While music piracy is universally considered as a debilitating economic crime, its eradication has proven to be extremely difficult even for highly-developed countries. In the case of Guyana, existing intellectual property laws are over 50 years old and do not cover the appearance of CDs, DVDs and MP3s.

Naturally, the loophole allows music pirates to make copies of songs and sell them with impunity anywhere in Guyana. The streets in Georgetown are well-stocked with vendors selling bootleg copies of classical and modern tracks.

Virginia Lopez of Al Jazeera went to Georgetown to investigate on the flawed system. She found out that the popularity of pirated music was preventing local musicians from breaking out. An original CD by a local artist is worth five times more than a counterfeit CD of an internationally recognized singer.

"In a market this small this price difference means they stand very little chance to succeed in their own country," said Lopez.

Guyanese singers and musicians have called on the government to update the country's copyright infringement laws, warning that piracy is gradually killing the country's unique sound. They believe that by protecting the music industry, the country will be able to distinguish itself from the rest of their Caribbean neighbors.

Performers find it difficult to sue hawkers due to the country's slow-moving court system. In the very rare occurrence that they successfully do, penalties are so low that there's little to no point in taking legal action.

Guyanese lawyer Teni Housty said state officials are not doing enough to solve the problem.

"You can create the momentum for change but this will be stopped at the doors of parliament," Housty told Al Jazeera.

In other Guyana news, Brigadier Mark Phillips of the country's Defence Force recently announced the reactivation of the Guyana People's Militia.

Per AntiguaObserver, GPM will be enlisting an additional 1,500 persons as military reserves.

"These are not full-time, these are part-time soldiers. The whole concept is to have a small regular army and a larger reserve that could augment the regular army," Phillips explained.

Philips added that more recruits are being trained as soldiers to deal with attrition caused by resignations and retirement, so that the Guyanese army will remain at its authorized strength.

The GPM was first established in 1976, in line with the country's Defence Act. At that time, Guyana was riddled with security threats and internal conflicts.

Meanwhile, a swine flu case has been confirmed in Guyana just this week. An unnamed 50-year old man, who returned to the South American state from China, was immediately hospitalized after exhibiting symptoms of the H1N virus. CARPHA test later revealed that the patient was in fact infected, Caribbean 360 reported.