The Chamber of Industry of Guatemala has requested that Congress approve reforms to laws which prevent or reduce corruption and to punish public officials involved in such acts.
From a press release issued by the Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial and Financial Associations (CACIF):
As part of the site visit scheduled for this day, regarding the evaluation of Guatemala in the Follow-up Mechanism to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC-OAS), the Chamber of Industry of Guatemala (CIG) participated with a presentation on "Cooperation between the private sector and the supervisory bodies in efforts to prevent and combat corruption."
Authorities are pushing for a pilot plan to blend ethanol in gasoline used by vehicles.
The signing of this agreement is being pushed by the Department of Sustainable Development at the Organization of American States (OAS). According to Ruben Contreras, representative of the entity, the country has a mature ethanol industry and this will also help clean up the environment.
Complaints have been sent to WTO over Peru's tariffs for agricultural products which are modified according to changes in international commodity prices.
"Peruvian trade policy on agricultural products establishes a price range as a stabilization mechanism. This measure allows tariffs to rise or fall according to international prices," noted an article in Elcomercio.pe.
The company belonging to the Guatemalan Army will no longer be able to sell goods between State agencies and municipalities.
This dependency under the Ministry of Defense of Guatemala, raised $43 million in contracts in less than eight months of the current administration.
"The institution has been questioned by opposition deputies, because late last year, the Executive authorized an expansion of the operational purposes for which it was created. This amendment details the ability to import and distribute all kinds of equipment with the Army of Guatemala and other public and independent entities" reported Elperiodico.com.gt
The U.S. is withdrawing from suing the Guatemalan State for breach of labor rules before an international tribunal provided by the DR-CAFTA.
"In order to prevent the creation of an international panel that could lead to Guatemala paying a penalty of up to $15 million for violating labor laws, the Government has agreed with the United States to abide by a commitment to a plan to implement policies respecting these rules ", reported Prensalibre.com.
Guatemala is seeking to consolidate its presence in Asia in order to explore new business, investment and cooperation opportunities.
From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Guatemala:
The interest of the Republic of Guatemala in consolidating and improving the bilateral relationship with the Republic of India, beginning from the month of May 1972 has been realized with the opening of the Embassy of Guatemala in New Delhi, being officially established on 4 April of this year. The Republic of India set up its resident Embassy in Guatemala in 2011.
In early April a tender will be launched for a bypass on the route from El Tejar to Chimaltenango, with an approximate cost of $26 million.
Alejandro Sinibaldi, Minister of Communications, said that about six months ago the engineering and technical studies were started in order to determine the best location for the construction of the work.
"The bypass is expected to be about 15 miles long, at a cost over $26 million," said Sinibaldi.
The executive is negotiating a loan approval for the renovation and equipping of the 45 hospitals in the National Health System in Guatemala.
From a statement published by the Government of Guatemala:
President Otto Perez Molina said on Wednesday during a working visit to the department of Petén, that they are negotiating a foreign loan for $280 million to improve the infrastructure of the health system.
The event will be held in Guatemala from 9 to April 12, 2012, and has the theme "The Present and Future of Latin American ports in the Era of Multimodality and Logistics."
With an emphasis on multimodaling and logistics, the port community on the continent will meet in Antigua, a city declared Historical Patrimony of Humanity by UNESCO, between 9 and April 12, 2012, where authorities and executives of international port terminals, business sector providers, will gather to participate in the meeting organized by the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) and the National port Commission (NPC) in Guatemala convening under the theme: "Present and Future of American Ports in the Era of Multimodality and Logistics. "
The Government announced it will not use Non-governmental Organizations for developing public infrastructure or supplying materials.
This is part of a series of actions taken by authorities to increase transparency in public spending, which also includes creating a citizen watchdog and controlling public works executed by municipalities and development councils.
Carnival canceled a $40 million project for building a cruise terminal in the Guatemalan port of Tomás de Castilla.
Lack of agreement between owners of the land to be used for the construction, and Carnival Corporation, is hinted as the main reason for this cancellation.
Roberto Robles is the head of the Guatemalan Tourism Institute, also known as Inguat.
Guatemala will install prepaid card systems on buses between 2009 and 2011 for $35 million.
The system aims for the bus drivers to avoid having to carry cash since the service will only be available through prepaid cards.
According to a note from ACAN-EFE in prensa.com, the 3 thousand buses that circulate throughout Guatemala City must be fitted with the necessary technology to recognize the prepaid cards.
The 16-month line of credit will strengthen the country’s international position and monetary reserves.
Gabriel Lopetegui of the IMF said that "it is a precautionary agreement that is not expected to be used, but it is there to serve as a shield for the country."
An article in elPeriódico of Guatemala indicated that the funds could be used to "address balance of payments issues such as capital flight, devaluation or a sharp drop in foreign exchange earnings."
The Guatemalan Government will collect $494 million less in taxes in 2009 and the national budget could be reduced to $5.562 billion.
It was reported in the Prensa Libre website: "To meet the revenue decline for the budget, the government is already prepared with four scenarios: the first would be to reduce public spending, the second to search for internal or external credit, the third to increase revenues via taxes, and the fourth could be a combination of the previous three."