Scrap iron dealers engaged in the recycling of ferrous metals will be allowed to continue their trade from October 27, following the lifting of a ban that was instituted earlier this year.
The Office of the Prime Minister yesterday an-nounced the re-opening of ferrous (iron and steel) recycling, following a meeting between the Guyana Metal Recyclers Association and President Bharrat Jagdeo on August 9 last, and agreements being subsequently put in place. The release noted that a ban on the recycling and trade of non-ferrous (copper, aluminium and others) remains in place.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds in April this year put the screws on the sale of scrap iron, following numerous complaints of vandalism which plunged to new depths. Vandalism was extended to the dead as the tombs in Le Repentir Cemetery were invaded and the metal was removed by thieves.
Funeral-goers reported seeing several damaged tombs and said they were later told by officials in the cemetery that scrap metal thieves were doing the damage.
According to a release by the Government Information Agency (GINA), security breaches had been found at locations across the coastland, including the removal of installations from the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) sites and the Lama Conservancy, the pumping facilities of the Guyana Sugar Corporation and the rails around graves in church yards and accessible burial grounds. It was not the first time the Prime Minister was forced to institute the ban. In the past, the utility companies, particularly the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) and Guyana Power and Light (GPL), had complained bitterly about vandalism perpetrated by scrap metal thieves.
In 2006, consultations with the dealers ended with a sound warning by the Prime Minister that if they did not put themselves in order and observe the rules, he would take the necessary steps to ban the trade.
Subsequently, the Old Metal Dealers Act was amended to grant government the power to halt the trade in scrap metal. The amendment empowers the Office of the Prime Minister to respond to transgressions by shutting down the export trade for up to a year. The legislation also imposes fines ranging between $20,000 and $1 million and jail terms of up to one year for dealers caught breaching the rules.
Late in 2007, some 54 containers of scrap metal were stuck on the wharves following a ban, which was later lifted.
Scrap metal dealers claim that the industry provides a livelihood for more than 30,000 Guyanese.
