegetable flour), fresh fruits & vegetables, livestock (poultry, beef, mutton, pork and goat), inputs (seeds, fertilizers), machinery and equipment, sugar cane and rice, spices, etc.

Waivers of Duty and VAT on:

A wide range of machinery and equipment for land preparation and cultivation including agricultural hand tools and spares for agricultural machinery.
On vehicles imported in accordance with the published guidelines for farming enterprises.
A wide range of agro-processing equipment.
Duty-free importation on a wide range of agro-chemicals (e.g., insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc.)
Allowances for expenditures incurred for development and cultivation purposes.

Board of Directors

Anand Beharry

Winston Kassim C.M., MBA, ICD.D

Patricia Bacchus

About us

Board of Directors

Anand Beharry

Winston Kassim C.M., MBA, ICD.D

Patricia Bacchus

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