The Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) is currently reviewing information provided to it on international investment contracts in the forestry sector in light of concerns raised about the operations of Baishanlin and Vaitarna Holdings Private Inc. (VHPI).
GMSA President Clinton Williams told Stabroek News yesterday that the GMSA and other relevant stakeholders are in looking at some information, the specifics of which he would not divulge. He added that the association needs time to accurately assess the data before it could make any comment on the matter, while noting that the issue is a sensitive one, requiring precise deliberations before revelations. The association will be meeting soon to discuss possible infractions and violations on the part of said investors, if any.
The GMSA had four weeks ago moved for access to the agreements under which all foreign investors are permitted to operate in Guyana’s forestry sector, in order to ensure they are operating within agreed parameters. Williams would have sent a request for the agreements to the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), in light of concerns about the large scale exports of logs by Baishanlin and VHPI. Stabroek News asked Williams whether the GFC responded to the GMSA’s request but he would only say that it had some information that it is currently assessing.
Williams had previously said that if it was found that any company is violating the terms of its agreement, the GMSA would advocate for a correction of the situation.
Baishanlin and the government face a series of unanswered questions over its operations in Guyana. Stakeholders, including the parliamentary opposition, have called for the foreign direct investment contract with Baishanlin to be made public. No answer has yet been forthcoming on who crafted the agreement and on its availability.
The legality of Baishanlin’s landlording arrangement with a series of other forest concessionaires has also been questioned as the law that would cover this was brought into force long after the arrangement had begun. Logs have still, however, been drawn from various concessions.
Though the multi-national corporation has been here since 2007 and benefited from tax concessions, there is no sign of any progress towards value-added processing and most of its infrastructure seems geared towards logging and shipping.
Stakeholders have questioned the justification for the tax concessions which were granted to it earlier.
There are also questions about the number of Guyanese who have been employed by Baishanlin versus the importation of Chinese labour for a variety of jobs that can be taken on by locals.
Questions have also been raised about Baishanlin’s connections with the government and its regulatory agencies. Baishanlin has built a parking lot for the Guyana Revenue Authority along the Lamaha Street embankment and the arrangement has come in for scrutiny.
The company has also snapped up real estate, including the Casique Hotel building at Providence, which was intended to be a hotel for the 2007 Cricket World Cup but was not finished in time. It had languished until this year when Baishanlin stepped in.
Baishanlin has applied to the GFC to log in its own concessions along several rivers. This application is being considered. It is also eying expansion into a number of other areas, including mining.
Indian timber company Vaitarna is also facing a series of similar questions as its value-added promises have not been fulfilled.
