From the Diaspora…WHETHER A THIEF ENTERS THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR OR BACK DOOR, HE STILL REMAINS A THIEF

Aug 17, 2014 News

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By Ralph Seeram

I was all set to write on a different subject today, about how my four-year-old grandson volunteered to show me how to download programs on my Kindle, as he said “Papa you don’t know to download programs” (meaning programs he likes), but then I kept reading about all these stories about the Chinese Company Bai Shan Lin and its exploitation of Guyana forest.
Believe me when I tell you the more I read the stories my blood literally boiled, to be honest, at times I stopped reading for fear of sending my blood pressure up, and for the record I do not suffer from hypertension, but the revelation in this newspaper about that company is enough to raise the blood pressure of any patriotic Guyanese.
Here again is yet another scandal involving the PPP Government and its secretive “backroom deals”.
There is no doubt about it, every deal the PPP and that so-called champion of the earth made is shrouded in secrecy and controversy. Starting with the Amaila Falls Hydro Project, the Marriott Hotel, the new International Airport, the One Laptop per Family program and now this Bai Shan Lin exposure. In all these projects Guyanese seem to be getting the short end of the stick.
This government seems to have a great fascination with the Chinese, so much so that they are practically giving away our resources to these people; every contract was to the disadvantage of the Guyanese taxpayers.
I wrote some time ago that we should beware of the Chinese bearing gifts, and from all reports they brought a lot of “gifts,” if you know what I mean.
So much “gifts” that some PPP Government officials are defending the Chinese instead of defending the interest of the country.  It would seem that every contract the champion of the earth inked in secrecy was designed to short change Guyanese. Like the Marriott, where a Chinese labour force was brought in to do the work Guyanese could have done.
And while we are on labour, who is giving out all the work permits to the Chinese to come and work in Guyana while Guyanese need employment? Reports are suggesting that Bai Shan Lin is employing more Chinese workers than Guyanese. What kind of government would allow such nonsense? Certainly not a patriotic one.
The opposition parties are not without fault also. They are not doing the job they were elected to do; making sure that the government takes great care with the resources of the country, doing due diligence. Time and again it is this newspaper, Kaieteur News that exposes the shortcomings of the contracts and operations of these companies. The opposition seems to be more reactive than proactive.
In the Bai Shan Lin case, the facts suggest that they do not have a licence to export logs, basically an Exploratory Licence, which, after meeting some guidelines that will take a few years, and if fulfilled, they will be granted the licence.
So what did they do? They took the back door route, teamed up with local companies and began large-scale extraction of lumber from our forests. Based on the scale of work, the quantities, type of machinery and the amount of lumber extracted, you want to tell me the Government was not aware of the “back door entry” of Bai Shan Lin to circumvent the formal process.
To add insult to Guyanese intelligence, Guyana Forestry officials are telling the public they are not aware that the company is exporting lumber; they know they are associated with some local companies. What a load of nonsense. They are certifying this lumber or they should be. God knows how much has been shipped out of the country without being inspected or where a “blind eye” is being turned and “gifts” handed out. I truly believe the latter to be truer.
Nowhere in all of this do you hear how much revenue the country received. You can hear the company stands to make billions of US dollars, but not a word of how much taxpayers received.
Various government officials have come out in defence of their actions. One went in great depths to elaborate the criteria and formula used in harvesting the logs. The issue really is whether Bai Shan Lin has been observing the law. Another official accused Kaieteur News of dealing in “half truth and lies”.
Well let me say this, if half of what this newspaper is saying is true, then this company needs to be stopped immediately. At this point I really don’t care about the other half – if it lies (and I doubt it); half a truth in this case is good enough for me.
I read where the Head of Go-Invest Keith Burrowes said he does not have the resources to do due diligence on these big companies. Well, well, can you tell me why then are these companies allowed to start exploiting our resources without knowing their background?  It’s one excuse after another. You will notice that the guardian of our resources Robert Persaud has been quiet.
Look, I am one that believes that Guyana needs large scale investors, and they should be encouraged, but it must be done with mutual benefits to both parties. Recently I heard an experienced American contract lawyer said “if a deal is too good for one party it is not a good deal” that’s seems to be happening here. The deals have been too good for the Chinese, from the Skeldon Factory, the Amaila Falls, the One Laptop per Family, the Marriott Hotel, the new International Airport (think of toilets) to now, Bai Shan Lin.
In all these contracts, Guyanese seem to be getting the short end of the stick.
Ralph Seeram can be reached at email: [email protected] and Face book.

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