Hopes among scrap metal dealers that their Christmas wish for the resumption of scrap exports were dashed late last week when a letter from the Ministry of Business to Secretary of the Metal Dealers Association Michael Benjamin dated December 16 reiterated government’s intention to put mechanisms in place to allow for the restart of the trade but pointedly refused to provide a timeframe.
The recent correspondence comes in the wake of earlier communication between the Ministry and Benjamin out of which came indicative timeframes of, first, November then December this year for the resumption of exports. Metal dealers had also staged a demonstration outside the Ministry of the Presidency some weeks ago during which Benjamin had an exchange with President David Granger on the issue.
On Friday, a visibly frustrated Benjamin told Stabroek Business that metal dealers now believed that the ‘on-off’ signals being sent by the Ministry of Business on the matter of the resumption of the trade was reflective of an official lack of regard for the legitimacy of the sector. “I believe that decision-making does not take account of the fact that we are legitimate businessmen and that the continued ban on exports compromises us in all sorts of ways,” Benjamin said. He added that the association was yet to determine what its next step would be in the face of the December 16 letter, which, while expressing a commitment to “the earliest possible resumption” of the trade now pointedly refuses to address the issue in terms of a timeframe.
The letter says the Ministry of Business, “will soon begin the process of registering scrap metal exporters in advance of the resumption of the trade under a new legislative and regulatory framework. The letter says issues of “traceability and accountability” will loom large under the new arrangement, an indication that the already much-maligned industry will come under even greater official scrutiny. Under the new regulations “dealers will be required to submit reports on every transaction and will be prohibited from acquiring scrap metal that cannot be traced to its original owner,” the letter says.
Watchers of the sector have expressed considerable doubt as to whether government will be able to create a structure capable of providing such verification in every case, a circumstance that could cast an even greater shadow of uncertainty over a firm timeframe for the resumption of the trade. Benjamin said last week that the metal dealers were now of the view that they were being “pushed around” and that the resumption of the trade may still be some distance away.
He said that this gives rise to the concern that dealers who were already be in some amount of financial trouble may now find themselves in an even worse situation. “We believe we are being denied the right to earn,” he lamented.
While still failing to provide a date, the Ministry of Business’ December 16 letter says that it “expects to resume issuing of licenses for the export of scrap metal to registered exporters who can provide proper documentation to show how the metal was acquired.” If enforced, such a regulation is likely to provide a measure of difficulty for some scrap metal dealers who have grown used to transactions that circumvent excessive paperwork through Benjamin insisted that the association will work with the authorities to ensure that the regulations are adhered to. Benjamin said, however, that at this stage the December 16 letter’s reference to a commitment to the “earliest possible resumption” was nothing more than an attempt to “back away” from a firm commitment given that it had not kept its earlier undertakings.
