For years Lethem was the quintessential border town. Isolated from Guyana’s coast and surrounded by towering mountains, its homes are blanketed by swirling red-dust from unpaved streets, and with mostly Portuguese music blaring from the buildings, the sleepy community has more a Latin American character than a Caribbean one.
Most of the products used and consumed by its residents and those from other communities in the Rupununi come from Brazil. Ask about this and you will likely receive a shrug, meaning that’s just the way it is. Chicken, fruit, vegetables, candy and cooking gas are a few of the things brought into Guyana’s southernmost administrative region from its sprawling South American neighbour. Bringing products from Georgetown is very expensive and up until recently, the journey was not for the faint-hearted.
There was a tacit, informal understanding on the part of the authorities in both countries which allowed a free flow of basic items into Lethem, once they were for consumption in the Rupununi. But that is slowly changing.
With the building of the Takutu Bridge over its namesake river, linking Guyana and Brazil overland, authorities on both sides are tightening regulations regarding cross-border trade, and residents are beginning to feel the squeeze. The Takutu Bridge was unofficially ‘opened’ by Brazil’s Roraima State governor last Sunday, but traffic has since been halted.
While understanding the need for the rules, business owners say that the Guyanese authorities are unprepared. Lethem’s sister border community, Bon Fim in Brazil, has been the recipient of a major upgrade in infrastructure and related facilities, and was last week designated an official port of entry. While it takes a little longer, in Brazil the system works, business owners say. However, with the tightening of the rules, some problems have cropped up.
Of great concern to the residents currently is the halting of cooking gas shipments to Lethem. Because of the difficulties in transporting the commodity from Georgetown, virtually all of the region’s supplies were previously sourced from Brazilian companies, Fogas and Amazon Gas.
However, businesswoman Linda Khan told Stabroek News last week that she had received her last shipment the week before, and had been informed that it was unlikely there would be any more. She said her supplies had already been sold out and she only had empty cylinders on her hands.
Khan said in a meeting with her supplier in Bon Fim last Sunday, she had been informed that the shipments to Guyana would stop. She said that she and other importers had been told that cooking gas in Brazil was subsidized and only for local consumption. Those found exporting the commodity could be fined between R20,000 and R50,000 as it was against Brazilian law. “It is going to be very, very hard on us,” she said. “We already feeling the squeeze.”
Businessman Alfred Ramsaran said representation had been made to the Brazilian authorities and they were scheduled to have a meeting with their Customs chief. He told this newspaper that he had made contact with companies in Georgetown regarding the commodity and was told that they had not yet established a market in the Rupununi because of the cost.
According to Ramsaran, the cooking gas sourced from Brazil in Lethem is being retailed between $4,500 and $4,900. He said that to hire a truck from Georgetown to Lethem costs $150, 000 “one way” with an additional $25,000 to cross the Essequibo River at Kurupukari on the pontoon. He said that retailers in Lethem were currently running low on cooking gas and pointed out that the hospital and hostel also used the gas from Brazil.
The businessman said that before the informal opening of the bridge last week, residents understood that there would have been changes and had stocked up on items, so they were not feeling the pinch as yet. He noted that while the export system was already in place in Brazil, for small businesses the cost of importing had risen. The process took more time too and certificates for items such as meat and vegetables had to be obtained. “It is a longer process as opposed to what happened in the past,” he stated.
Chairman of the Ireng/ Sawariwau Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), Terrence Boston, told this newspaper that he was unaware of the situation with regard to cooking gas but observed that it was going to have repercussions. He said that it was unfortunate that things were developing to this stage and commented that “things are going sour somewhere in our relationship.”
With the new systems being implemented, other glitches have also occurred. The week before last the Rupununi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) in a statement signed by Vice- President Ramsaran said that a new system for meat importation introduced by local Customs was premature as officials were “unprepared” and the process was time-consuming. It was stated that all goods entering Guyana at Lethem must be declared at the border crossing where an outpost was located, and meat and meat products being imported must be accompanied by a health certificate from the Public Health Department.
The statement had said that a Public Health Officer was not stationed at the crossing and those bringing in the products had to seek that person and transport him to the outpost. “This has caused undue delays and business persons feel that all officers concerned should be stationed at the crossing to facilitate the issuing of certificates and other requirements, rather than have someone locate them whenever certification is required,” the statement had said.
However, for now, the burning question uppermost on the minds of residents is where they will obtain cooking gas in the future.
