The truth about the Bai Shan Lin episode

Aug 24, 2014 Heist of Guyana, News

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July 4, 2014

Bai Shan Lin under fire ‘fleecing’ Region Ten

Bai Shan Lin has again come under fire from Region Ten Chairman, Sharma Solomon, this time for a breach of faith.
There was an understanding that was entered into between the company and the Region, that concessionary measures would be granted for the company to have its trucks use the Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge, to transport laterite from Three Miles on the west bank to Moblissa.
The laterite was to facilitate the rehabilitation of the $40 million farm road that the company’s trucks had significantly damaged, causing untold hardships to residents in the community.
After the agreement had been entered into between the management of Bai Shan Lin and major stakeholders in the Region for Bai Shan Lin to fix the road, tests which were facilitated by the Region, were subsequently carried out at Three Miles, on the Wismar Shore for suitable road building material.
There Bai Shan Lin identified a laterite pit and was granted permission to use it.
“The arrangement with Bai Shan Lin was that we wanted the road at Moblissa to be fixed; we were going to give them all that was necessary to fix that road. We were going to give them access to the laterite pit; we were going to give them the results to show that this was the best material to use,” Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon said.
Solomon said that Bai Shan Lin was clearly excited about the prospect of having access to laterite, which is better material than the loam, a substandard material which they had been using initially, and which was taken from Moblissa.
“The arrangement we had with them and the Linmine Secretariat, to facilitate the fixing of the Moblissa road, was that they were going to take the laterite from the Three Mile area, and we were going to ask the management of the bridge to grant them concession to allow the trucks free access to get to the material.”
The concession was agreed to by the management of the bridge, and the process of transporting the laterite from Three Miles commenced.
But of the 144 truckloads of laterite that was removed from the laterite pit less than ten truck loads made it to Moblissa, Solomon said. The remainder went to Bai Shan Lin’s concession.
“I was at the site on Monday. What was done at the Moblissa Road is a travesty- with less than ten truck loads. It was deliberate, because Bai Shan Lin threw the material in front of the road to give the impression that work has started. It wasn’t done the way they are doing their concession.
Bai Shan Lin is putting grader and roller, and all the necessary road building and earth moving equipment to fix their concession with the material that the Region gave to them under concession; giving up $216,000 in bridge crossing to fix the road at Moblissa.
“Instead, in a level of dishonesty Bai Shan Lin diverted 140 truckloads to their site, while putting four truck loads in front of the Moblissa road, causing further hardship to the community.”
Solomon added that because of the obstruction to the road an elderly woman who was sick and three pregnant women were unable to leave the community on time, because transportation was unable to get them out.
He further stated that the Moblissa Road should have been completed by now, as Bai Shan Lin had done a lot of work on their site, during the ten-day period that they had promised to have the Moblissa Road completed.
He added that the company will have to pay for the 47,000 tonnes of laterite that it has already removed from the Three Mile area and diverted to their own use.
In a correspondence from the CEO of the Linmine Secretariat, Horace James, to both Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon and IMC Chairman Orrin Gordon, James said that the concession that had been granted to Bai Shan Lin, upon request from the region, to allow the company’s trucks to traverse the Mackenzie /Wismar Bridge has been withdrawn as of July 2.
Bai Shan Lin will now have to pay the bridge, he said.
“However, Bai Shan Lin is now requesting that it be granted some more concession to use the Mackenzie/ Wismar Bridge, to transport more laterite from Three Miles in order to fix the Mabura access road”, Solomon said.
“With such a massive investment, which is said will match Bosai’s I am now wondering if this is a sneak peek at Bai Shan Lin’s attitude. I’m wondering what is to come with regard to its corporate and social responsibility.”
Solomon added that he has told the residents of Moblissa that they should go in to Bai Shan Lin’s concession and shut the operations down, if attention is not turned to that road.
In addition, from the more than 500 residents of Moblissa that are being affected by the damaged road, residents of Linden will also be affected as they depend on the community for a lot of its farm produce, which is likely to escalate, because of the hardships facing the farmers there, in getting their produce to market.  (Enid Joaquin)

July 15, 2014

Robert Persaud tells Parlaimentary Committee…Bai Shan Lin’s forest claims bogus

Chinese company, Bai Shan Lin, does not have access to close to a million hectares of rainforest in Guyana as part of its mega

investment plans, Minister of Natural Resources, Robert Persaud said yesterday.
“It is wrong; it is misleading. And if Bai Shan Lin is saying that, it should withdraw it— and withdraw it immediately, because it is false,” Persaud told the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources. He said that the company only has access to 640,000 hectares of forest, with the majority being for various studies.
Regarding forests the company has access to, Commissioner of Forests, James Singh said, that Bai Shan Lin has two state forest permits. He said such permits are issued for a period of three years, and during that time the company has to do an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, along with a forest inventory. In addition, Singh said the company has to develop a business plan.
Singh said that it is only if these documents receive a favourable review by the Forestry Commission’s Board, that the company can be issued with a Timber Sales Agreement (TSA) that would allow it to extract trees. The two state forest permits encompass three proposed forestry concession sites.
According to the draft Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), the proposed concession areas are in Regions Six and Nine. According to Singh the two state forest permits, give Bai Shan Lin access to 345,000 hectares of forest.
The permit for Area A and B was issued on November 4, 2011, and the permit for Area C was issued on April 26, 2013.
Apart from this, the company is involved in joint ventures with four local companies through which it has access to some 280, 000 hectares of forest from which it can harvest timber for export.
Those joint ventures are with Sherwood Forests, Haimorakabra Logging, Puruni Woods, and Kwebana Wood Products.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, Mr. Rickford Vieira, who accompanied Minister Persaud to face the Parliamentary Committee, said that Bai Shan Lin currently has in its possession 20 claims of one mile each to mine for gold, and not 20 kilometers as the company has claimed.
Those mining claims are not in Bai Shan Lin’s name, but are under the name of a Guyanese. While it mines these concessions, the company has been issued with two prospecting licences, Vieira stated.

 

July 17, 2014

Amerindian leaders demand clamp of Bai Shan Lin’s permit

–  Want full details of proposed logging concession in Region Nine

Amerindian leaders of communities along the Rewa and Essequibo Rivers in Region Nine are demanding to know the nature, location and scale of proposed logging concessions for Chinese company Bai Shan Lin.
And as such they want the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) to “cease forthwith” any further processing of the Bai Shan Lin permit.
Their demand is contained in a letter sent to the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) following a meeting in the village of Maruranau.
On Monday, Commissioner of Forests, James Singh, confirmed that Bai Shan Lin has two state forest permits, one of which is located in Region Nine. But the 17 communities of South Central and Deep South Rupununi, claim that they were not informed of the move.
From the information they have received, the village leaders said that they are concerned that the proposed concession may affect their traditional lands and natural resources within proposed land title extension areas for the Wapishiana people.
“If the said concession does indeed affect our traditional lands and extension areas, we consider that the GFC and other relevant agencies of the government are in direct breach of our rights as protected under the constitution of Guyana, other applicable national laws and related international treaties ratified by our country,” the leaders stated in their July 7 letter to the GFC.
The proposed concession area in Region Nine spans over 150,000 hectares. The Amerindian communities are demanding that the Forestry Commission meet with them and share all maps and other relevant information pertaining to the proposed concession.
“We’ve heard through the grapevine that Bai Shan Lin is coming in but we don’t know exactly where,” said Tony James, a former chief of the village of Aishalton, and now Vice President of the Amerindian People’s Association (APA).
Further, the leaders are calling on the GFC to take immediate steps to ensure “full respect to our lands and free, prior and informed consent in line with Guyana’s international obligation and commitments to uphold indigenous people’s rights under the Low Carbon Development Strategy.”
“The forest is our kitchen, it is our supermarket, it is our university, our playground, our school…it is our hospital as well,” said James.
“So where are we going to go?”
According to the GFC, permits are issued for period of three years and during that time the company has to do an environmental and social impact assessment, along with a forest inventory and business plan.
Once these are considered favourably, it is then that a company is issued with a Timber Sales Agreement that allows it to begin logging operations.

 

July 20, 2014

Amerindian concerns over Bai Shan Lin legitimate – APNU

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) executive member with shadow responsibility for Public Works and

Transportation, Joseph Harmon, is contending that the concerns  that the Amerindians have over the Chinese company Bai Shan Lin having logging concessions on their land title, is a legitimate one.
Amerindian leaders of communities along the Rewa and Essequibo Rivers in Region Nine are demanding to know the nature, location and scale of proposed logging concessions for Bai Shan Lin.
They want the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) to “cease forthwith” any further processing of the Bai Shan Lin permit.
Their demand is contained in a letter sent to the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) following a meeting in the village of Maruranau.
According to Harmon, APNU had asked for the information concerning the operations of Bai Shan Lin to be provided to the National Assembly. “We have asked for that and all this information the Minister has to provide us with.”
He said that the Amerindian communities have a right for consideration over licences “which can actually touch and concern over areas they have title.”
Harmon is arguing that Government should not wait until the information has to be presented in Parliament for it to be released. It should be divulged to the Amerindian communities so that they can know if they will be affected by the actions of the Chinese company. He said he is willing to lend his voice to that cause.
“They should’ve consulted with the communities before, if these permits were likely to affect the villages. These people should have known and the fact that they don’t know is saying to me that the Forestry Commission is not doing its work properly,” said Harmon.
According to Harmon, they would know “so all of these things about the permit and the environmental work which has to be done, the community should be consulted once they are likely to be affected.
“You don’t have to wait until then because Bai Shan Lin will feel they have a legitimate expectation to be granted this permit once they have satisfied the requirement.”
“You can’t grant a legitimate expectation when the constitution and a land right is going to be affected in that way,” said Harmon.
On Monday, Commissioner of Forests, James Singh, confirmed that Bai Shan Lin has two state forest permits, one of which is located in Region Nine. But the 17 communities of South Central and Deep South Rupununi, claim that they were not informed of the move.
From the information they have received, the village leaders said that they are concerned that the proposed concession may affect their traditional lands and natural resources within proposed land title extension areas for the Wapishiana people.
The proposed concession area in Region Nine spans over 150,000 hectares. The Amerindian communities are demanding that the Forestry Commission meet with them and share all maps and other relevant information pertaining to the proposed concession.

 

August 7, 2014

Bai Shan Lin circumvents Guyana’s logging laws…Ships Billions $$$$ of high priced logs monthly

By Latoya Giles
Even though Bai Shan Lin International Forest Development Inc. is yet to actually receive a logging licence, the company has teamed up with four companies in joint ventures to export billions of dollars worth in timber monthly.
One official from the Guyana Forestry Commission explained that Bai Shan Lin International Forest Development does not have an actual licence for the Exportation of Logs. What the company has is a State Forest Exploration Permit.
In that permit Bai Shan Lin is required to do an environmental and social assessment study. The company is also required to do a forestry inventory and business plan which is to be submitted to the Environment Protection Agency (EPA).
To circumvent the requirements, Bai Shan Lin has opted for the joint venture deals with Karbana Wood, Wiacho, Haimora Kabra and Paruni Wood Inc. The official said that as it is right now, there should be limited exploration logging.
It was noted that not much is done at the level of the Forestry Commission. “Most things fall under the Ministry of Natural Resources now,” the official told Kaieteur News.
In June Bai Shan Lin submitted an application to the Environmental Protection Agency seeking environmental authorization to undertake a large scale logging and sawmill operation.
According to the public notice which was published, the company asked for the authorization for several areas including the Left Bank Essequibo River, Right Bank Berbice River, Right Bank Essequibo River, Left Bank Corentyne River, Left Bank Lysles River, River Bank Berbice River and Right Bank Powis River, including Regions Nine and Six.
It was noted that the project would entail, felling, extraction of timber and transportation of same to a processing facility. They would also be doing grading, construction of roads, skid trails, bridges, culverts and camps with other ancillary facilities within the concession.
The EPA stated that it fully recognized that the impending works could have “significant impacts” on the environment. Thus, in keeping with the Environmental Protections Act of 1996, an “Environmental Impact Assessment” is required before any decision to approve or reject the project.
As such, the EPA had said that members of the public were invited within 28 days of the notice to make written submissions to it, setting out questions and matters which they required to be answered or considered in the “Environmental Impact Assessment”. It is unclear whether they have completed everything with the EPA.
Bai Shan Lin has been granted a forestry concession that amounts to close on one million hectares of rainforest, from which it plans to extract logs and ship them out of Guyana. The company estimates that it will make US$1,800 from each hectare of land, giving it profits totaling US$1.7 billion, according to redd-monitor.org.
In addition, it sought permission to dig up a 20-kilometre stretch of river to look for gold.
Other plans include setting up what it is calling a Guyana-China Timber Industry Economic and Trading Corporation Park, plus a 400-acre real estate development. The plans were announced in 2012 by Chu Wenze, Chairman of Bai Shan Lin, at the Second World Congress on Timber and Wood Products Trade in Taicang, China.
Those plans were announced even before Guyana knew of it. The country became aware of what was happening only when Bai Shan Lin officials visited Guyana and held discussions with President Donald Ramotar and other Government officials.
The state information agency, GINA had reported that Bai Shan Lin has been in Guyana over the past eight years with operations through the Bai Shan Lin Forest Development Inc. These include Haimorakabra Logging, Karlam South America Timbers, Wood Associated Industries, Kwebanna Wood Productions, Sherwood Forests, Bai Shan Lin Housing Construction, Mining development Inc. and Bai Shan Lin Ship Building and Heavy Industries Inc.
It has been contended that the law does not allow one logging company to take over another, unless the President so agrees.
On Redd-monitor.org, it was stated that in November 2012, Chu Wenze, the Chairman of Chinese logging company Bai Shan Lin, gave a presentation outlining his company’s plans for Guyana at the World Congress in Taicang, China. The company’s plans have threatened Guyana’s proposals to reduce deforestation and forest degradation.
Bai Shan Lin is part of a group of 11 companies operating in Guyana. The 11 are all part of the China Forest Industry Group (Hong Kong). These companies have seven logging concessions in Guyana, covering a total area of 960,000 hectares (about 4.5% of the area of the country).
In November 2012, Whu Wenze and David Dabydeen, Guyana’s Ambassador to China, took part in a signing ceremony for a loan from the Chinese Development Bank for Bai Shan Lin’s forestry projects in Guyana.
According to the website Global Timber, Bai Shan Lin’s concessions were acquired from other concession holders, a process known as “landlording” which is illegal in Guyana (unless officially authorised by the President). Under Guyanese law, forest concessions cannot be traded, but must be re-advertised by the Forestry Commission in an open auction.
Bai Shan Lin also ignored a cease order issued by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission at a sand excavation pit in Moblissa. The company has received no permission for excavation work in the area and this was the third time that the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission had cause to issue a cease order. Bai Shan Lin also started construction of a road, without any permission.
Despite the company’s record, among its supporters is Guyana’s ex-President Bharrat Jagdeo, red-monitor.org stated. Jagdeo’s photograph was included in Chu Wenze’s presentation, as part of the Guyanese Project Promotion Team for an Economic and Trading Cooperation Park that Bai Shan Lin is developing in Guyana.

 

August 8, 2014

Bai Shan Lin exploiting Region 10

…unable to say how much land under its control – Solomon

Investments in Region Ten must be mutually beneficial, but this is not the case with Bai Shan Lin. Instead, the Chinese company is raping the region of its resources through massive exploitation, says Region Ten Chairman, Sharma Solomon, who in an interview with this publication at his office in Linden on Wednesday, bemoaned what has been transpiring in the region in recent years, as it relates to the logging company.
Solomon told this publication that over 60 per cent of logging done in Guyana comes through or is from Region Ten.
Bai Shan Lin is now the largest logging operator in the country and according to Solomon, most of its logging is conducted in Region Ten.
“They are contributing significantly toward the exploitation of resources in that area,” said Solomon.
According to Regional Chairman, the company has massively expanded its operations, and to date, an Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) has not been done, despite repeated requests by the Region.

They (Bai Shan Lin) are far advanced in their operations and they have still not done an ESIA to see what impact they have on the people in the region, he said.
Another source of lamentation over the company has been its compliance with set regulations.
“We have always expressed concerns about Bai Shan Lin’s ability to comply with standards and regulations; we have always complained about that.”
He used as example the processing plant that the company has established along the Soesdyke/ Linden Highway and without compliance from any statutory agency, the company removed over 47,000 tonnes of loam to build the base of the plant, “in the process destroying and disrupting the lives of the people of Moblissa.”
According to Solomon, in the process of building the plant, the company completely destroyed the farm to market road, and it was only when the people threatened to shut down the company that any action was taken.
He said, too, that action on the part of Bai Shan Lin to repair the road also included an intervention by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds.
Solomon said, too, that the Region is still extremely concerned that to date the statutory agencies that should be certifying the actions of Bai Shan Lin may not be doing so. He told this publication that efforts by the Region to secure the necessary documentation to see that this is being done have proven futile thus far.
The statutory bodies that Solomon is referring to, include the Guyana Forestry Commission, Lands and Surveys, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commissions among others.
“We have always said that we welcome investments; that we welcome the opportunity to develop the Region.”
According to Solomon, the investments must be based on mutual benefits.
He said that the companies can be allowed to benefit, “but the community must be able to benefit and the people must also be able to feel comfortable that these investments will not disrupt their lives.”

Solomon said that Bai Shan Lin and the other loggers using the road are destroying it, and when they are approached to assist in repairing it, the companies insist that they already pay royalties and taxes to Government.
“I believe that those companies must understand it is not doing well for social corporate responsibility and the government too must understand that after taking so much taxes and making so much off of these infrastructure, they must be prepared to put back into it.”
Meanwhile, as it relates to the amount of lands that Bai Shan Lin is currently logging from within the region, Solomon said that this is difficult to assess.
He explained that it is difficult to ascertain the concessions under which Bai Shan Lin is operating, given that outside of what is registered officially at the Guyana Forestry Commission for them, “there is a new arrangement that exists in the Region now where many associations and many loggers with concessions are in essence sub-leasing.”
According to Solomon, there is a lot of intertwining of the holders of concessions and those who are exploiting the concessions. He noted too that many of those who would have collaborated with companies such as Bai Shan Lin are not reaping the benefits they would have signed on to.

 

August 10, 2014

Bai Shan Lin came to Guyana specifically for large-scale logging

– brought in over 200 trucks, 60 bulldozers, 40 loaders, luxury vehicles all duty-free

As questions continue to swirl over the arrangements between the Government of Guyana and a Chinese company regarding the export of large quantities of logs, there are revelations now that an unprecedented number of duty free concessions were granted.
These concessions include for luxury vehicles like Lexus’ and even an Infiniti Q model. It did not stop there. Bai Shan Lin, the company in the midst of controversy, was reportedly granted permits that allowed it to also import scores of heavy trucks, bulldozers and loaders.
In terms of the hauler trucks, Bai Shan Lin was able to import more than 200 of them, Kaieteur News was told. This is in addition to more than 50 bulldozers and a significant number of loaders that the company has in its fleet.

While it is not unusual for Government to waive taxes and duties on vehicles, equipment and building materials for certain types of investments, in the case of Bai Shan Lin the questions would be many.
The fleet of equipment that was shipped is mainly what is known as primary processing equipment. In other words, equipment associated with harvesting or logging activities. The number of vehicles brought in would also be unprecedented for one foreign company, industry experts said.
Government had initially not made known what exactly are the arrangements with Bai Shan Lin.
Rather it was the company’s Chairman, Chu Wenze, who made a presentation in November 2012, at the Second World Congress on Timber and Wood Products Trade in Taicang, China.
Those plans were announced even before Guyana knew of it. The country became aware of what was happening only when Bai Shan Lin officials visited Guyana and held discussions with President Donald Ramotar and other Government officials, in January 2013.
Bai Shan Lin is now facing investigations by the Opposition after revelations that it is involved in large-scale logging, even allegedly hiding behind third parties to mask the exports.
There have been questions over the company’s involvement in Guyana with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment appearing in Parliament to answer questions.
The Guyana Forestry Commission, which regulates the industry, has said that Bai Shan Lin has “invested” in a large fleet of skidders, log loaders, bulldozers, logging trucks and generators.
There was no mention of equipment which would be involved in value-added timber products.
Guyana has been vocal in pushing for a phased reduction in log exports but the Bai Shan Lin experience would signal a contradiction.
A look at export figures, unofficially supplied, indicated that for the first half of 2013, some 30,000 cubic meters of timber products were exported. For the first half of 2014, this figure rose to over 50,000 cubic meters.
This would be significant as Guyana has introduced what is known as a disincentive scheme – a gradually increasing tax and royalty scheme. Despite the increase in tax, the exports have shot up.
GFC itself has not explained the rise in the exports but industry insiders said that Bai Shan Lin is playing a major part in this. The deals with Bai Shan Lin were reportedly signed during the period when former President Bharrat Jagdeo was heavily promoting his Low Carbon Development Strategy which among other things targeted increased tracking of illegal logging.
Guyana has a groundbreaking, US$250M five-year agreement with Norway to protect its forests. It is unclear whether Norway and its monitoring agencies have been paying attention to the increasing exports to determine the impacts.
Bai Shan Lin has been granted a large swath of land at Providence and has announced plans to set up what it is called a Guyana-China Timber Industry Economic and Trading Corporation Park plus a 400-acre real estate development.
Commissioner of the Guyana Forestry Commission, James Singh, had said that the company is planning to construct Linden Wood Processing Factory which will be an integrated factory, beginning with log/lumber intake and resulting in the large-scale production of high-end furniture; flooring (parquet, multiple layered, outdoor quality); veneers; doors; mouldings; finger jointing and lumber, among others.
However, he has not given any timelines by which Bai Shan Lin intends to move into the different phases of its operations.
The Bai Shan Lin case would bring the spotlight sharply on how the Government of Guyana negotiates deals with foreign investors and the checks and balances to ensure that its resources are not raped.

 

August 10, 2014

Bai Shan Lin has no permission to harvest or log – EPA Official

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has denied ever giving Chinese company, Bai Shan Lin International Forest Development Inc. any permission to do logging. A senior official at the EPA said that as stands right now, Bai Shan Lin is having meetings with them regarding “scoping”.
It was explained that “scoping” is another aspect of its Environmental Assessment which Bai Shan Lin needs to complete.
The official maintained that as of yesterday Bai Shan Lin had no authority to do any “logging or harvesting”.
The official further told Kaieteur News that the EPA, once everything is done in accordance with the formal requirements, would grant Bai Shan Lin an “Environmental Authorization Permit” which gives the right to log and harvest timber.
But the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) has denied that Bai Shan Lin was logging without licence.
Bai Shan Lin International Forest Development Inc. is yet to actually receive a logging licence, but the company has teamed up with four companies in joint ventures to export billions of dollars worth in timber monthly.
Forestry officials explained that Bai Shan Lin International Forest Development does not have an actual licence for the Exportation of Logs. What the company has is a State Forest Exploration Permit.
In that permit Bai Shan Lin is required to do an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment study. The company is also required to do a forestry inventory and business plan which is to be submitted to the Environment Protection Agency (EPA).
To circumvent the requirements, Bai Shan Lin has opted for joint venture deals with Karbana Wood, Wiacho, Haimora Kabra and Paruni Wood Inc. The official said that at present, the company should only be engaging in limited exploration logging.
In June, Bai Shan Lin submitted an application to the EPA seeking environmental authorization to undertake a large scale logging and sawmill operation. That application is still pending.
According to the public notice which was published in June, the company asked for the authorization for several areas including the Left Bank Essequibo River, Right Bank Berbice River, Right Bank Essequibo River, Left Bank Corentyne River, Left Bank Lysles River, River Bank Berbice River and Right Bank Powis River, including Regions Nine and Six.
It was noted that the project would entail felling, extraction of timber and transporting the commodity to a processing facility. The company would also be doing grading, construction of roads, skid trails, bridges, culverts and camps with other ancillary facilities within the concession.
The EPA stated that it fully recognized that the impending works could have “significant impact” on the environment. Thus, in keeping with the Environmental Protections Act of 1996, an “Environmental Impact Assessment” is required before any decision is taken to approve or reject the project.
As such, the EPA had said that members of the public were invited within 28 days of the notice to make written submissions, setting out questions and matters which they required to be answered or considered in the “Environmental Impact Assessment”. It is unclear whether the company has completed the process with the EPA.
Bai Shan Lin has been granted a forestry concession that amounts to close on one million hectares of rainforest, from which it plans to extract logs and ship them out of Guyana. The company estimates that it will make US$1,800 from each hectare of land, giving it profits totaling US$1.7 billion, according to redd-monitor.org.
In addition, it sought permission to dig up a 20-kilometre stretch of river to look for gold.
Other plans include setting up what it is called a Guyana-China Timber Industry Economic and Trading Corporation Park, plus a 400-acre real estate development. The plans were announced in 2012 by Chu Wenze, Chairman of Bai Shan Lin, at the Second World Congress on Timber and Wood Products Trade in Taicang, China.
Those plans were announced even before Guyana knew of it. The country became aware of what was happening only when Bai Shan Lin officials visited Guyana and held discussions with President Donald Ramotar and other Government officials.
Redd-monitor.org stated that in November 2012, Chu Wenze, the Chairman of Chinese logging company Bai Shan Lin, gave a presentation outlining his company’s plans for Guyana at the World Congress in Taicang, China. The company’s plans have threatened Guyana’s proposals to reduce deforestation and forest degradation.
Bai Shan Lin is part of a group of 11 companies operating in Guyana. They are all part of the China Forest Industry Group (Hong Kong). These companies have seven logging concessions in Guyana, covering a total area of 960,000 hectares (about 4.5% of the area of the country).
In November 2012, Whu Wenze and David Dabydeen, Guyana’s Ambassador to China, took part in a signing ceremony for a loan from the Chinese Development Bank for Bai Shan Lin’s forestry projects in Guyana.
According to the website Global Timber, Bai Shan Lin’s concessions were acquired from other concession holders, a process known as “landlording” which is illegal in Guyana (unless officially authorised by the President). Under Guyanese law, forest concessions cannot be traded, but must be re-advertised by the Forestry Commission in an open auction.

 

August 12, 2014

Rohee dodges giving direct answers on Bai Shan Lin’s operations

As Kaieteur News continues to expose the wrongdoing of the largest logging company operating in Guyana—Bai Shan Lin—General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Clement Rohee has suggested that the newspaper is doing so out of spite.

Yesterday Rohee hosted his Party’s weekly press conference at Freedom House. At that forum Kaieteur News asked if the PPP is concerned with the operations of Bai Shan Lin as highlighted in the media.

In his response to the question, which he dubbed “loaded,” Rohee said that he has been paying very close attention to the media over the past three months and has “discerned” that Kaieteur News has launched “not only a campaign but a crusade, (he repeated) a crusade against this particular Chinese company.”

Rohee said he cannot understand why this “crusade” was initiated with focus on Bai Shan Lin, and what could have been at the root of all the disclosures.

He pondered, “Is it that they (Kaieteur News) asked Bai Shan Lin for something and Bai Shan Lin refused to give it to them, is it that they tried to cut a deal with Bai Shan Lin and the deal fell through? I don’t know.”

The General Secretary expressed hope that “a very good investigative journalist” with the capability of “digging and digging and digging” will get to the bottom of things and find out what is the “beef” between Kaieteur News and Bai Shan Lin.

He insisted that there “must” be something going on, “something must have gone sour… it seems as if the Kaieteur News is the only media house carrying this crusade of this intense nature…Something is rotten in the Kingdom of Sussex Street.”

Asked if he has any concerns about what Kaieteur News has highlighted about the Chinese company, Rohee’s response was “as far as Kaieteur News and Bai Shan Lin are concerned it seems to me that that is a matter of a different kettle; they should settle their internal problems then we will deal with it after that.”

Recently, Kaieteur News has been very boldly highlighting the operations of Bai Shan Lin.

The logging company is yet to receive a logging licence, but has teamed up with four others in joint ventures to export billions of dollars in timber monthly.
Forestry officials explained that Bai Shan Lin has only a State Forest Exploration Permit.

As part of that permit Bai Shan Lin is required to do an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment. The company is also required to do a forestry inventory and business plan which is to be submitted to the Environment Protection Agency (EPA).

Bai Shan Lin has been granted a forestry concession that amounts to close to one million hectares of rainforest.

The company estimates that it will make US$1,800 from each hectare of land, giving it profits totaling US$1.7 billion, according to redd-monitor.org.

In addition, it sought permission to dig up a 20-kilometre stretch of river to look for gold.
Other plans include setting up what it is called a Guyana-China Timber Industry Economic and Trading Corporation Park, plus a 400-acre real estate development. The plans were announced in 2012 by Chu Wenze, Chairman of Bai Shan Lin, at the Second World Congress on Timber and Wood Products Trade in Taicang, China.
Those plans were announced even before Guyana knew of it. The country became aware of what was happening only when Bai Shan Lin officials visited Guyana and held discussions with President Donald Ramotar and other Government officials.

 

August 13, 2014

Bai Shan Lin ignores local requirement in exporting Locust wood to China

Unprocessed Locust and Crabwood should first satisfy local demand before any such wood can be exported overseas; but this is not the case with Bai Shan Lin.
It has been found that the company is planning to export over the course of the next six months, 250,000BM of Locust wood, despite local operators approaching them to buy.

On Monday last, Haimorakabra Logging Inc, one of Bai Shan Lin’s companies, wrote to the Guyana Manufacturers and Services Association (GM&SA) to indicate its intention to ship the lumber.
Haimorakabra Logging Inc. is now owned by Bai Shan Lin International Forest Development Inc.
A representative from a local company had approached the company last week to purchase some of the Locust wood for local consumption.
This publication has since been told that Gao Yuan, Manager of the Chinese-owned operations reportedly expressed shock that the Locust wood was advertised for sale since he indicated that it was destined for export to China.
According to the letter of intention addressed to GMSA’s President, Clinton Williams, by Yuan, the company intends to ship the wood to Heilongjiang Baishanlin Wood Company Ltd., in China.
Government had initially not made known what exactly are their arrangements with Bai Shan Lin.
The company is now facing investigations by the Opposition after revelations that it is involved in large-scale logging, even allegedly hiding behind third parties to mask the exports.
There have been questions over the company’s involvement in Guyana, with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment appearing in Parliament to answer questions.
A look at export figures, unofficially supplied, indicated that for the first half of 2013, some 30,000 cubic metres of timber products were exported. For the first half of 2014, this figure rose to over 50,000 cubic metres.
This would be significant as Guyana has introduced what is known as a disincentive scheme – a gradually increasing tax and royalty scheme. Despite the increase in tax, the exports have shot up.
The Guyana Forestry Commission itself has not explained the rise in the exports, but industry insiders said that Bai Shan Lin is playing a major part in this. The deals with the company were reportedly signed during the period when former President Bharrat Jagdeo was heavily promoting his Low Carbon Development Strategy which among other things targeted increased tracking of illegal logging.

 

August 13, 2014

Bai Shan Lin’s “kickbacks” seem to have silenced Govt. – MP Harmon

“The government is silent about this immoral and abusive act and there can only be one logical conclusion for that—they are benefitting financially in exchange for allowing the rape to continue. Citizens need to understand the corrupt beast that it (Govt.) is dealing with. It is only a win-win deal for the parties involved and Bai Shan Lin’s kickbacks seem to have silenced the government.”
This is the contention of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) member on the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources, Joseph Harmon.

After seeing the aerial view pictures of huge piles of hundreds of Guyana’s precious logs stocked and waiting to be shipped from one of Bai Shan Lin’s Kwakwani areas, Harmon believes that the evidence showcased by Kaieteur News yesterday is simply “horrendous.”
“It is sickening to come to grips with the reality that former President Bharrat Jagdeo invited Bai Shan Lin to this country under the pretext that it was going to foster good developments, and all along the true intention was to rape this country of its resources. This underscores the need for the Ramotar administration to resign en bloc.
“They have no interest in protecting the people. They have fooled this country. It seems that this Government is being paid to shut its mouth.”
The MP pointed out that at a meeting of the Natural Resources Committee in the Parliament Office, Head of the Guyana Forestry Commission, James Singh, was requested to provide information in relation to the contractual arrangements that Government has with Bai Shan Lin, a Chinese company that has been in the spotlight for several months now, for its questionable activities.
Singh, according to Harmon, said that the Commission does not have a copy of the contract.
The Parliamentary Committee was referred to the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) for more information. But when contacted, GO-Invest was not even aware of the agreements.
“This is a most serious matter, because we have a Government that is so greedy and selfish that it is incapable of understanding that it has the responsibilities to protect the natural resources of this country.”
Commissioner Singh had defended GFC saying that Bai Shan Lin is not operating in an illegal manner, but Harmon contends that he does not trust what the nation is being told about what is legal and what isn’t in this matter.

“These companies are just being encouraged to gut this country, and indicators show that Guyana is slipping further into the abyss of poverty.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had made it clear that Bai Shan Lin does not have permission to cut or log.  In fact, EPA denied ever giving the Chinese company any permission to do logging. A senior official at the EPA explained it is currently in discussions with the company in relation to “scoping”.
“Scoping” is another aspect of its Environmental Assessment which Bai Shan Lin needs to complete.
This publication understands that once everything is done in accordance with the prescribed requirements, the EPA would grant Bai Shan Lin an “Environmental Authorization Permit.” This would give the company the right to log and harvest timber.
Though it is currently without a logging licence, Bai Shan Lin has teamed up with four others in joint ventures to export billions of dollars in logs.

 

It is in possession of a State Forest

Exploration Permit (SFEP) which allows for an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, not large-scale logging. A Forestry official said that at present, the company should only be engaging in limited exploration logging.
In June, Bai Shan Lin submitted an application to the EPA seeking environmental authorization to undertake a large-scale logging and sawmill operation for several areas, including on the left bank of the Essequibo River, along the Berbice River and in Regions Nine and Six. That application is still pending.
The Environmental Protections Act of 1996 says that an “Environmental Impact Assessment” is required before any decision is taken to approve or reject a project of this magnitude. EPA had invited members of the public to submit, within 28 days of the notice, questions or objections. It is not clear whether this process is completed.
Bai Shan Lin has claimed access to forestry concessions that amount to close to one million hectares of rainforest, from which it plans to extract logs and ship them out of Guyana. However, Government has denied it was that much.
The company estimates that it will make US$1,800 from each hectare of land, giving it profits totaling US$1.7 billion, according to redd-monitor.org.
Additionally, the company sought permission to dig up a 20-kilometre stretch of river to look for gold. Other plans include setting up what it is called a Guyana-China Timber Industry Economic and Trading Corporation Park, plus a 400-acre real estate development.
The plans were announced in 2012 by Chu Wenze, Chairman of Bai Shan Lin, at the Second World Congress on Timber and Wood Products Trade in Taicang, China. Those plans were announced even before Guyana knew of it. The country became aware of what was happening only when Bai Shan Lin officials visited Guyana and held discussions with President Donald Ramotar and other government officials.
Redd-monitor.org stated that in November 2012, Chu Wenze’s plans have threatened Guyana’s proposals to reduce deforestation and forest degradation.
Bai Shan Lin is part of a group of 11 companies operating in Guyana. They are all part of the China Forest Industry Group (Hong Kong).

 

August 13, 2014

Residents growing weary of Bai Shan Lin’s exploitation, destruction – Region 10 Chairman  

What is now being highlighted by Kaieteur News for all of Guyana, and indeed the regional and international communities to see, comes as no shock to Region 10.

“Our region has been dealing with this for some time now, but we are pleased that we are no longer fighting alone.”
This was expressed by Region 10 Chairman, Sharma Solomon, as he explained the extent to which Bai Shan Lin International has been going in terms of “the exploitation, disruption and destruction of Region 10”.
In an exclusive interview yesterday, Solomon told Kaieteur News that Region 10 residents and the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), which manages the region, have for years been dealing with what is now being exposed by Kaieteur News.
“For years this region has been fighting for Guyana and Guyanese to be respected by foreign companies. The country must be able to benefit from its national resources.”
According to Solomon, residents dwelling in Coomacka, Moblissa, Bamia, Kwakwani and Ituni can fully attest to the “wanton robbery and destruction of the region’s environment and infrastructure”.
“It’s nothing new to those dwelling in Coomacka, as they know the truth about the processing plant that Bai Shan Lin was supposed to be operating there.”
The Chairman said, that considerable concessions were given to Bai Shan Lin for the plant that the company operated for a few months, but instead closed it and started concentrating on logging in the area.
“We know too that other areas in the Coomacka Mines were almost given away to Asian companies.”
Solomon added that “It is nothing new to the farmers of Bamia (located at the right bank of the Demerara River) who were displaced when Bai Shan Lin was, through NICIL, given concessions to operate there.”
The Chairman lamented that he still does not know what exactly the arrangements are between NICIL and Bai Shan Lin.
Solomon also stressed that there were five meetings between Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and the then head of the Guyana Forestry Commission, Clinton Williams, just to get Bai Shan Lin to respect the people of Moblissa
He noted that the Moblissa people had threatened to block trucks from passing and obstruct operations at the processing plant. Bai Shan Lin was forced to cooperate as a result.
“The people of Moblissa are not the only ones who had cause to stand up and fight for what is right in this regard. The residents of Kwakwani and Ituni also had to protest when they became fed up with the destruction and exploitation.”
Kaieteur News understands that 20 persons were arrested and taken before the courts for protesting on that occasion; 10 of whom remain before the court.
“It’s not yesterday. The RDC has been in constant battle with Bai Shan Lin. For years we have been fighting on behalf of the people,” Solomon reiterated.
Solomon said that the Region is very concerned about the lack of mutual benefits in a case like this and the region does not see the benefits in accommodating a company like Bai Shan Lin “that is all about exploitation, disruption and destruction.”
Solomon told Kaieteur News that at a recent meeting between the RDC and residents of Kwakwani, measures were discussed to deal with the situation. These included Bai Shan Lin fixing of the roads, but “frustration is building and we will have to act.”
NEXT STEP
The Region is now preparing to send letters to the Guyana Forestry Commission, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and Ministry of Agriculture asking for the names of all companies extracting resources in Region 10.
“There are many other Asian companies operating in Region 10, they too are getting concessions, but the locals are not.”
Solomon believes that Bai Shan Lin is being encouraged to do wrong as it cannot be acting on its own accord. He said that even a very small sawmill has to do an Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) to ascertain how the dust will affect the community and so forth, but Bai Shan Lin was not required to do so.
“Someone in the government would have said to Bai Shan Lin that it is okay to have such a massive operation without the blessings of the statutory bodies.”
Solomon said that the region will no longer be looking to the Government for answers but instead seek to go straight to the company which has remained uncooperative.
“I recall during the protest on the Ituni/Kwakwani road an Asian gentleman noted, in plain English, that he could have made one phone call and have everything removed with immediate effect. This just shows that the company has representation high up.”

 

August 13, 2014 

GFC attempts to defend Bai Shan Lin’s large scale logging activities

In attempting to defend shocking revelations that Bai Shan Lin is involved in an unprecedented level in logging in the country, the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) has placed a full page advertisement in Kaieteur News.
However, the Commission has failed to address the large stockpiles of logs at Kwakwani and in Region 10 that was found during a fly-over of the area by Kaieteur News on Monday. Rather, the body spoke extensively about its policies.

 

August 14, 2014

More shocking revelations…Bai Shan Lin employs 70% Asians

–  Pays locals as little as $500 a day – Solomon

In January 2013, Bai Shan Lin Forest Development Inc. advertised for 700 Guyanese workers.
In advertisements in the media, Bai Shan Lin said that it had vacancies for 220 factory construction workers, 80 skilled chain-saw operators, 80 semi-skilled chain-saw operators, 30 bulldozer operators, 35 loading truck drivers, 60 dump truck drivers, two excavator and grader operators, 60 logging truck drivers, 20 container truck drivers, 10 mechanics, 10 servicemen, 13 cooks and 80 inventory clerks.

However, the company has developed a reputation of mistreating the few Guyanese workers it employs.
Kaieteur News understands that the company generally has a policy to give Asian nationals first preference at employment. From all indications, there are enough Asian nationals residing in Guyana to facilitate the elimination of Guyanese workers on any project the Asians embark upon.
Bai Shan Lin has a known presence at Moblissa, Coomacka, Bamia, Kwakwani and Ituni.
This newspaper has been able to verify that at the Coomacka and Bamia locations, Bai Shan Lin has an employment ratio of 70 Asians to30 Guyanese.
Region Ten Chairman, Sharma Solomon, has confirmed that the workforce is disproportional at these locations.
He said that some workers attached to Bai Shan Lin, have been frequenting the Office of the Regional Democratic Council complaining of the way the company has been violating their rights.
The Chairman said that workers have been lamenting the conditions they work under. They have also been complaining of bad treatment and poor payment.
Solomon said Bai Shan Lin have workers on its payroll who are being paid as little as $500 a day. He said these complaints have been coming mostly from those working at Coomacka and Bamia.
Kaieteur News has been made to understand that the few Guyanese employed by Bai Shan Lin are only allowed certain jobs.
Residents of Kwakwani said that about 90 percent of those driving the company trucks are Asian nationals.
Solomon confirmed this. Asian nationals are being given “permits to use our roads… This needs to be taken seriously, he said. These people don’t qualify, but they are driving heavy duty vehicles on our roads.”
Solomon said that the Asian drivers are not even complying with the rules and regulations of the roads.
He said that Casuarina Drive, Linden, has load restrictions hence Bai Shan Lin’s trucks are not supposed to pass there; but, of course they do.
Solomon went further to explain that the road even had a barrier which was knocked down as Bai Shan Lin’s trucks continue to use it.
The Regional Chairman said that that road is an emergency one as it leads to Mackenzie Hospital. There are also two schools on that very road, one of them a nursery.
In the advertisement for employees, the company said “In order to ensure and accommodate the timely commencement and completion of these projects (wood processing plant etc), meet the demands of the company and to fulfill our promise to utilize (a) local workforce, hence assisting Guyanese people with employment, at present management is in need of approximately 700 Guyanese workers.”
At that time GINA had written that Whenze Chu, Chairman of the China Forest Industry Group Company Ltd, the parent company of Bai Shan Lin Forest Development Inc., has a 40-year involvement in the timber industry and has accumulated rich experience in this field. It said that last November.
China Forest Industry Group Company Ltd is the parent company for several operations across Guyana, including Haimorakabra Logging, Karlam South America Timbers, Wood Associated Industries, Kwebanna Wood Productions, Sherwood Forests, Bai Shan Lin Housing, Construction, Mining Development Inc., and Bai Shan Lin Shipbuilding and Heavy Industries Inc.
When the advertisement was placed, Bai Shan Lin was to start a timber processing plant at Coomacka. That plant operated for a few months before the company aborted that and started logging in the area.
In addition to the numerous containers of logs that Bai Shan Lin ships out the country on a daily basis, freighters loaded with logs are taken out from Kwakwani.
On the journey to Kwakwani, Kaieteur News noticed a number of loaded trucks, carrying Bai Shan Lin’s logo, making their way to Georgetown. Then there were 24 containers of logs waiting to be exported.
Residents of Kwakwani estimated that no less than 30 container trucks pass through the streets of their community daily.
Earlier this year it was found that Bai Shan Lin did not have the statutory regulatory blessings of Lands and Surveys, Geology and Mines or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Kaieteur News confirmed that the EPA has not given Bai Shan Lin permission to operate in the Berbice River. This is the same river that runs through Kwakwani.
Bai Shan Lin operates a forestry concession that amounts to close to one million hectares of rainforest, from which it extracts logs and ships them out of Guyana.
These included concessions owned by other companies but which are being used by the Chinese company.
The company estimates that it will make US$1,800 from each hectare of land, giving it profits totaling US$1.7 billion, according to redd-monitor.org.

 

 August 14, 2014 

Parliament will have to wait until October to discuss Bai Shan Lin issue

Parliament will have to wait until October for any discussion on the activities of the Chinese Company Bai Shan Lin. Parliamentarian Joseph Harmon of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) on Monday, sought the intervention of the Speaker of the House, Raphael Trotman, to call an “extraordinary sector committee meeting” to have Bai Shan Lin officials come to Parliament and explain their operations in Guyana.
Harmon told Kaieteur News last evening, that he has received correspondence from the Speaker which indicates that they would have to wait until October for any meeting to be called.
He said that this new development is nothing short of unfortunate, knowing the seriousness of the matter.
Harmon has insisted that he does not believe that the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) is showing the type of energy to facilitate an investigation of this magnitude.
He had expressed that all operations of logging should be halted immediately and Parliament should have been given a full explanation about what the company is doing.
Over the weekend, the (EPA) denied ever giving the Chinese company, Bai Shan Lin International Forest Development Inc. any permission to do logging. However, a senior official at the EPA said that as it stands right now, Bai Shan Lin is having meetings with them regarding “scoping”.
It was explained that “scoping” is another aspect of its Environmental Assessment which Bai Shan Lin needs to complete.
The official further told Kaieteur News that the EPA, once everything is done in accordance with the formal requirements, would grant Bai Shan Lin an “Environmental Authorization Permit” which gives the right to log and harvest timber.
But the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) has denied that Bai Shan Lin was logging without a licence.
Bai Shan Lin International Forest Development Inc. is yet to receive a logging licence, but the company has teamed up with four others in joint ventures to export billions of dollars in timber monthly. Forestry officials explained that Bai Shan Lin International Forest Development does not have an actual licence for the exportation of logs. What the company has is a State Forest Exploration Permit.
That document allows the Chinese company to do an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment. The company is also required to do a forestry inventory and business plan which is to be submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
To circumvent the requirements, Bai Shan Lin has opted for joint venture deals with Karbana Wood, Wiacho, Haimorakabra and Paruni Wood Inc. The official said that at present, the company should only be engaging in limited exploration logging.
In June, Bai Shan Lin submitted an application to the EPA seeking environmental authorization to undertake a large scale logging and sawmill operation. That application is still pending.
According to the public notice which was published in June, the company asked for the authorization for several areas, including the Left Bank Essequibo River, Right Bank Berbice River, Right Bank Essequibo River, Left Bank Corentyne River, Left Bank Lysles River, River Bank Berbice River and Right Bank Powis River, including Regions Nine and Six.
It was noted that the project would entail felling, extraction of timber and transporting the commodity to a processing facility. The company would also be doing grading, construction of roads, skid trails, bridges, culverts and camps with other ancillary facilities within the concession.
Bai Shan Lin has been granted a forestry concession that amounts to close on one million hectares of rainforest, from which it plans to extract logs and ship them out of Guyana. The company estimates that it will make US$1,800 from each hectare of land, giving it profits totaling US$1.7 billion, according to redd-monitor.org.

 

August 15, 2014

Tracking website shows significant exotic wood exports by Bai Shan Lin

– without proper declaration

More information continues to surface about the operations of Chinese company, Bai Shan Lin, in Guyana. Several questions which have now arisen include whether Bai Shan Lin, among other companies, is exporting rare wood such as Locust and Wamara, without declaration to the Customs Administration.
Several sources within the Ministry of Natural Resources have said that the Wamara business is among the most lucrative business ventures that Bai Shan Lin is currently involved in.  This newspaper was also told that the company has essentially infiltrated the market, since Guyana is providing the precious raw material at giveaway prices.
This newspaper was also told that low level ministry workers along with forestry officials who are tasked with monitoring the export of timber aren’t able to complete their task. Some have expressed that since Bai Shan Lin along with several others entered into joint ventures, it has been “almost impossible” to have a tab on how much timber is being exported from Guyana.
An online search using Worldwide Export Tracker, Panjiva, provides some perspective.  Panjiva, a New York-based company, is the first and only online information source designed to provide a level of transparency into overseas suppliers. Leveraging this type of trade data from suppliers, Panjiva is able to produce details of trends within sectors.
Information published by Panjiva has been used by news websites such as FT.com and CNNMoney.com, where it has been described as “innovative and revolutionary”. Panjiva was started by Josh Green (CEO) and Jim Psota (CTO) in 2006.
The website shows that Bai Shan Lin started exporting logs from Guyana since 2008. According to Panjiva, Bai Shan Lin Investments on December 26, 2008 exported 74,095 pieces of “SawnTimber (Mixed Floor Boards).   In 2009 Bai Shan Lin on July 9th exported Locust Sawn Timber. The company exported a total of 558 pieces from Guyana.
The next month, Bai Shan Lin exported six containers with approximately 30,439 pieces of Greenheart Sawn Timber.
In October 2009, the company exported Wamara Sawn Timber. A total of 5303 pieces were sent out in two containers.
In September of 2010, Bai Shan Lin again sent out six more containers of mixed timber. It was explained that the company had exported a variety of exquisite timber. The pieces amount to 50,829.
Further records would show that in December 2012 Bai Shan Lin exported 6771 pieces of Locust Sawn Timber. A few months later, the company in July, exported 24,136 pieces of mixed timber in seven containers.
The online tracker updates daily and is expected to provide more information on such exports.
Over the weekend, the (EPA) denied ever giving the Chinese company, Bai Shan Lin International Forest Development Inc. any permission to do logging. However, a senior official at the EPA said that as it stands right now, Bai Shan Lin is having meetings with them regarding “scoping”. It was explained that “scoping” is another aspect of the Environmental Assessment which Bai Shan Lin needs to complete.
The official further told Kaieteur News that the EPA, once everything is done in accordance with the formal requirements, would grant Bai Shan Lin an “Environmental Authorization Permit” which gives the right to log and harvest timber. But the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) has denied that Bai Shan Lin was logging without a licence.
Bai Shan Lin International Forest Development Inc. has teamed up with four others in joint ventures to export billions of dollars in timber monthly.

 

August 15, 2014

Bai Shan Lin logging scandal deepens…Company halts massive E’bo operations

… but busy cutting new roads to Waini River

Chinese company, Bai Shan Lin’s operations in Kwakwani, Upper Berbice River, may have evoked widespread public

anger and disbelief over the magnitude, but there are indications now that those operations pale in comparison to what is happening in the Kwebanna, Waini area in Region One, Essequibo.
Kaieteur News, as part of its investigations into the scope of the company’s operations, flew into Region One (Barima/Waini) this week and found that the company has halted its logging operations there in the face of increasing scrutiny of its Upper Berbice operations.
The extent of the Essequibo activities reveals that the scope of logging operations by the company is way larger than Guyanese were initially led to believe.
For several days now, several trucks, laden with massive logs have been sitting on the roadside in the dense jungle in the Kwebanna area. The logs, seen by Kaieteur News, have already been certified with stamps and seals of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC).
In Essequibo, the company has been logging various species of wood and selling what it is not exporting to Barama Company Limited, an establishment which has an operation based along the Essequibo River.
Bai Shan Lin has also cut miles upon miles of road leading to the Waini River, and is looking to go even further.
There was a huge fleet of heavy-duty vehicles – some 35 bulldozers, 10 excavators, loaders and about 40 dump trucks – present on several sections of the road being built. Equipment was also present at various locations near loam pits, working to extract material for the road.
At several locations along the winding road, massive logs were seemingly left abandoned. This mimicked the state of play in Region Ten near the communities of Kwakwani, Ituni and Linden, in Region 10, where logs were strategically left waiting for pickup.
It is unclear why the company has stalled operations in Region One. At one location, several trucks were parked next to each other, but no one was in sight. Among the prized species of logs left unattended were some measuring as much as four feet in diameter and more than 70 feet in length. Included among them in great number was the high-valued Purpleheart.
It is clear that Bai Shan Lin is serious about its investments as evidenced by the scores of vehicles and other heavy equipment in the area.
Following investigations and reports by Kaieteur News over the past week on Bai Shan Lin’s operations, the GFC, headed by Commissioner James Singh, and its governing authority, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, led by Minister Robert Persaud, have launched an aggressive public relations campaign to defend the company.
Already, questions are being raised as to why state agencies would push badly needed resources, to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars already, into defending what essentially is a private company, more so a foreign one.
Opposition Parliamentary parties have already accused senior government officials of colluding with the company to hide the true nature of its operations, and taking kickbacks which have caused them to shut up in the face of what could be glaring violations of Guyanese law.
Bai Shan Lin has been boasting of having access to close to a million hectares of rainforest in Guyana as part of its mega investment plans. But Minister Persaud had said that the information was false and called on Bai Shan Lin to retract its claims. The company never did and Persaud never demanded that it did.
On July 14, Persaud told the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources that the company only has access to 640,000 hectares of forest, with the majority being for various studies.
Regarding forests to which the company has access, Commissioner of Forests, James Singh, said that Bai Shan Lin has two state forest permits. He said such permits are issued for a period of three years, and during that time the company has to do an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, along with a forest inventory. In addition, Singh said the company has to develop a business plan.
Singh said that it is only if these documents receive a favourable review by the Forestry Commission’s Board, that the company can be issued with a Timber Sales Agreement (TSA) that would allow it to extract trees. The two state forest permits encompass three proposed forestry concession sites.
Apart from this, the company was said to be involved in joint ventures with four local companies through which it has access to some 280,000 hectares of forest from which it can harvest timber for export. Those joint ventures are with Sherwood Forests, Haimorakabra Logging, Puruni Woods, and Kwebanna Wood Products.
The logging activities of Bai Shan Lin would take on extreme significance because of the fact that company has not yet moved into its promised value-added processing phase.
Guyana has actively been pursuing a reduction of log exports in favour of value-added operations, which would give the country more revenue and also provide more job opportunities for Guyanese. However, figures provided have shown a major increase in log exports, especially for the first half of this year. And the increase is being blamed on the aggressive logging activities of Bai Shan Lin and other foreign operators.

 

 

August 16, 2014

Bai Shan Lin refutes allegations of $500 pay, ignores claims of mistreatment, poor working conditions

–    Region 10 Chairman stands by story

Bai Shan Lin has sought to debunk allegations that it has an employment ratio of 70 percent Asians to 30 Percent Guyanese, and that the company has been paying the few locals it employs as little as $500 per day.

The company sent out a statement which sought to explain that the salary scheme is divided into three parts: interior, office/clerical and contracted.
According to the company, for interior, most of the Guyanese employed are paid based on performance, “the more you have worked, the more you will earn.”
Below is an extract from the statement:
“…Such as, truck drivers, the more trips a drive makes, a higher salary will be earned. For inventory staff, the higher amounts of inventory of blocks, a higher salary will be earned. For heavy machinery operators, the more cubic meter of logs skidded; a higher salary will be earned. However, most of Bai Shan Lin salaries for interior staff are more than 60,000 Guyana dollars per month. For office/clerical, Bai Shan Lin has different categories; Cleaner, Supervisor, Manager, Deputy General Manager, Finance Controller, Managing Director etc. But the minimum salary for the above mentioned position is at least 60,000 Guyana dollars per month.
For contracting, Bai Shan Lin has the consultant doing ESIA (Environmental Social Impact Assessment) for inventory blocks. However, those who are working for the contractors, mostly the contractor is responsible for their salary, this also will be more than 60,000 Guyana dollars per month.”
The company said that it has 51 non-Guyanese and 151 Guyanese employees.
This will amount to 202 staff members employed with the company overall.
But in January 2013, Bai Shan Lin Forest Development Inc. advertised for 700 Guyanese workers.
In advertisements in the media, Bai Shan Lin said that it had vacancies for 220 factory construction workers, 80 skilled chain-saw operators, 80 semi-skilled chain-saw operators, 30 bulldozer operators, 35 loading truck drivers, 60 dump truck drivers, two excavator and grader operators, 60 logging truck drivers, 20 container truck drivers, 10 mechanics, 10 servicemen, 13 cooks and 80 inventory clerks.
Kaieteur News was told that the company generally has a policy to give Asian nationals first preference at employment and from all indications, there are enough Asian nationals residing in Guyana to facilitate the elimination of Guyanese workers on any project the Asians embark upon.
Bai Shan Lin has a known presence at Moblissa, Coomacka, Bamia, Kwakwani and Ituni.
This newspaper has been able to verify that at the Coomacka and Bamia locations.
Region Ten Chairman, Sharma Solomon, had said that some workers attached to Bai Shan Lin, have been frequenting the Office of the Regional Democratic Council complaining of the way the company has been violating their rights.
The Chairman said that workers have been lamenting the conditions they work under. They have also been complaining of bad treatment and poor payment.
Solomon said, Bai Shan Lin have workers on payroll who are being paid as little as $500 a day. He said these complaints have been coming mostly from those working at Coomacka and Bamia.
When contacted yesterday, Solomon told this newspaper that he saw the statement and noticed that the company did not reject what he said.
“I highlighted that the company has been paying locals as little as $500 a day. I spoke about the conditions under which my fellow Guyanese have to work and the treatment they are dealt. I spoke about the treatment towards communities such as Moblissa… there is nothing we said that they dispute.
Solomon also pointed to the incomplete Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and said that Bai Shan Lin “nor those speaking on behalf of Bai Shan Lin, can say that the Region, on behalf of the people, is not making legitimate and objective concerns. And you know that we have every right to do so.”
The Chairman said that all citizens should be concerned “and that they have every right to be” when Bi Shan Lin moves to disrupt the lives of people without notice.
“Are we being told that we are not allowed to or shouldn’t raise legitimate concerns about the livelihood of our people? Are we without reason to do so?,” asked Solomon.

 

August 16, 2014

Bai Shan Lin logging scandal…Evidence more than enough to warrant an immediate investigation – TIGI tells Gov’t.

– No amount of revenue can compensate for the destruction of our forest resources

While the evidence of wanton exploitation of Guyana’s forests has been exposed by this publication, the oversight bodies; The Guyana Forestry Commission and the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, have started a campaign in an effort to repair the damage done to their image and refute the claims.

Transparency Institute Guyana Inc. (TIGI) via a missive yesterday said that it has been following with keen interest, the various news reports of the apparent exploitation of precious forest resources through the indiscriminate logging and exportation of logs, especially by two overseas companies reportedly enjoying substantial concessions from the Government of Guyana.
However, TIGI said that there are conflicting reports as to whether these companies; Bai Shan Lin and Baitarani, are permitted to conduct logging operations and to export the logs under the terms and conditions of their respective contracts with the Government.
The agency noted that it is also unclear whether the companies’ operations are in conformity with Guyana’s laws, specifically the Guyana Forestry Commission Act and the Environmental Protection Act.
TIGI said that it finds it particularly troubling that both the Ministry of National Resources and the Guyana Forestry Commission have opted to defend the operations of the companies even in the face of damning photographical evidence. TIGI noted too that the defence by the Commission and the Ministry are cushioned with information that appears incomplete and misleading.
In light of all that has been highlighted by various outlets, TIGI believes that it is more than substantial for the Government to make available publicly, the contracts entered into with the two overseas companies.
The anti-corruption agency also stated that the findings of the media and the public outrage, is also more than enough for the Government to place a halt on the operations of the companies until the truth is determined.
It also sought to remind the Government of its obligation under Article 149 (2) of the Constitution which requires the State to “protect the environment, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable and other legislative measures designed to – (a) prevent pollution and ecological degradation; (b) promote conservation; and (c) secure sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development”.
At the same time, TIGI strongly recommended that the Government take urgent measures to provide for an independent investigation to determine whether there has been any violation by the companies or any related entities, of their contractual and statutory obligations. Only after it is determined that there are no such breaches, should the two companies be allowed to continue operations, the agency suggested.
It said too, that recommendations from such an investigation should be applied across the entire sector and lead to a strengthening of the laws and procedures regulating the sector.
TIGI is also of the view that even if these two companies are operating within the confines of their contractual arrangements with the Government, to the extent that such arrangements conflict with national interest, especially as regards the protection of Guyana’s environment and forest resources, the contracts should be rescinded forthwith.

 

August 16, 2014 

Protestors told “no legal grounds” to halt Bai Shan Lin’s operations
The Environmental Community Health Organisation (ECHO) staged its second protest against Bai Shan Lin, this time taking it outside the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC)’s compound at Kingston yesterday.
This call for an investigation into the logging activities of the Chinese-owned company is grounded in the fact that the company appears to be posing environmental risks to Guyana with its exploitive logging activities.
According to ECHO’s Executive Director, Royston King, Bai Shan Lin’s operations should be put to a “halt”, until proper investigations are carried out by the GFC, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment and other relevant bodies.
There are questions over the extent of the logging activities of the company across the country and how it acquired the many concessions.
About one hour into the protest, officials of GFC invited members of ECHO to their conference room, to address the group’s concerns.
GFC’s Corporate Secretary and lawyer, Jaci Archibald; Head of Forest Monitoring Division, Tasreef Khan; Head of Plan and Development, Pradeepa Bholanauth and the Head of the Finance Division, Edward Goberdhan, were present.
One concern raised by ECHO member, Eon Andrews, was the legality and details of GFC’s contract with Bai Shan Lin. Andrews made it clear that the contract should be made public by the Commission, so as to ensure the company is operating in accordance with “good governance of Guyana’s natural resources.”
The details of the contract, he said, would produce enough information on the company’s operations, to clear any fears of illegal logging, exploitation, and unfair practices.
In response to this issue, Archibald made it clear that the public can only have access to the requested information “writing to the Commissioner of Forestry” for its release. He said GFC will not release the agreement until that is done.
“GFC has nothing to hide with regards to Bai Shan Lin’s contract”, the lawyer insisted.
“As a matter of fact, the company’s operations cannot be halted, since no legal grounds were established to do so.” Bai Shan Lin, he claimed, has maintained their “contractual legal limit”, in terms of extracting timber from Guyana.
Another concern raised by ECHO member, Penda Guyan, was the level of local deforestation by Bai Shan Lin. She said the Chinese company is creating “dust bowls” which contribute to global warming.
However, Archibald in his response said that audits by several international agencies found “no form of destruction” to Guyana’s forest. He said that Bai Shan Lin is bound by the system laid out in their contract – to conduct logging operations in a conservative manner.
Commenting on the issue, Bholanauth explained that auditing takes place under Guyana’s Norwegian agreement.  She said that annual reports must be submitted to Norwegian authorities concerning national levels of deforestation.
She noted that GFC has invested in services from international satellites, to scan the amount of continuous blocks of one hectare of forest, and also compute the amount of broken hectares of forest present in Guyana.
In the 2012 national report, Guyana recorded a loss of 240 hectares cleared out of the 21 million hectares of local forest.
Bholanauth said that Norway deploys an independent auditor to Guyana to scrutinize GFC’s annual report. She noted that all reports were confirmed to be accurate, and the system purchased to continually monitor deforestation is legitimately correct and internationally credible.
She also mentioned international field-based monitoring and audits from third parties which also take place.
Khan in his address to ECHO said that the company has to act in accordance with GFC’s regulation of “selective logging.”
The GFC officials noted that if any company were violating regulations, it would have been discovered, with the necessary actions taken.GFC said it knows of no recent violations.

 

August 16, 2014

Bai Shan Lin’s operations is a National Scandal

–    reflects classic example of Industrial scale corruption – Bulkan  
A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament, Ronald Bulkan has called the revelations regarding Bai Shan Lin’s operations in Guyana a “National Scandal” and said that all Guyanese should be concerned as the country is being faced

APNU MP,
Ronald Bulkan

with a “real danger.”
In recent times, this newspaper has been highlighting the large scale operations of Bai Shan Lin and the fact that the company has been exporting Guyana’s most exotic woods even without the blessings of the regulatory bodies.
This newspaper has also brought to the public’s attention, the concerns of Region 10, where Bai Shan Lin has significant concessions, and the way Guyanese workers are being treated.
Bulkan, at APNU’s weekly press conference held yesterday, referred to revelations by Chairman of Region 10, Sharma Solomon, that locals are being paid as little as $500 by Bai Shan Lin, and said that it is tantamount to modern day slavery.
He said that, that and the other concerns of the people of Region 10 should be noted and taken seriously.
According to Bulkan, it is more than ridiculous that a foreign company can be allowed, moreover encouraged, to rape the country of its natural resources and get duty and tax exemption to do so as well.
Bulkan highlighted that the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on natural resources had sought information on this company before but got nowhere with it.
The Member of Parliament said that it is basic for the government to, at least, demand that the material is processed before exported out of the country.
The politician, who has a background in wood working said, that the policy of domestic processing was taken seriously by Guyana in the past but seemingly not anymore. He said however, that companies should not be allowed to export without even having at least a small saw mill.
He stressed, “We really should not allow our lumber to be exported in the raw material.”
The politician said that what Guyana is seeing unfold is a classic example of industrial scale corruption. Bulkan said this as he questioned “why else would our government allow this…they need to explain the reasoning behind allowing a foreign company to extract and export our resources on a large scale and give the country little or nothing in return.”
Bulkan noted that the resources Bai Shan Lin is grabbing cannot be replaced in two or three generations, “we are faced with a real danger.
“We are not seeing how Guyana is benefitting and at the rate of exploitation, very soon all our resources will be all gone and that is the real danger.”
Bulkan pointed to the whole page advertisement placed in the newspapers by Bai Shan Lin and said that it is the worst kind of three card trick.
The advertisement which carries a headline “Bai Shan Lin forest operations are in compliance with the sustainable forest management and legality guidelines of Guyana” was accompanied by a photo captioned “Bai Shan Lin Linden Timber Processing Plant”
Bulkan told the media yesterday that the photo which accompanied the ad is nothing else but fake.
He said “you can ask any Lindener about the processing plant. It is not what you saw in the paper, that is a computer image and probably in the fine prints they will tell you some funny story.”

 

August 17

Bai Shan Lin logging scandal…Burns thousands of abandoned logs in E’bo

– ships in US$25M in equipment before logging permission granted

Under-fire Chinese-owned firm, Bai Shan Lin, spent over $5B (US$25M) in equipment to conduct

primary extraction activities even before it received permission to conduct large scale logging.
The admission by the company yesterday in a statement would raise questions whether Government and its agencies promised the company that it will clear the way for it to receive state forests to conduct logging activities.
Both Bai Shan Lin and the Government of Guyana are facing serious flak now over the arrangements the latter has with the company.
The company has been conducting significant logging activities in especially the Upper Berbice, Region 10, area without any clear moves to establish its promised processing facilities.
While Bai Shan Lin has two State Forest Exploratory Permits, it has not yet been granted the clearance to log as a number of studies have to first be completed and submitted first to the regulators.
Government says that the company has joint venture arrangements with a number of local companies and organizations but sheer number of heavy equipment far outstrips what is needed for these.
Yet the company went ahead and was granted duty free concessions to bring in hundreds of trucks, scores of bulldozers, loaders and other heavy duty equipment. This type of equipment is mainly used for logging, a clear signal of Bai Shan Lin’s intent in Guyana.
How Government allowed the shipments of the equipment before the approval of logging permits in Bai Shan Lin’s concessions is the big question.
According to industry officials, duty free concessions are normally granted after a business plan is submitted and the needs of the business would determine what these concessions are.
Since details of the logging activities hit the media over a week ago, the Parliamentary Opposition and local operators have been demanding details.
A letter from the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association has been sent to Government requesting details of

Bai Shan Lin’s agreement with Government.
Among other things, stakeholders want the full text of all foreign direct investment (FDI) arrangements and supplementary contracts and details of all concession licences – Timber Sales Agreements (TSA), Wood Cutting Licences (WCLs) and State Forest Permissions (SFPs).
Government and the Guyana Forestry Commission are also being asked to table all Joint Venture contracts, showing signatures of government approvals on letterheads, and with dates.
Meanwhile, in its joint venture concession at Kwebanna, Region One, several logs which were apparently abandoned in one of the trails for months, were found to be torched.
It was reported that workers of Bai Shan Lin, in an attempt to get rid of the logs which had been lying there for a while, lit them on fire to get rid of them.
The GFC tags on several of half burned logs remained unscathed.
The Kwebanna concession has reportedly been a major problem for Bai Shan Lin because it is an area in which new roads have to be built.
The company is hoping to use the Waini River to help it move the cut logs out of the area.
It remains to be seen whether GFC takes action over the burning of the logs.

 

August 17, 2014

Exotic, pricey wood species being shipped out of Guyana

As the controversy surrounding Bai Shan Lin’s operations in Guyana continues, the main question is why the company is exporting large quantities of exotic woods such as “Locust and Wamara”.
Conservationists have been arguing that countries where these “exotic” woods are found should not export large quantities since they are considered an “invasive species”.
Invasive species, also called invasive exotics or simply exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions.
Sometimes called Guyana Rosewood for its lustrous, dense, and colour, Wamara technically isn’t true rosewood (Dalbergia genus), but is in what could arguably be viewed as one of the most under-appreciated genera of tropical hardwoods: Swartzia.
This genus is filled with a variety of colorful and striped woods, most of which remain obscure. It is considered an “exotic wood” in many parts of the world.
The Locust tree is native to the southeastern United States, but has been widely planted and naturalized elsewhere in temperate North America, Europe, Southern Africa and Asia and is considered an invasive species in some areas.
Pricing for the species…
Bai Shan Lin on July 2009, last, exported 558 pieces of Locust Sawn Timber from Guyana.
In October 2009, the company also exported Wamara Sawn Timber. A total of 5303 pieces were sent out in two containers. World Market demand for these two species of wood could fetch a heavy price.  The “Wamara” which is being sold by the cubic meter can fetch a price of between US$200 and US$600.
Kaieteur News was told that the “Wamara” logs can be sold from between US$260 and US$290. Depending on the demand, the prices can triple, making it one of the best selling timber products being exported.
It is believed that Bai Shan Lin and other logging companies have not been declaring “Wamara and Locust” when exporting. Rather they have been passing this off as mixed hard woods.
Several sources within the Ministry of Natural Resources have said that the Wamara business is among the most lucrative business ventures that Bai Shan Lin is currently involved in.
This newspaper was also told that low level ministry workers along with forestry officials who are tasked with monitoring the export of timber are not able to complete their task. It is being reported that since Bai Shan Lin along with several others entered into joint ventures, it has been “almost impossible” to keep a tab on how much timber is being exported from Guyana.
Bai Shan Lin, a Chinese logging company, has big plans for Guyana: forest concessions covering 960,000 hectares; a 20-kilometre river gold mining concession; a 500-hectare Guyana-China Timber Industry Economic and Trading Cooperation Park and a 160-hectare real estate development.
Despite the scale of the planned operations, Bai Shan Lin’s agreements with the government of Guyana are not public and there has been no discussion in the National Assembly about the company’s plans.
In Guyana, it is illegal for a logging company to take over another logging company’s operation, unless officially authorised by the President. Yet Bai Shan Lin has managed to enter into large scale joint ventures with a number of locals.

 

August 17, 2014

FRONT PAGE COMMENT – BAI SHAN LIN

It is not that Glenn Lall does not love the President of Guyana; he loves him like a brother. It is just that he loves Guyana more.
There is no one that I have met in my lifetime who is as concerned about the future of Guyana as Glenn Lall, the publisher of this newspaper. It is this love for the country in which he was born and raised that has allowed him to pursue so relentlessly issues that he feels are capable of endangering the future of Guyana.
The concerns that this newspaper has been expressing over the forestry activities of Bai Shan Lin should not be confused with any conspiracy being hatched against the government. Instead of leveling charges of conspiracy against this newspaper, the President should be addressing the concerns that have been exposed herein.
What are these concerns?
The first concern is that logs are being exported out of Guyana for processing as far as China. While Guyana’s high energy costs would have no doubt contributed to the need to export logs rather than process them locally, the fact that the logs are being sent as far as away as China begs the question as to whether Bai Shan Lin has any interest at all in establishing sawmilling facilities to eventually process logs locally.
That company certainly has the financial clout to finance, as a private venture, the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project. This is something that the government should be exploring, so that cheap energy can be available to process the logs locally.
It is accepted that any logging company must cut first before it processes; it must stockpile logs before it begins any processing operations. But from the evidence that Kaieteur News has presented, it does seem as if the emphasis is on log exports rather than processing. The President of Guyana should address this concern.
The second concern is whether Bai Shan Lin’s operations are being properly monitored and regulated. The Guyana Forestry Commission is contending that it has been monitoring deforestation rates. It has, however, not provided any data on these rates, and specifically on Bai Shan Lin, so that an assessment can be made about whether the company is engaged in sustainable forestry practices.
By addressing this concern as to the rate of deforestation nationally, and by the company, the President should be able to satisfy Guyanese that our forests’ resources are not being exploited in an unsustainable way.
The third concern is related to the above. It is about ensuring sustainable forestry practices. Bai Shan Lin should be encouraged to launch a project in which it will replant a tree for every tree that it cuts down. In fact this should be the responsibility of all logging companies in Guyana. If you are going to cut trees you should be replanting.
The fourth concern is the availability of certain species for those manufacturers who utilize local logs. Many local timber companies have imperiled their own future by becoming buyers from private individuals and community associations engaged in logging.
Over the past ten years, timber companies have become reliant on chainsaw operators. Most timber companies, instead of engaging in their own logging, have been purchasing timber from these chainsaw operators whose numbers have multiplied because of the development of what is called “mobile saw mills.”  The fear of many of these local timber companies is that Bai Shan Lin will corner the local market because of their association with community logging associations and this will leave these local timber magnates, who are undertaking limited or no logging, without any supplies, since Bai Shan Lin could buy whatever these chainsaw operators and mobile sawmillers produce.
The President should work to ensure that local loggers are assured an adequate supply of logs, but he should also insist that Bai Shan Lin enter the domestic market so as to reduce prices. Those who control local timber sales are bound to resist this entry, but the President should insist on this in the interest of consumers.
The government is under no obligation to provide the Guyana Manufacturers Association with a copy of the contract and other documents relating to the deal with Bai Shan Lin. Those contracts would no doubt detail commercial information about the company’s plans and financial projections, and these should be kept confidential. But certainly a sanitized version of the contract detailing the size of the forestry concession and the allowable rates of exploitation should be provided to the National Assembly, so that there can be some oversight of this company’s operations in Guyana. The President should address this concern also.

 

August 17

Bai Shan Lin logging scandal deepens…Bai Shan Lin says in full page ad application took four years to process GO-INVEST has no application for logging or any related activity – Opposition

The recent expose by this publication on what appears to be the exploitation of Guyana’s forests by Bai Shan Lin has driven the Chinese firm and the Guyana Forestry Commission into campaigns which seek to repair their image.

Through paid advertisements, the two entities have attempted to provide the public with the information some critics have refused to accept because they feel it is not the entire truth.
In one of its ads in the Kaieteur News Sunday publication, Bai Shan Lin stated that in 2008, it applied to the “Government of Guyana through the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) and other agencies to lease lands to set up a factory to process logs and engage in value added production, such as the making of furniture, craft and hard wood flooring.”
Since issuing this statement, several opposition members have said that Go-Invest should publically state its role with the said company and why it has failed as the government’s main investment agency to monitor how Guyana is benefitting from the deals struck with the company and the government.
However, when contacted yesterday, Keith Burrowes, CEO of GO-invest, declined to release any information in this regard.
Burrowes told this publication, “I prefer not to comment on your questions on Bai Shan Lin and considering that only recently I was appointed the CEO of this company, I can assure that I will look into it.”
However, after being apprised with these comments, some opposition members said that the CEO’s response only leaves one to wonder as to why he could not answer simple questions about the company’s role regarding Bai Shan Lin.
Burrowes’ statements does little to quell mounting concerns that Bai Shan Lin never went to GO-Invest for any investment deal that involves interest in logging or any related activity as it claimed in its advertisement. It is believed by reliable political sources that the company skipped Go-Invest and was in partnership solely with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Guyana Forestry Commission for all its “sweet investment proposals.”
Shadow Finance Minister of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Carl Greenidge, said that the gathering storm over the management of Guyana’s forestry and related concessions raises a number of troubling questions especially as this Government approaches the end of its term in office.
Greenidge said that the questions relate to what benefits the country is getting from the destruction or utilization of resources that are not being replaced or renewed, and whether Guyana has to set up special and independent Courts to prosecute those who facilitate large scale economic crimes before the PPP will desist from this behavior.
The politician said that another question which needs to be answered is what are the criteria governing the extension of such large and varied concessions across sectors to investors in general and foreign firms in particular.
The Parliamentarian said that the current controversy over the policies associated with the operations of Bai Shan Lin and Vaitarna Holdings Private Inc (VHPI)    are only part of a more insidious process already under way in Guyana.
“We need to get answers to some specific questions such as what informed the size of the concessions granted to these companies.”
He said that Barbados’ area is 166 sq miles and the Iwokrama Reserve is 3710 sq miles. Greenidge highlighted that the concessions granted to the two companies alone, are almost as large as the Reserve. The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee said too that Vaitarna Holdings Private Inc (VHPI) has been granted 2469 sq miles – apparently the largest of all the concessions, and Bai Shan Lin 1058, giving a total of approximately 3237sq miles.
The reason for this remains unknown, Greenidge said.
“Guyanese need to know the real truth and they should start first by answering these questions,” the politician asserted.

 

August 17, 2014

Bai Shan Lin logging scandal…Ramotar needs to act in the interest of the Guyanese people – GTUC

The people are on one side fighting to ensure the nation’s protection…and government officials on the other side aligned with foreign forces to plunder and rape our resources for personal enrichment.

The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), having followed the incisive investigative reports on Bai Shan Lin’s operations in Guyana, has concluded that the nation is witnessing a scandalous affair that threatens sovereignty.
This the Union declared in a missive released yesterday.
The statement reflected GTUC’s view that President Donald Ramotar is failing in his foremost responsibility to the nation; “loyalty to the people.”
GTUC said that the growing concerns and alarm by local stakeholders over the management of Guyana’s forest and infrastructures, environmental impact, the exclusion of local workforce and the conditions of service for those employed, are not to be dismissed and treated as though it’s business as usual.
The Union expressed that the government should not put up a defence as “there is no defence to the indefensible.”
GTUC stated, “Guyana is a sovereign nation. When foreigners are made to think the citizenry is irrelevant, as conveyed by the President’s flippant disregard for our concerns, he is transmitting a message to all that the concerns of Guyanese are unimportant and he is an active partner in aiding and abetting a process to treat us as second class citizens in the land of our birth.”
“Not once as President, when nationals raise concerns about the disregard for our rights, the laws of this land and the sovereignty of this nation, has Ramotar communicated that the concerns are noted, will be examined or that the people’s interest will be protected.”
The Union said that as a result, Guyanese are being placed in a position to conclude that “We and country are mere pawns in a scheme to carve up our resources through unholy alliances between foreigners and government officials in cahoots with their cohorts.”
GTUC opined that the government is abrogating its responsibility to the people and creating a situation of “us versus them. The people on one side fighting to ensure the nation’s protection…and government officials on the other side aligned with foreign forces to plunder and rape our resources for personal enrichment. This is not a good place for the citizens or government to find themselves, i.e. on opposing sides on matters of foreign investment.”
The Union pointed out that most “foreign sweetheart deals” were started and rushed through under the Jagdeo Administration and have continued with aplomb under the Ramotar Administration.
The Union opined that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment was specifically created and headed by Robert Persaud to ensure execution of the plans. “The people of this nation are not fools!”
GTUC said that citizens need assurances that concerns will be addressed, information revealed and contracts and laws reviewed to ensure foreign companies are operating in compliance with the national interest.
“The GTUC is not adverse to foreign investments. The GTUC is adverse to investments that disregard the rights of citizens, the laws of our land, and the sovereignty of this nation…This is not the time for President Ramotar to engage in political arrogance and contempt for the people. The raping and plundering of our resources do not attract political divisions. These are concerns of every Guyanese regardless of race, class, creed and political persuasion. The President needs to understand this, desist from the political grandstanding, and address the people’s concerns with the seriousness they deserve.”
The Union highlighted that “Guyana belongs to all Guyanese. Guyanese are today saying we face clear and present danger as a people in the presence of continuous foreign onslaughts! We have serious concerns about the management of our resources, the abuse of workers and the laws of the land. It is in the President’s interest to remember to whom he has taken the Oath of Office to serve and pay heed to growing concerns.”

 

August 17, 2014

Bai Shan Lin logging scandal …Government has established a principle of law breaking – Greenidge

Once “kickbacks” are “sweet” foreign companies are allowed to disregard laws which seem to be a new waiver -Greenidge

 “The investor is more important than the people. The PPP has given up on the people and the people will make it clear to them soon that they have given up on them.”-Harmon

As soon as evidence of the Chinese and Indian firms’ large scale exploitive logging practices are exposed, the government is eager and ready to deny the claims.

But government, according to some critics, could simply prove its case by getting an independent investigation done. It was recommended that all operations of the companies would need to come to a halt and only continue until the government can prove that the pictorial evidence and testimonies tell a different story.
However, from indications thus far, the PPP and its associated regulatory agencies of the forestry sector may be far from willing to facilitate such. More than likely, it is because the “the kickbacks are so sweet, that foreign companies are allowed to disregard or disrespect the laws of the country and exploit its resources. It’s become like a new waiver now,” one politician asserted.
The recent controversy over the policies that are supposed to govern and prevent the “abusive” operations of Bai Shan Lin and Vaitarna Holdings Private Inc (VHPI) has attracted much commentary.
Chairman of the Parliamentary Economics Services Committee, Carl Greenidge in giving his take on the matter, said that the priority of economic policy has always been to seek to implement projects that will do a number of things.
He noted that economic policies such as the ones governing the logging industry seek to; utilize local labour as a priority, train labour where they do not have the skills and treat all labour with respect in the workplace and pay a fair wage.
Government, he opined, has established a principle of law breaking and disrespecting the country’s policies.
There have been increasing accusations over the past week, that Bai Shan Lin’s employment ratio is 70 Asian nationals to 30 Guyanese and that the pay is as low as $500 per day in some instances. Of course, the company has refuted these claims.
However, Greenidge said that in the case of the Chinese firms if not those from India as well, the matter of employment of locals in skilled and managerial areas seem to always be a challenge.  Having had to struggle against this under colonialism, the politician asserts that “we seem destined to repeat this nightmare, overseen by a local Government in the second millennium.”
Were the roles reversed, would China allow Caribbean countries to manage their businesses with total disregard for its

laws? Of course not, Greenidge asserted. He said that we are not permitted to do it so “why do the enterprises of fraternal states feel that that they may ignore laws and regulations as well as local practice?” The answer, he believes, lies in the attitude of the Government.
In view of the Parliamentary recess, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) member said that the Government should have an independent authority review the policy material and advise on the problem.
As the Chairman of the Economic services Committee, he expressed that he, and more than likely his colleagues of the Natural Resources Committee, would be quite willing to be consulted on with regards to the choice of the appropriate vehicle for such an investigation.
Greenidge insisted that Guyanese need to know several things in relation to this controversy. These include; why companies have been able to export commercial quantities of lumber and ores although they have only exploration licences, and what additional legislation, regulations (e.g. transferability of rights) or amendments of responsibilities are required to ensure that these abuses are brought to an end forthwith. He added that citizens also needs to know which agencies and officials, if any, have been negligent or culpable, in the event that the laws and regulations have been broken and lastly, which ministers have been responsible for this fiasco.
The Former Finance Minister added, “We will not be put off by silly and contemptible PPP smears of, ‘anti-Chinese’, ‘anti Indian’ or ‘anti-Russian’.  Our entrepreneurs, whether state sponsored or not, do not enjoy exemption from the requirements of the laws and regulations in China and India. Disrespecting our laws seems to be a new waiver and we need to change that.”
APNU member of the Natural Resources Committee, Joseph Harmon said that like Greenidge, he supports the

position taken by Transparency International Guyana Inc. which recently stated that the evidence provided by the media is more than enough to warrant immediately, an independent investigation.
Harmon said that this inquiry should include all the other companies under whose aegis the “big ones” are operating in the forestry sector.
He said that this would have to be a full Commission of Inquiry but it is clear from the statements coming from government, that they would not facilitate such an inquiry.
The Parliamentarian said that the PPP has made it clear that they have made their choice.  “The investor is more important than the people. Do note President Ramotar’s statement on the rape of our forestry resources. He is under the belief that the company is right and that there is no abuse. The PPP has given up on the people and the people will make it clear to them soon that they have given up on them.”

 

 

August 19

ECHO tells Bai Shan Ling to cease logging operations or face the Courts

The local Environmental Community Health Organization (ECHO) has warned Chinese company Bai Shan Ling to cease all its logging operations being conducted in the country’s interior region or face legal intervention.

ECHO which is headed by Mr. Royston King is demanding the company’s operations to cease until it can be verified that it is operating within the ambit of the law.
The law office of Moore, Harmon, Sobers and Gaskin yesterday dispatched the letter to the company’s Corporate Secretary and local head explaining that the environmental group is dissatisfied with the manner in which the logging activity is being conducted and sees harm being done to the local eco-system.
The letter by Attorney-at-law Leslie Sobers said that (ECHO) has requested him to do all things necessary concerning the operations of the company as it relates to the extraction of logs and other timber resources from within the interior of Guyana and the country as a whole.
“We have been instructed that your company has embarked upon a course of conduct whereby large quantities of this country’s forest resources in the form of logs, dressed and undressed timber of several varieties have been and continue to be exported by your company contrary to the licence granted to your company for the purpose of exploration.”
“Our client further instructs us that your company’s logging operations are of such a magnitude that it raises concerns about the impact such activities are having or are likely to have upon the ecology and biodiversity of this country’s standing forest, and further as to whether any proper Environmental Impact Assessment was done in relation to your operations and in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act of Guyana, and further whether any meaningful broad-based consultations and public engagements were conducted by your company in keeping with the said Environmental Protection Act.”
“In view of these concerns our client has instructed us to call upon your company, to immediately cease operations at all locations under the control of Bai Shan Lin Inc. whether operating under another registered name but which is a subsidiary of your company or in which your company has an interest or contractual engagement, that is to say; in the form of felling, cutting, dressing, extracting, or otherwise removing any forest resource of Guyana until it can be established that your company is operating in accordance with the laws of Guyana and with consideration for sustainable operations in the extraction and processing of this country’s forest resources.”
“Take notice that should you fail, refuse and/or neglect to comply with this demand our client has instructed us to take further steps to ensure your company’s compliance with the same.”
During recent weeks, this newspaper has unearthed massive logging operations being conducted by the Chinese company in parts of the country’s interior. This is despite Bai Shan Lin being granted permission by the authorities to only conduct exploratory activities.
ECHO has been in Guyana since 2006 and is located at 185 Charlotte Street, Lacytown. The agency has environmental clubs within primary schools and ECHO teams in various communities across the country, offering educational programmes and projects to foster environmental protection awareness.
Following the revelations by this newspaper, ECHO hosted two protest actions; one at the office of the Natural Resources Minister, Robert Persaud and the other at the Guyana Forestry Commission. A public forum was also held at the National Library last Friday where local and public presenters discussed the effects of the indiscriminate logging.

 

August 20, 2014

GFC says Bai Shan Lin did no logging at Kwebana in 2014…Photos evidence rubbishes GFC claims

– Residents and photos of parked trucks tell totally different story

Information provided by the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) regarding logging activities

by Chinese-owned Bai Shan Lin in Kwebana, Region One, in Essequibo, is totally false.
The information has raised further questions about what other information provided by GFC is also untrue.
Last week, in published statements and again on Monday during a press conference at the agency’s Kingston head office, Commissioner James Singh said that for the year, no logging activities took place in the Kwebana concession – an area of 87,361 hectares that is under the control of the Chinese company.
The table, which Kaieteur News is publishing with this article, and which was presented to reporters during a press conference on Monday, indicates that Kwebana saw some 10,188 cubic metres logged last year. However, for this year, GFC claims that no logging activities took place there. The figure for the production provided was zero.
This is a startling claim from GFC, especially since Kaieteur News flew over the area last week and saw activities ongoing. There was an entire line of Bai Shan Lin trucks with logs parked at a section of the

 

Kwebana concession. There were GFC tags and official markings on the logs – a clear indication that logs were being harvested with the full knowledge of the forest rangers.
Commissioner Singh himself, in acknowledging the photos on Monday, said that the trucks may have been parked there as rain probably fell and it is standard procedure by logging companies to halt transportation of logs until the roads are in a better condition.
The GFC figures would also be in sharp contrast to what residents of Kwebana, a small Amerindian community about 40 miles away, told Kaieteur News. They confirmed that logging activities are indeed taking place in the area.
GFC and the government have been facing questions over the country’s logging policies and its seeming cozy relationship with a number of foreign companies, especially those from Asia, and including both Chinese- and Indian-owned operations.
The Kwebana concession, according to GFC, was in the hands of well-known sawmiller, A Mazaharally and Sons, before a joint venture was entered into with Bai Shan Lin. The dense area has been proving a problem for the logging company because of an absence of roads. Several roads are now being cut through the area which is filled with especially prime species like Purpleheart, which is in high demand in overseas markets.
Bai Shan Lin and Vaitarna Holdings Private Inc. were two companies which have been under scrutiny

for their logging activities. With Vaitarna’s promised processing facilities still to come on stream, there have been questions whether the business proposals they tabled when entering the local forestry sector were a mere sham and whether the true intentions were really logging.
Several countries around the world and even in some parts of China have banned log exports.
GFC said Monday that most logging companies find it financially better to export, as it would not make economic sense to set up processing facilities here for some of the species being concentrated on.
The situation with especially Bai Shan Lin is a particularly touchy one for the administration.
Guyana has been taking significant loans for infrastructural works from China and to a lesser extent India. The Chinese presence here has been growing significantly to the point where the landscape of Georgetown’s prime shopping areas has changed to include a number of Asian stores.
While the Ministry of Home Affairs has been mum on the number of work permits it has been issuing in the last few years, it is a public “secret” that a significant number of them have been entering Guyana.
In the Upper Berbice River area, at Kwakwani, the presence of the Chinese, and there are quite a number of them, have been viewed as a blessing by residents there involved in the logging industry.  Never before has there been an assured market as there is currently.
Bai Shan Lin has even been allowed to lend its equipment to small operators from Kwakwani and other areas to help harvest the logs. Bai Shan Lin also has arrangements in place to move the logs, all reducing headaches that not so long ago plagued the Upper Berbice loggers.
A few years ago, GFC was not even allowing equipment owned by others to operate in a third party forestry concession. That has all changed now.
On the flip side, there are concerns that with the volume of equipment in the area, it will only be a matter of time before the area is totally harvested.
However, GFC has refuted these claims, saying Monday that it has robust tracking systems and in any case, the concessions across Guyana are not being utilized to the maximum or as the agency puts it, the annual harvesting is below the maximum annual allowable cut.
The reporting by the private media, including Kaieteur News and Stabroek News, has seen Government, and its regulatory arm, GFC, pulling out the stops to defend Bai Shan Lin and Vaitarna.
Several full-page advertisements to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, You Tube videos, radio and TV interviews as well, mobilizing support for the Chinese company, were used to counter the reports by the two independent newspapers which have been accused of being anti-investment.

 

August 21, 2014

Bai Shan Lin logging scandal…Angry Kwakwani prepares list of demands for Govt.

–    Community will no longer allow advantage to be taken upon them…will become very agitated if demands are not met- Solomon

The operations of Bai Shan Lin and the blatant “disrespect” the company has been perpetuating towards the people of Region

10 took center stage at a meeting the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) held with residents of Kwakwani on Tuesday evening.
The sustained showers of rain that poured in Kwakwani, a community in the Upper Berbice River area on that evening, didn’t stop scores of residents from attending the meeting. Regional Chairman, Sharma Solomon, estimated that the crowd was in excess of 150 persons.
The meeting, held at the Kwakwani Workers Club, saw the creation of a five-point list of demands that will be submitted to Government.
At that gathering, it was agreed that for the community to continue accommodating the Chinese company, the written agreement between the Government of Guyana and Bai Shan Lin, if any exists, must be made available to the RDC.
Secondly, it was agreed that the Region must have representation in any further agreement between Government and Bai Shan Lin.
Additionally, Kwakwani residents decided that more benefits must be outlined for the people residing in the area and any other community where Bai Shan Lin or similar companies plan to operate. This is to protect communities from a replay of what is happening now.
Residents also want the road from Linden to Kwakwani to be fixed by Bai Shan Lin. The road is heavily traversed by especially Bai Shan Lin’s vehicles, residents said.
It is also being demanded that local loggers must receive better rates from Bai Shan Lin for their logs.
An elected leader of Kwakwani, Jocelyn Morian, told Kaieteur News that the meeting was very informative and renewed strength, hope and togetherness among the Kwakwani people.
Addressing the five point list of demands, Morian said that it is imperative that the representatives of Region 10 know what is happening and that the agreement must be handed over to the RDC.
He said that is the only way the RDC can be fully aware of what the problem really is and whether the Region is just being shortchanged by the logging company which has a major presence in the area.
“We believe that it is only fair that the Region has a full understanding of what really going on.”
He said that Bai Shan Lin should be made to fix the road from Linden to Kwakwani “because they are the ones destroying it. He said that in previous years the journey from Kwakwani to Linden took no more than one hour, 30 minutes, “but now they destroy the road and it takes over four hours to travel the same distance.”
Morian said that the road no longer has holes- they now have craters.

The official also claimed that local loggers are being robbed blind by Bai Shan Lin.
Giving an example, Morian said local operators sell Bai Shan Lin logs for US$80 per cubic meter, which the company sells back for at least US$250.
Morian emphasized that it is only correct that the Region makes an input in any agreement with Bai Shan Lin as the RDC is sure to look out for the interest of the people.
With regards to the benefits that must be outlined, Morian said that while Kwakwani is concerned about itself, the community is also very concerned about other communities and would like to know that others don’t have to suffer the same fate.
Morian pointed out that other companies are operating in Kwakwani but are paying their dues.
He noted that the Reynolds Bauxite company built the Kwakwani hospital; “but look at how long Bai Shan Lin operating here and look how much the company has taken, think about the amount of revenues it has made but did nothing for Kwakwani.”
He pointed out as well, that the Kwakwani to Ituni road was a project undertaken by bauxite workers.
“But Bai Shan Lin destroyed our roads. The roads are now in the worst state ever,” Morian noted.
Morian said that” there is nothing tangible to indicate, from all these resources being extracted, that the community is benefitting in anyway…. I born and grow in Kwakwani but I never see our roads in this condition. We are not saying we don’t want Bai Shan Lin but they must play their part.”
The Kwakwani resident and leader  lamented that at the rate at which Bai Shan Lin is extracting timber, coupled with the fact that bauxite mining is on the decline in Kwakwani,  pretty soon there won’t be much economic activity in the community.
He said that it is apparent that foreign nationals can do whatever they want.
In this regard Morian pointed out that, at the meeting, a nurse attached to the Kwakwani hospital complained that she was assaulted at her work place by an Asian national.
The woman reportedly expressed that she didn’t take the matter further, out of fear.
According to Morian, the nurse is afraid to report the incident because of the perceived “contacts” the Chinese have and she believes her attacker would not be held accountable for the assault.
Morian said, “We heard that persons are in support of what Bai Shan Lin is doing in Kwakwani… we call on every one to visit Kwakwani and show us the development or any good that that company did for Kwakwani. I know we have lots of destruction to show whoever wants to come.”
In Solomon’s address to the gathering, he stated that Kwakwani residents have to ensure their rights are secured.
He told them that the major way to do so is to ensure that they make adequate representation for themselves.
He stated that Kwakwani, being the richest community in Region 10, having Bauxite, Timber, gold and diamonds, must get adequate returns for the resources that are being extracted from the community.
Solomon said, “As God Almighty above, as I speak to you now I have a headache, there is not a single instance where I travelled to Kwakwani in recent times that I didn’t get a headache. We have a councillor that can no longer come to Kwakwani because of a C -Section she had many years ago. This is because of the conditions of the road.”
He told residents that no longer can they allow advantage to be taken upon them; but must stand up for themselves. To this residents agreed.
In speaking to Kaieteur News yesterday, Solomon said that the people decided that if the demands are not met, “I don’t want to give out all their secrets, but they will become very agitated.”

 

August 22, 2014

Logging scandal…Kwakwani residents claim loggers paid to back Bai Shan Lin

Peeved Kwakwani residents have endorsed the words of Opposition Leader David Granger to the effect that the logging

company, Bai Shan Lin, has overstepped boundaries. However, in this case, residents are also lamenting the fact that some Guyanese have been “caught in the net of a few dollars, forgetting that at the end of the day, we are the little ones and those people are living large off of our resources”.
Pressured by the daily revelations, Chinese-owned Bai Shan Lin and the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) have come out swinging in defence of the company’s logging activities in Guyana.
GFC held a two-hour press conference on Monday last which saw the attendance of the likes of Lindener Phillip Bynoe, a former treason accused, who used the opportunity to abuse and threaten Kaieteur News reporters.
The following day, a meeting for loggers was held at the Umana Yana, at Kingston. This meeting was hosted by Bynoe, who has close ties to the administration.
The “loggers”, inclusive of children and women, were brought to the city to “once and for all put to rest speculations abroad about alleged malpractices in the industry”. They were reportedly drawn from 10 logging organizations in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice),
Bynoe told the gathering that “Kwakwani today is buzzing with economic activity that has come because of the Chinese.”
However, hours after that meeting, another one was held in Kwakwani. During that meeting at the Kwakwani Workers’ Club, residents expressed worry, saying that Kwakwani is not as well-off as is being painted by Bai Shan Lin and a few individuals who were in it for the money.
That meeting was hosted by Region 10’s Regional Democratic Council.
At the meeting, Chairman Sharma Solomon reminded the residents of the significant resources in the area, but

reflected “look at the community, look at the roads, look at the conditions you are living under, I must say it is not impressive.”
It was a resounding no when Solomon asked residents if they were satisfied with the conditions they are living under. The Regional Chairman expressed that he was sure there were people in Georgetown, at the time, saying that Kwakwani is satisfied.
He sought to make it clear that he was by no means advising that Kwakwani residents go against each other, mainly because “we live under a system that thrives by the divide and rule concept.”
He urged, however, that residents take an aggressive approach to securing better lives for this and the next generation.
Solomon said that under the present conditions, he cannot “not even barely”, understand how some can say that “all is well.” He wondered who was benefitting.
During the meeting at Kwakwani, it was also claimed that members of logging associations were paid $10,000 to attend the meeting at Umana Yana. Two particular associations reportedly fined members $5,000 each for refusing to attend the Umana Yana meeting.
The Chairman said that that money could have gone to better use. He estimated that the exercise executed on Tuesday “just to make a point” must have cost Bai Shan Lin in the millions as the company paid people to attend, provided transportation and food.
“This money could have gone to so many better causes. But look at it, this company prefers to do that before they give

you what you deserve,” Solomon said.
Bynoe’s presence at GFC’s press conference on Monday was objected to by journalists. There were later accusations that he was placed there to strengthen GFC’s case that nothing was wrong in Guyana’s logging industry.
The press conference was called to refute the recent exposures in the media regarding the operations of Bai Shan Lin and other Asian logging companies operating in Guyana.
Bynoe was not the only non-member of the media fraternity and non-employee of GFC that attended the press conference.
In fact, a minibus load of Lindeners was brought to Georgetown and the passengers were in attendance.
During the media conference, Bynoe and the other Lindeners shouted in agreement with the responses by various GFC officials to the press and sought to distract reporters as they posed questions.
But Bynoe was the only one who attempted to ask a question, and he was obviously peeved when he hadn’t the chance to do so. During the media event, he hurled inappropriate remarks and interrupted Kaieteur News’s reporters whilst they were posing their questions.
He threatened reporters to deal with them individually and to protest in front of Kaieteur News’ offices.
Reports are that money was also paid for the persons to attend the press conference.
In 2008, six years after being slapped with a treason charge, Bynoe was granted a pardon by the then President Bharrat Jagdeo.
A Government Information Agency (GINA) statement indicated that Bynoe had been writing to Jagdeo for a pardon for at least one year. GINA noted that, in his appeals, Bynoe had expressed his remorse over the invasion of the Office of the President, and the destruction of public property.
In 2002, Bynoe campaigned throughout the country, urging citizens to protest against what he called atrocities against the people by the PPP/Civic Government.
His campaign led to a massive march on July 3, 2002, which culminated in the storming of the Office of the President, leading to the shooting death of two persons, and injuries to several others, as presidential guards opened fire on the intruders.
GINA, after Bynoe’s release, reported that Bynoe recognized that the event was an attack on a democratic institution of the state and not directed at the President. By 2011, during the last General Elections, Bynoe was on the PPP campaign trail and was recorded making a passionate plea to Lindeners to vote for the ruling party.

 

August 24, 2014

Despite full page ads which claim compliance….Bai Shan Lin delinquent with NIS and PAYE payments

Even though Chinese Logging Company Bai Shan Lin in a full page advertisement last Thursday claims to be creating jobs and contributing to Guyana, it has not been up to date in its NIS and PAYE payments.
Checks revealed that the company, Bai Shan Lin International Forest Development which was registered in 2007 only started paying NIS and PAYE in 2013. Bai Shan Lin Housing and Construction Inc which was registered in 2012 only paid NIS and PAYE in October 2013.
Further checks revealed that Bai Shan Lin Ship Building Inc which was registered in 2012 has never paid NIS or PAYE. Bai Shan Lin Mining Development Inc was registered in August 2013 and has never paid any NIS or PAYE contributions.
The records are a clear contradiction of what the advertisement by Bai Shan Lin claimed. In the advertisement, BSL stated that it is committed to abiding by the laws of Guyana in its execution of work in the forestry sector.
It is unclear whether workers are required to pay their own NIS and PAYE, but the company has not been up to date with payments, one source explained.
The company also claimed that having started operations in Guyana since 2007, it then moved to purchase logs from local concessionaires and entered into joint venture agreements with several.
However even though Bai Shan Lin International Forest Development Inc began local operations in 2007, the records would show something different. The company registered with the Deeds Registry in 2012. Required by law, it submitted financial statements up to August 2014.
Bai Shan Lin International Ship Building and Company Inc was registered around the same time and has submitted financial statements up until 2014.
Indian Logging Company, Vaitarna Holdings Private Inc, has been paying since 2007. But Vaitarna is not registered with the Deeds Registry as a company operating out of Guyana.
Bai Shan Lin, a Chinese logging company, has big plans for Guyana: forest concessions covering 960,000 hectares; a 20-kilometre river gold mining concession; a 500-hectare Guyana-China Timber Industry Economic and Trading Cooperation Park and a 160-hectare real estate development.
Despite the scale of the planned operations, Bai Shan Lin’s agreements with the government of Guyana are not public and there has been no discussion in the National Assembly about the company’s plans.
In Guyana, it is illegal for a logging company to take over another logging company’s operation, unless officially authorized by the President. Yet Bai Shan Lin has managed to enter into large scale joint ventures with a number of locals.
In June, Bai Shan Lin submitted an application to the Environmental Protection Agency seeking environmental authorization to undertake a large scale logging and sawmill operation.
According to the public notice which was published, the company asked for the authorization for several areas including the Left Bank of the Essequibo River, Right Bank Berbice River, Right Bank Essequibo River, Left Bank Corentyne River, Left Bank Lysles River, River Bank Berbice River and Right Bank Powis River, as well as locations with Regions Nine and Six.
Bai Shan Lin has been granted a forestry concession that amounts to close on one million hectares of rainforest, from which it plans to extract logs and ship them out of Guyana. The company estimates that it will make US$1,800 from each hectare of land, giving it profits totaling US$1.7 billion, according to redd-monitor.org.
In addition, the Chinese company sought permission to dig up a 20-kilometre stretch of river to look for gold.
Other plans include setting up what it is calling a Guyana-China Timber Industry Economic and Trading Corporation Park, plus a 400-acre real estate development. The plans were announced in 2012 by Chu Wenze, Chairman of Bai Shan Lin, at the Second World Congress on Timber and Wood Products Trade in Taicang, China.
Those plans were announced even before Guyana knew of it. The country became aware of what was happening only when Bai Shan Lin officials visited Guyana and held discussions with President Donald Ramotar and other Government officials.
On Redd-monitor.org, it was stated that in November 2012, Chu Wenze, the Chairman of Chinese logging company Bai Shan Lin, gave a presentation outlining his company’s plans for Guyana at the World Congress in Taicang, China. These plans have threatened Guyana’s proposals to reduce deforestation and forest degradation.
In November 2012, Whu Wenze and David Dabydeen, Guyana’s Ambassador to China, took part in a signing ceremony for a loan from the Chinese Development Bank for Bai Shan Lin’s forestry projects in Guyana.
According to the website Global Timber, Bai Shan Lin’s concessions were acquired from other concession holders, a process known as “landlording” which is illegal in Guyana (unless officially authorised by the President). Under Guyanese law, forest concessions cannot be traded, but must be re-advertised by the Forestry Commission in an open auction.

 

August 24, 2014

The Interest of Transnational Bai Shan Lin in Guyana

Guyana has been interacting with non-nationals since the first Dutch trader visited nearly four hundred years ago. So we should be well practised in harmonious and equitable relations. What has gone wrong with the arrangements with the Chinese transnational enterprise incorporated locally as a group of companies under the Bai Shan Lin (BSL) umbrella? Janette Bulkan explores the first of several major issues on this page –

Guyana and foreign direct investment arrangements (FDI concessions), and the roles of GO-Invest, GRA, the government technical agencies, Cabinet and the National Assembly.

At its Press briefing on 18 August 2014, the GFC Commissioner said that he had no information about the investment arrangements with Bai Shan Lin. The Commissioner of the Guyana Revenue Authority says he only acts on higher direction (Stabroek News, 22 August 2014). The Head of GO-Invest is still arranging his pencils but agrees that GO-Invest is failing to document and analyse the direct and indirect benefits of tax-assisted inward investment (KN, 30 July 2014). The Environmental Protection Agency, under the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, is silent. With such a collection of wise monkeys in the government agencies – seeing, hearing and speaking no evil against Bai Shan Lin – is there anyone in charge?

Adam van Pere and his 60 or 80 Europeans and 6 African slaves began the colonisation of Berbice in 1621 under a charter from the GeoctroyeerdeWestindische Compagnie – the DutchWest India Company. That charter laid out a set of business rules, including how to treat with the Amerindian nations. In addition to the chartered colonial companies, many individual families have come to trade and to settle under less formal arrangements. Bai Shan Lin and other Asian transnationals have had their trading arrangements exposed when they have sought capital through the Hong Kong stock exchange; some details are on the Bai Shan Lin page of www.globaltimber.org.uk.

There was a wave of Asian interest when the Economic Recovery Programme opened Guyana’s borders to inward investment in the late 1980s, under IMF-supervised structural adjustment after the collapse of the economy under the last years of President Forbes Burnham. Several transnational loggers from Malaysia expressed interest and what is now Samling Global Ltd. jointly with Korean industrialist Sunkyong created its subsidiary Barama. Details of the one-sided investment agreement in 1991 were obtained by the UK-based Forest Peoples Programme and published in 1997. Janette Bulkan has reproduced and commented on some paragraphs in her recent paper ‘Forest grabbing through forest concession practices: the case of Guyana’, Journal of Sustainable Forestry 33 (4), pages 407-434.

Since the end of World War II there have been several aids to international investors and host governments, to clarify reasonable expectations and limitations on both sides. The best known are the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, now in its sixth revision, which are directed to both companies and governments. More recently the UN Global Compact formalised ten global principles for international business, covering human rights, labour relations, protection of the environment, and anti-corruption. The website of the Compact says ‘The UN Global Compact and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are two of the foremost voluntary initiatives that promote corporate responsibility and sustainable business practices. The initiatives complement each other in the goal of creating a more responsible and accountable corporate sector, yet are also distinct and unique. They have complementary engagement and accountability mechanisms. Together they define and enhance the relationship between businesses and international standards, in addition to providing a comprehensive model for responsible business practices today.’ Also, the Berlin-based Transparency International has several guides and handbooks covering socially responsible business practices, which can be requested from its local chapter, the Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc.

The Guyana Natural Resources Agency (GNRA) was created during the Hoyte administration to promote inward investment but seems not to have drawn on any of these international guidelines. An investment code was said to have been under development in 1998. The various sectoral guides created some years ago on the website of GO-Invest (www.goinvest.gov.gy, successor to GNRA) are the latest official versions of what Guyana has to offer in natural resources and what the government offers as tax and other concessions for local and foreign investors. February 2013 was the latest evaluation and guide by the US State Department to the practicalities of external investment in Guyana; see http://www.state.gov/e/eb/rls/othr/ics/2013/204653.htm.

Whether by deliberate Cabinet decision or by default, GO-Invest is only an advisory body. The current CEO has repeatedly emphasised that after months of being in office he is only just beginning his task, and that GO-Invest lacks resources to carry out its mandate. It is entirely unclear if GO-Invest has learned from the one-sidedness of the Barama investment contract and has developed templates to ensure a fair deal for Guyana. There is a wealth of guidelines and international support available to conduct due diligence checks on potential foreign investors. So how is it that we see Barama after 23 years in Guyana (and coincidentally holding 23 per cent of all logging and exploratory concessions – 1.6 million hectares(Mha) of 6.9 Mha)still generating apparently no taxable profits? Yet Barama secured and continues to benefit from maximum tax concessions on the import of equipment and spare parts and fuel –indeed, still by far the largest tax concessions given to the forest sector.

How is it that Guyanese occupy mostly the lowest levels of employment, have the least skills and are given the least training by the transnational investors? How does the government allow the transnationals to come in with the vaguest promises of inward investment in local processing facilities and adding value to products but then allow them for years and years to export raw unprocessed forest products?

Why doesn’t GO-Invest have templates showing staged tax concessions matching staged actual investments? Why are the inward investments not tied to objectively-verifiable progress indicators set along a time line? For example, Bai Shan Lin’s extravagant promises since 2007 could be checked each month against the verified volumes of specified kinds of high-value wood products produced by the company’s factories to be built in Guyana.

The Commissioner of the Guyana Forestry Commission said at the GFC press conference on 18 August 2014 that two years should be allowed for an inward investor to start industrial processing of forest products; apparently forgetting that Bai Shan Lin had promised immediate investment in 2006. Seven years ago Minister Robert Persaud issued a press release denying BSL’s application for log export, reminding ‘the company of the commitment it had expressed to become engaged immediately in value-added activities and encouraging it to move in this direction’ (Guyana Chronicle, 21 April 2007). That does not or should not mean simply importing 200 logging trucks, container transporters and timber skidders but not a single saw bench? Not to mention the alleged waiver of import duties on fuel to run the trucks and skidders. And the importation of Asian truck and skidder drivers for the more than 1.3 Mha of Guyana’s State Forests (19 per cent of all logging and exploratory concessions) now under Bai Shan Lin’s de facto control.

As the investment climate statement (2013) from the US Embassy points out, ‘In spite of recent efforts to remove discretionary power from various ministries, ministers still retain significant authority to determine how relevant laws, such as the Investment Act, Small Business Act, and Procurement Act, are applied. . . In the current absence of adequate legislation, much decision-making is centralized, with the Cabinet or the Office of the President resolving an extraordinary number of issues in a non-transparent process that often results in delays.’ Only in the case of Bai Shan Lin it seems that decisions are made or reversed quickly in favour of the company, and that bureaucratic delays experienced by Guyanese-owned companies do not affect BSL. Now if BSL is smart enough to be able to obtain and ship logging and transport equipment from China against no more than a down payment, with the balance paid as exported raw logs to China, is it likely that BSL is quickly going to start the long-promising milling and value-adding in Guyana? Perhaps some of the Ministers of Government could now step forward and explain their roles and that of Cabinet in the foreign direct investment agreement with Bai Shan Lin and its present operations?

And if we could see some published minutes of the meetings of the Natural Resources sectoral committee of the National Assembly, we could see if the parliamentarians are exercising appropriate scrutiny and if BSL is responding as one would expect from an enterprise partly owned by the Government of China and subject to guidelines from the Ministry of Commerce and State Forestry Administration in Beijing.

Perhaps also the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could call in the Chinese Ambassador for a formal explanation of how the Chinese Embassy is monitoring the conformance of Bai Shan Lin with those Government of China guidelines, and what are the results of such monitoring?

Paid advertisement by Concerned Stakeholders For The Protection of Guyana’s Assets

 

September 1, 2014

ECHO asks GFC to make Gov’t/ Bai Shan Lin logging agreements public

The Environmental Community Health Organization (ECHO) has requested of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) to make public, logging agreements made between the government and Chinese company Bai Shan Lin.
In order to assess the environmental condition of the hinterland logging locations, the environmental body is also asking that agreements with all lumber harvesting companies be made available. The body says it is concerned that unhealthy logging practices may be occurring in the interior locations.

According to the request sent by Head of the organization Royston King, the provision of the documents will, “facilitate our assessment of the natural environmental situation in our hinterlands, where logging operations are allowed by the Guyana Forestry Commission.”
He noted that, “As an environmental organization, we are also concerned about the apparent wanton destruction of our environment since there is no evidence that Bia Shan Lin is either replanting or felling trees in a manner to secure our biosphere.” He said the organization would be grateful if the information requested could be made available as early as possible.
The request has been copied to international organizations such as PAHO/WHO, the Natural Resources Minister Robert Persaud, the British High Commission, the US Embassy, the Environmental Protection Agency, Head of Go-Invest, and Green Peace’s local representative among several other prominent organizations.
It was recently made public that Chinese Company Bai Shan Lin has been conducting large scale logging activities despite them not having the required permission to do so. Kaieteur News had exposed that the company had apparently found a way to conduct logging activities through smaller local logging companies.
However, the public was not made aware of the extent and manner in which the company has been harvesting the country’s lumber. They were neither told about the proceeds of this investment. To date, citizens are still to be told the amount of money government has garnered from the lumber harvested and exported by the Chinese company.
The Administration and the GFC also came in for stiff criticism by persons who expressed discontent in the way the logging sector was being handled. Criticism intensified when allegations rose about the Chinese company paying local workers as low as

$500 a day, working in poor conditions.
ECHO staged protest action at the office of the Minister responsible for Natural Resources and the GFC, demanding that logging operations cease until logging agreements are made clear.
Commissioner James Singh of the GFC has declared, however, that the Chinese company’s operations are aboveboard.
He said that the country’s harvesting of logs is way below the annual 1.6M cubic meters that is required and the sector is currently operating at just over a 30 per cent level, so there is no question of over-harvesting of logs, as is being reported.

 

September 11, 2014

Looming debate between GFC and APNU… GFC declines to submit info on Bai Shan Lin logging operations to APNU MP

“The information the Forestry Commission provided is a bundle of hogwash but there is still time. James Singh needs to go and review my request and satisfy it,” Harmon

By Kiana Wilburg

The documents the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) provided to A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) on its management of Bai Shan Lin’s operations, barely scratches the surface of the information the political party requested as a prelude to an upcoming debate between the two.
APNU member on the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources, Joseph Harmon, deemed the documents handed over by Commissioner of Forest, James Singh, “a bundle of hogwash.”
Harmon said that although the debate between the two is expected to be later this month, Singh still has time to review his request and satisfy it.
After the politician accepted the challenge extended by Singh for a public debate on the operations of the Chinese firm, he had asked for certain information and documents to be provided.
At the centre of the issue is the stewardship of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) over the forestry sector of Guyana and the Commission’s relationship with Bai Shan Lin (BSL).
Harmon said that it is imperative and only logical for the public to be provided with certain information on the topic so that, they, the ultimate judges, can be equipped with the requisite background knowledge which will enable them to make an informed judgment when the debate occurs.
However, the APNU politician said that Singh did not even provide a “minimal amount of the information” he requested. As regards Bai Shan Lin, Singh provided information on the State Forest Exploratory Permits and the Timber Sales Agreement of Joint Venture Partners of Bai Shan Lin.
He also provided Harmon with the Commission’s assessment of the Chinese company’s forest operations and an overview of its proposed wood processing facility in Guyana and status update.
Singh also provided a summary of Bai Shan Lin and its Joint Venture Partners’ exports of forest produce from 2007 to 2014. The Commission also provided documentation showing permission to export for Bai Shan Lin and its joint venture partners. The Commissioner of Forest also sent a schedule of the number of instances and corresponding number of foreign persons /posts for Bai Shan Lin’s operations, to the APNU.
Also included was a schedule of local Guyanese employed by Bai Shan Lin and its Joint venture partners.
The lawyer had requested that Singh provide copies of all agreements between BSL and GFC, and BSL and Government of Guyana, copies of all agreements between BSL and other entities involved in the Forestry sector for the cutting and export of logs, a report on GFC’s supervision of the aforesaid agreements and GFC’s opinion on “landlord” in the Forestry Sector and copies of investment agreements with BSL requiring the company to set up wood processing facilities in Guyana.
Harmon also asked that copies of any GFC report on BSL compliance with the agreement for wood processing facility in Guyana and copies of any documents related to BSL export of logs from Guyana to China over the last five years, and a comparison of the said logs reportedly imported into China and if there is a difference in the figures, whether GFC can offer an explanation, be made available to the public.
Also of importance, the politician said, duplicates of documents related to Duty Free Concessions given to BSL, including any concessions on Duty Free fuel over the last five years should be made available for citizens. He called too for the disclosure of any agreements between BSL and any official of GFC, including any tenancy agreements which provide a personal benefit to any official of GFC.
He also said that Singh should provide any document relating to the work permits issued to Foreign Nationals on behalf of BSL for employment in the Forestry Sector, and any document relative to the number of Guyanese employed by the company in the Forestry Sector.
Commenting on the information he did not provide, Singh made it pellucid that the politician would have to secure such from the “relevant authorities” as what he provided is within the direct purview of the GFC.
Harmon had also suggested that a date for the highly anticipated debate be set between September 15 and September 30. The Parliamentarian said that GFC can proceed with making the necessary arrangements for the debate and he requested that it be done in a community where the impact of the operation of BSL is felt most.
However, the GFC in its letter requested for it to be held in a mutually accepted studio setting with an agreed moderator to facilitate the “discussions.”
To this request, the politician said, “Is NCN he wants to take us? That studio will limit public participation. I don’t want that. I want he pon de road. That’s where my office is.”
Harmon said that by failing to provide certain information, Singh is by extension saying how seriously he takes the debate. “If he throws out a challenge to an elected official it means that he is getting the approval of the government and as such he needs to provide what I asked for.”
“Since he is now standing as the face of government on these issues, then he needs to provide it because Bharrat Jagdeo, the former president; President Donald Ramotar and even Khurshid Sattaur, the GRA boss is hiding from me. It’s now on the shoulders of the GFC Commissioner to satisfy my request.”
Harmon had previously compared the behaviour of Bai Shan Lin to that of a parasite, only feeding viciously off of Guyana’s resources.
The politician noted that it is now clearer than ever why the company tried its utmost to avoid parliamentary scrutiny for the past two years.
The Parliamentarian said that since last year, the Natural Resources Sectoral Committee received reports of this sort of abuse in the logging industry but when “we called on the Minister, he only gave us a set of excuses.
“For two years straight Minister Persaud avoided us. We cannot allow corrupt officials to be entering into agreements which facilitate this kind of destruction.”
Harmon had said that the “excuses” presented to the committee by the Ministry on behalf of the company can only be summed up as disrespect towards the Committee and by extension, the National Assembly. The heart of the excuses he said, was that the company was simply too busy to accommodate the questions of the Committee.

 

September 12, 2014

Bai Shan Lin delinquent with NIS/PAYE payments

– GPSU warns foreign investors to obey laws

President of the Guyana Public Service Union, Patrick Yarde, said Wednesday that foreign investors who come to Guyana

should adhere and respect the labour laws of the country.
Yarde was at the time responding to questions pertaining to reports about Chinese logging company Bai Shan Lin not being up to date with National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) payments.
Investigations have shown that even though Bai Shan Lin claimed to be creating jobs and contributing to Guyana, it is not up to date with its NIS and PAYE payments. Yarde said that these taxes must be paid and the fact that they weren’t paid, the authorities should apply the law.
According to the GPSU President, there could be criminal charges for people and companies that do not comply with the law. “I want to make it clear; there must be good governance. Investors must respect the laws of the country.”
“NIS is an important matter; it has to do workers remuneration and compensation among other things,” Yarde noted.
Checks revealed that the company, Bai Shan Lin International Forest Development, which was registered in 2007, only started paying NIS and PAYE in 2013. Bai Shan Lin Housing and Construction Inc which was registered in 2012 only paid NIS and PAYE in October 2013.
Further checks revealed that Bai Shan Lin Shipbuilding Inc which was registered in 2012 has never paid NIS or PAYE. Bai Shan Lin Mining Development Inc was registered in August 2013 and has never paid any NIS or PAYE contributions.
The records are a clear contradiction of what advertisements by Bai Shan Lin claimed. In the advertisements, BSL had stated that it is committed to abiding by the laws of Guyana in its execution of work in the forestry sector.
It is unclear whether workers are required to pay their own NIS and PAYE, but the company has not been up to date with payments, one source explained.
The company also claimed that having started operations in Guyana since 2007, it then moved to purchase logs from local concessionaires and entered into joint venture agreements with several.
Indian Logging Company, Vaitarna Holdings Private Inc, has been paying since 2007. But Vaitarna is not registered with the Deeds Registry as a company operating out of Guyana.
Bai Shan Lin has big plans for Guyana’s forest concessions covering 960,000 hectares; a 20-kilometre river gold mining concession; a 500-hectare Guyana-China Timber Industry Economic and Trading Cooperation Park and a 160-hectare real estate development.
Despite the scale of the planned operations, Bai Shan Lin’s agreements with the government of Guyana are not public and there has been no discussion in the National Assembly about the company’s plans.
In Guyana, it is illegal for a logging company to take over another logging company’s operation, unless officially authorized by the President. Yet Bai Shan Lin has managed to enter into large scale joint ventures with a number of locals.
In June, Bai Shan Lin submitted an application to the Environmental Protection Agency seeking environmental authorization to undertake a large scale logging and sawmill operation.
According to the public notice which was published, the company asked for the authorization for several areas including the Left Bank of the Essequibo River, Right Bank Berbice River, Right Bank Essequibo River, Left Bank Corentyne River, Left Bank Lysles River, River Bank Berbice River and Right Bank Powis River, as well as locations with Regions Nine and Six.
Bai Shan Lin has been granted a forestry concession that amounts to close to one million hectares of rainforest, from which it plans to extract logs and ship them out of Guyana. The company estimates that it will make US$1,800 from each hectare of land, giving it profits totaling US$1.7 billion, according to redd-monitor.org.
The company’s plans were announced in 2012 by Chu Wenze, Chairman of Bai Shan Lin, at the Second World Congress on Timber and Wood Products Trade in Taicang, China.
Those plans were announced even before Guyana knew of it. The country became aware of what was happening only when Bai Shan Lin officials visited Guyana and held discussions with President Donald Ramotar and other Government officials.
In November 2012, Chu Wenze and David Dabydeen, Guyana’s Ambassador to China, took part in a signing ceremony for a loan from the Chinese Development Bank for Bai Shan Lin’s forestry projects in Guyana.
According to the website Global Timber, Bai Shan Lin’s concessions were acquired from other concession holders, a process known as “landlording” which is illegal in Guyana (unless officially authorised by the President). Under Guyanese law, forest concessions cannot be traded, but must be re-advertised by the Forestry Commission in an open auction.

 

September 14, 2014

GFC report on Bai Shan Lin operations …Report is a gross insult to citizens – Harmon

During his perusal of the documents sent to him by the Commissioner of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), James

Singh, A Partnership for National Unity’ s (APNU) Shadow Minister of Public Works, Joseph Harmon, discovered the Commission’s report on the compliance and assessment of Bai Shan Lin’s forest operations.
After examining the content of the report, the politician concluded that it can only be seen as a clear sign of disrespect not only to him and his party but to all Guyanese. He said that that report is a gross insult to the intelligence of citizens since the details of the report are far from what is expected in a compliance report.
Harmon had accepted a challenge by Singh for a public debate on Bai Shan Lin’s operations and its effective management of the Chinese firm. Since the citizens are going to be the ultimate judges of the debate, as a condition, the APNU Parliamentarian had said that he wanted the Commission to provide certain documents on the Chinese company. But Singh did not even meet the minimum amount of information requested by the politician.
Instead, the GFC provided Harmon with a report on the assessment of Bai Shan Lin’s forest operations and compliance with GFC’s forest monitoring requirements. In the 20-page report, the Commission explained its role, enforcement guidelines and some of their key monitoring tools.  The report added that the GFC’s monitoring approach focused on a range of areas, systems of allocation of timber permits and concessions, trade in forest products and the collection and distribution of taxes , fines and other payments.
Six pages of the report consisted of blank forms for large concession management while another seven were dedicated to explaining the compliance indicators for forest monitoring, most of which were not put into context to show how they were used on the Chinese firm.
Another three pages were used to show pictures of a monitoring exercise. The pictures showed logs being checked, the removal of a permit being verified and tagged lumber which was being checked. An additional part of the report showed the criteria and indicators to assess directional felling.
One page which made direct reference to Bai Shan Lin, spoke to the scope of audit of Bai Shan Lin and the associated joint venture partners. This section said that as part of the routine monitoring system of the GFC, its Legality Monitoring and Extension Unit conducted audits for the following companies over the period April 2013 to July 2014; Bai Shan Lin, Haimorkabra Logging Company, Kwabanna Wood Products Inc., Puruni Wood Products Ltd. and Wood Associated Industries company Ltd.

The report also noted that based on the inspection of the records, the company, Bai Shan Lin, has valid agreements with their joint venture partners. The monitoring exercises also concluded that Kwebanna Wood Product Inc. had not commenced harvesting over the period January to July 2014.
The report also read that the log tag requisition procedure has been complied with and explained what the field application of log tracking and tagging entailed. It said that inspections showed that the company complied with the proximity stipulations and that the company was in general compliance with export procedure of the GFC.
With the aforementioned in mind, Harmon said that the report could only be seen as misleading. He said that the report is supposed to be an assessment of Bai Shan Lin’s operations and its compliance with the GFC forest management indicators but it is a far cry from what it was supposed to be.
The APNU Parliamentarian said that the report did not reflect a true and proper assessment of the compliance of the operations with the GFC requirements. He said, “What we are basically seeing in the report is a lot of general statements and no proof. We don’t even get to see some of the comments from the auditors and they did make reference to auditors with the pictures.
“Why wasn’t this included in the report? More than 90 percent of the report was basic information on the GFC and some concession forms. What is this all about? Why (are) they sending this to me? I am not applying for anything. This compliance report clearly shows or proves rather that the GFC is not on top of its game.”
“There is nothing there that says what work was done by the forestry commission to determine whether these standards have been met effectively by Bai Shan Lin, so even with the information they provided they are clearly trying to hoodwink the people of this nation.”
The politician said that the documents provided to him by the GFC will be on display at the library for all Guyanese to read.
“I want the nation to see what I am talking about. This is the kind of disrespect which they have for the Guyanese people and it is disrespectful to even submit such misleading information to me.”

 

 

October 13, 2014

APNU investigating Housing company closely associated with Bai Shan Lin

The main opposition political force in Guyana, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has launched an investigation into the deal between the government and the owners of Sunset Lakes Inc.

Sunset Lakes is a Chinese-owned company that has ventured into developing a massive housing community in Providence on the East Bank of Demerara, just behind the National Stadium. The name of the housing scheme which is now coming under scrutiny is ‘New Life Community’.
APNU leader, David Granger at his most recent press conference told the media that his coalition has an interest in the project and wants to know the details. He disclosed that APNU’s General Secretary, Joseph Harmon, who sits in the National Assembly as the shadow Minister of Public Works, was the one who is handling the investigation.
Granger could not say whether or not his colleague was able to access any information.
“I do know he has been investigating but I do not know if he has been able to put his hands on any documents,” said Granger.
Kaieteur News made attempts to contact Harmon but those proved futile. However, the newspaper understands that APNU wants to find out all details surrounding the deal, including the amount of money paid for the lands, how many ways will Guyana benefit, what qualified the Chinese company for the endeavor and when was the deal made between the Guyana government and the Asian Nationals.
Sunset Lakes made quite an impression on patrons who attended Guyana’s recently concluded largest trade fair, GuyExpo. Sunset Lakes and the controversial Asian logging company shared a tent at the fair and the same officials handled the affairs of both booths.
Representatives of the two companies boasted that Sunset Lakes is offering, for the first time in Guyana, a five star state-of-the-art gated community where all modern amenities will be offered.
When Kaieteur News visited the booth at GuyExpo, the newspaper was told that the houses range “to suit all kinds of people”. The company has decided to have different sizes of houses, with the smallest house costing $50M and the largest, $130M.
A brochure shared out at Guyexpo stated, “We at Sunset Lakes Inc. take great pleasure in introducing to you, for the first time in Guyana, a Five Star State-of-the-Art Gated Residence, offering all prestigious and modern amenities to ensure you live that deeply desired New Life.”
The New Life Community, according to the website, offers a complete luxury package, including supermarket, bar, post office, telecommunication, swimming pool, gymnasium among other services to make life for Guyanese more convenient and delightful.
The website stated that safety and comfort is the company’s main priority; “so you our prized residents can lay back and enjoy that life you envision in exquisite, comfortable homes. Your needs and wants are both sufficiently catered for in our strategic location along the lower East Bank of Demerara, Guyana. Our prime focus is to turn your everyday hustle and bustle into a relaxing, enjoyable lifestyle with all your desires met in a healthy and secure atmosphere.”
The website specified types of houses offered. The “Caramel Collage” is the largest of all our homes offers ultimate sophistication to detail. This offers Land: sq.ft – 11965.12 and the house of itself is sq.ft – 5181. The Sunrise Villa is the smallest and this has 6240.8 sq.ft in land space and the actual house covers 3353 sq.ft.

 

December 14, 2014

Bai Shan Lin ships 1,200 containers of logs annually

 …refuses to maintain 100km of road it destroys daily
 
By Gary Eleazar 
A significant escalation in logging activities over the last three years in Region Ten has led directly to the destruction of the more than 200 kilometres of roadway between Kwakwani, Linden and Georgetown.
According to official figures, an average of 40 heavily laden trucks traverse the worsening stretch of road each day between Kwawkani to Linden. They are also met by others heading to Georgetown, thus destroying that stretch of road also.
The majority of the trucks on the Kwakwani to Linden road belongs to, or contracted by Chinese logging company, Bai Shan Lin, which has also significantly escalated its activities in the Region.
Bai Shan Lin alone exports an average of 1,200 containers of logs annually. Logs are brought to Georgetown by way of trucks and barges.
The situation has led to the Ministry of Public Works having to assume maintenance of the roadway, pumping an average of $100M annually, along the Kwakwani to Linden road over the past five years.
The road has deteriorated to the point where it is almost impassable. Huge craters punctuate that stretch of road and travel is routinely made worse by heavy rains.
To make matters worse, the logging companies that depend on the road have refused to assist in its maintenance and have argued this case since they claim to have already assumed responsibility for the Unamco Road.
The Unamco Road is primarily a logging road that runs along the eastern bank of the Berbice River.
The Public Works Ministry currently has a small fleet stationed in Region Ten, responsible for the maintenance of the road.
The fleet includes one frontend loader, one excavator, one roller, one Bobcat, two trucks and a grader.
The fleet is often times removed to undertake emergency works in other locations limiting the capacity to effectively maintain the Linden to Kwakwani road.
The situation has reached such dire proportions that the Public Works Minister has indicated to this publication that come early next year, Government is looking to install a toll booth.
While this would be a new source of revenue meant to assist in the maintenance of the road, Public Works Minister, Robeson Benn, has admitted that the revenue would be nowhere close to adequate and as such Government would still have to utilize money from the nation’s coffers.
The predicament has now led to stakeholders calling for the timber companies to do more since it earns billions of dollars from the logs shipped out of the Guyana forest while paying Government a paltry royalty.
Forestry exports for the first eight months of this year have more than doubled compared to the same period of 2013.
A staggering 86,250 cubic meters of logs were exported between January and August. This earned US$14.5M. Last year, for the same period, 41,518 cubic meters were exported, earning over US$7M.
For this year, until August, log exports represented about 46 percent of the total forest exports as against the 30 percent for last year.
Regional Chairman of the affected area, Sharma Solomon, has told this newspaper that Bai Shan Lin and the other loggers using the road are destroying it, and that when they are approached to assist in repairing it, the companies insist that they already pay royalties and taxes to Government.
To make matters worse the company has failed to embark on value added exports which was supposed to see Guyana earning more than 40 per cent above what it currently receives from Bai Shan Lin in royalties.
The company has also been accused of cheating Guyana in an attempt to avoid paying more through what is known as transfer pricing.
Transfer pricing allows Bai Shan Lin’s parent company in China to set the price on logs.
The issue was raised recently by Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram, who is on record saying “In effect, they can set whatever prices they want because nobody does any serious review. At the end of the day, the Government gets lower revenues from its royalties and of course, more importantly, the seller…the poor local loggers…get whatever price is being offered to them.”
The use of imported Chinese labour and the transfer pricing practice also opens a real possibility for Bai Shan Lin to use its proceeds in China to pay workers without local taxes and other commitments like NIS being remitted.

January 01, 2015

Guyanese continue to suffer at the hands of Bai Shan Lin

–   Workmen lament disrespect 
From all indications, workers attached to the Chinese logging company Bai Shan Lin continue to be treated

disrespectfully.
They have complained about the treatment dealt to Guyanese has gone from bad to worse.
One worker, who highlighted his concerns who sought anonymity, said that “the Chinese are in the habit of insulting Guyanese, especially when they have to receive the salaries that we work very hard for.”
The employee said that upon being hired, the Human Resources Manager, identified as Mr. Ali, told him and a few others  who were simultaneously hired that they have to live at Linden and that the company will provide meals and accommodation.
He said that much to his dismay, “every week we have to beg for money to buy food stuff. We had to sleep in the trucks…The place where we sleep is worse than a pig pen with no mattresses.”
The disgruntled employee said that the treatment reminds him of the “days of slavery, when workers had no rights and no voice. ‘What the Chinese tell you to do you have to do or else they tell you go home and they hold up your salary.”
He said that sometimes the trucks have mechanical problems but “the Chinese would say ‘go work, fix later.’ This is big risk for the drivers.”
“Chinese have meetings every month where their matters and concerns are addressed, but the Guyanese do not have any meetings to discuss their problems.”
Regional Chairman, Sharma Solomon, said that he receives similar complaints almost daily.
He said that Region Ten residents and workers who are stationed there are just fed up of the callous behaviour exhibited by Bai Shan Lin as a company which is getting so much out of Guyana but is prepared to give little or nothing in return.
“Workers are complaining, Moblissa residents are complaining, the Kwakwani residents still complain about the problems with the road, in fact the entire Region is complaining,” said Solomon.
“We are all still very concerned,” said the Regional Chairman. Bai Shan Lin is still to do an Environmental, Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), he added.
He said that some workers attached to Bai Shan Lin, frequented the Office of the Regional Democratic Council complaining of the way the company has been violating their rights.
The Chairman said that workers lamented the conditions they work under, bad treatment and poor payment.
Two days after that story was carried, Bai Shan Lin released a statement refuting allegations of $500 pay but ignored claims of mistreatment, poor working conditions
The company sought to debunk allegations that it has an employment ratio of 70 percent Asians to 30 percent Guyanese and that it has been paying the few locals it employs as little as $500 per day.
Solomon subsequently told this newspaper that he saw the statement and noticed that the company did not reject what he said.
Bai Shan Lin has a known presence at Moblissa, Coomacka, Bamia, Kwakwani and Ituni.

 

January 13, 2015

Chinese logging company takes over Guyana’s forests

By John C. Cannon (mongabay.com correspondent)
Foreign companies investing in Guyana’s substantial forests are supposed to adhere to national laws and international agreements. But civil society leaders and activists inside and outside the South American country are crying foul, saying foreign corporations and government officials are paying lip service to the accords while quietly building a timber-harvesting empire in the country with few benefits for the average Guyanese.

In 2009 Guyana and Norway signed a landmark pact promising Guyana $250 million over a five-year period to preserve the country’s intact tropical forests and the 1.6 million tons of carbon contained within, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Globally, this was seen as a major stepping stone for REDD, which stands for “reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation,” and it helped Guyana’s leaders flesh out a bold Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).
“The LCDS really is one of a kind, and it really has been established to set a global model for the world to follow,” said David Singh, vice president of Conservation International Guyana. “It was path finding, and it was meant to contribute significantly to the whole global debate in respect to how can developing countries with intact ecosystems, with intact forests, participate more effectively in the global fight against climate change, while at the same time, ensuring that it develops sustainably.”
He said the move toward carbon-limited development is reflective of Guyanese attitudes: “People do feel quite strongly about environmental protection.”
In size, Guyana is roughly comparable to Ghana, but at 735,000 inhabitants has less than three percent of that country’s population. What Guyana does have a lot of is forest. Trees covered 91 percent of the country in 2000, according to data from Global Forest Watch.
Half of its citizens live abroad, where they’ve sought better opportunities in employment and education outside the small country. That trend has meant little population growth for decades, leaving much of the country undeveloped, including a swath of forest in southern Guyana that is largely contiguous with the Brazilian Amazon. Further protecting the forest is its dearth of marketable tree species – until now.
Wamara
Rising incomes in India and China have precipitated a spike in the price of rosewood, a type of timber prized for its beauty that is used to make expensive furniture in Asia. As rosewood supplies in Malaysia and Indonesia have become depleted, suppliers have looked elsewhere – increasingly, the tropical forests of Africa and South America, said Janette Bulkan, a Guyanese-born professor in the forestry department at the University of British Columbia.
The Chinese company Bai Shan Lin now controls about 1.4 million hectares in Guyana, said Bulkan’s collaborator, John Palmer, a senior associate at the Forest Management Trust based in Gainesville, Florida, who has worked in forestry for more than 50 years. (Guyana’s Commissioner of Forests disputed that figure, saying in a letter to a Guyanese newspaper that the figure is closer to 627,000 hectares.) Palmer and Bulkan said that Bai Shan Lin doesn’t seem to be concerned with following Guyanese laws, nor do Guyanese officials appear eager to enforce them.
“If you implemented these policies, if you implemented the mining law, the state land law, the [Guyanese] Environmental Protection Act, the country would be in enormously better shape,” Palmer said. In reality, however, he said, “It doesn’t happen.” Rather, he suggests that companies like Bai Shan Lin likely pay bribes to key members of the country’s government to turn a blind eye to violations.
For example, Palmer said that Bai Shan Lin has “dubiously” acquired permits or rights to harvest timber in Guyana on more than a million hectares of forest. In some cases, it appears as though Bai Shan Lin has harvested timber by leasing land from other parties through what the forestry commission calls “ venture agreements” – incongruous with Guyana’s anti-”landlording” law. And native title stemming from their centuries-long relationship with the customary lands of native Amerindians should protect where they farm, hunt and fish. When it comes to logging those areas, the law “should prevent issuance of permits without consultation,” said Palmer, “but consultation does not happen.”
Defending Bai Shan Lin
In defense of Bai Shan Lin’s activity in Guyana, the Guyana Forestry Commission published statements and placed editorials in the Guyanese press arguing that the company provides people who live in the forest with the tools to harvest the timber themselves and then sell it to Bai Shan Lin, thereby providing a source of income for forest communities.
For some in Guyana, just the ministry’s defense of a foreign-owned company has been disconcerting. The Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc (TIGI) published a statement, saying that it “finds it particularly troubling that both the Ministry of National Resources and the Guyana Forestry Commission have chosen to defend the operations of these companies with information that appears incomplete and misleading rather than to seek to protect the patrimony of the country.” TIGI has called for more transparency with the issuance of forest concessions in Guyana.
And the benefits to forest communities as a result of a market for timber, especially Guyanese rosewood known as wamara, are marginal at best, Palmer said. “They make very little money,” he said, adding that sellers are paid “just about break-even price.” He said suppliers like Bai Shan Lin stand to make substantially more by getting the unprocessed logs to mills in Asia. In fact, many are concerned that Bai Shan Lin is exporting the whole, round logs directly to China, instead of following through on a promise to build a job-creating processing mill in Guyana.
The Kwakwani Natural Resources Organization, an NGO that works in the region where Bai Shan Lin is operating in Guyana, published a statement that struck a hopeful tone about the economic benefits that foreign investment could bring. But they also acknowledged in the same statement that, “Like most other foreign investors, very little (if anything) is given back to the community from which all their wealth is derived.”
Bai Shan Lin rebutted attacks that the company was hiring only Chinese labor to harvest the timber in a press release, showing that the majority of its workers in Guyana are Guyanese. Anecdotal reports indicate the opposite. Most of the workers seen along a 130-kilometer, Bai Shan Lin-constructed road – itself a point of contention as sources say the company did not carry out a proper environmental and social impact survey – were Chinese. Mongabay.com made repeated requests to speak with a representative of Bai Shan Lin that were not answered.
The road also threatens to open up large areas of intact forest in Guyana to destructive activities in areas that, by most accounts, are bastions of biodiversity and unspoiled wilderness. Hunting is a big concern, and easier access may tempt miners to alter forest and river ecosystems.
Already, deforestation along river ways has been linked to gold and bauxite mining in northern Guyana. Permits for mining are readily available from the government, seen as a route to rapid economic development, Palmer and Bulkan confirmed.
Guyana has seen a steady increase in the amount of forest loss between 2001 and 2012, according to data from Global Forest Watch. Sources said that deforestation often follows the global price for gold: as gold prices rise, mining becomes more profitable and miners cut down more trees to get at a share of Guyana’s cache of alluvial gold tucked in the loose soils around waterways. FORMA alerts, which show areas of likely forest loss in near-real time, have also tracked upward.
Bulkan argues that the deal with Norway in 2009 actually enables transgressions of foreign companies in Guyana, because, in search of expediency, Norway’s Ministry of the Environment has found it easier to deal with a few key figures in Guyana rather than the representative group of citizenry.
“The parliament of Guyana, however flawed, represents the key constituency groups in the country, and to have this parliament marginalized by Norway is simply really bad,” Bulkan said. “If you can’t do good, you should at least do no harm.” http://news.mongabay.com

 

February 26, 2015

Bai Shan Lin leases 27.4 acres of Amerindian land at $5,000 an acre

In a bizarre event yesterday, Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai anxiously signed a “communist” lease agreement with Chinese company, Bai Shan Lin, and the Amerindian village of Hururu.
The lease agreement was not fully negotiated between the Company and the Village at the time cameras were set up for the event. The negotiations took place in full view of the media.
Before signing, Bai Shan Lin wanted the agreement to explicitly state that upon signing it would be able to use the existing wharf in the Village.
Sukhai did not agree, and suggested that the Hururu Village Council could write to the company to say that it could use the existing facilities.
Bai Shan Lin officials hesitated, but the Minister saw nothing unsure about what she was suggesting.
“That will suffice in the communist kind of agreement too,” a giggling Sukhai told the officials.
The Bai Shan Lin representatives were not enthused, with the translator saying they could not see what was so difficult about putting their demand in writing.
The Chinese company negotiated for a while more, as Sukhai made suggestions to the representatives of the Village, including its Toshao.
With Bai Shan Lin officials seeming to be taking too long, Sukhai became impatient and butted in: “Hello, are we signing?”
Sukhai insisted that the lease agreement had nothing to do with use of facilities. She stated that the Village had no problems with the use of the facilities. She gave that commitment for the Village even while saying that the formal permission is needed after consultation with the community’s Bridge Committee and the Village Council.
The agreement sees Bai Shan Lin leasing 27.4 acres of land from the Village of Hururu at $5, 000 an acre. The Company will be allowed to construct a wharf and log pond, along with two buildings, and a parking lot for their equipment and other vehicles. The lease will run for 25 years.
Bai Shan Lin has promised to upgrade 2.5 miles of road, which it will be using, and also to build a sporting facility for youths of the area.
There was uncertainty about when the road project would start and the agreement had to be adjusted during the negotiations which took place in presence of the reporters.
Again, Sukhai took the lead in negotiation for the Amerindian Village, suggesting when the road works should commence and end.
When it came time for the formal ceremony, she then switched to saying it was the Village authorities that made all the decisions.
“They have done all the Amerindian Act required with respect to the negotiation, the engagement, the discussion and the reviews. The other stakeholders were informed and comments were invited.”
In the end, the agreement was signed with an undertaking that the Village Council will write the company on the use of existing facilities, and with the company agreeing to commence road works within two weeks.

February 27, 2015

Bai Shan Lin lease agreement…APNU-AFC would rescind improper deal – Harmon

General Secretary of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Joseph Harmon, is convinced that the recently signed lease agreement between Bai Shan Lin and the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs is improper and does not reflect that sufficient consultations were done on the matter.

As such, the politician said that once the coalition, A Partnership for National Unity – Alliance For Change (APNU-AFC) assumes office, the deal would be rescinded and properly reviewed to ensure that all the requirements were met.
Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai on Wednesday, signed a “communist” lease agreement with Bai Shan Lin, and the Amerindian village of Hururu. It is believed that the agreement was not fully negotiated between the company and the village, as media operatives observed that discussions on the contract were still taking place. This was even as cameras were being set up for the occasion.
Harmon told Kaieteur News that certain regulations which control the operations of the communities should have included in it, “free, prior and informed consent.” He explained that this means that the indigenous people of the Hururu community would be able to be a part of the decision-making process.
But based on what he observed with the arrangements thus far, Harmon insisted that this requirement was overlooked during negotiations. He said that he is not surprised by the manner in which the Amerindian Minister was dealing with the negotiations.
The APNU General Secretary opined that this “peculiar lease agreement” ignored that requirement, and that it is the classic way the PPP/C deals with the indigenous people, “as though they are children to be dictated to.”

While he predicts this to be one of many incidents in the lead-up to election campaigns, Harmon asserted that one can only imagine what happens behind closed doors with these sorts of agreements.
He then reminded that before signing, Bai Shan Lin wanted the agreement to state that upon signing, it would be able to use the existing wharf in the Village. But apparently, Sukhai did not agree. She reportedly suggested that the Hururu Village Council could write to the company, giving permission for the use of the existing facilities.
The Bai Shan Lin representatives, however, found it a bit strange that something as simple as including that request in the agreement could not be done. After several minutes of discourse on the matter between the Chinese agents, an impatient Sukhai interrupted by saying, “Hello, are we signing?”
Sukhai made it clear that the lease agreement had nothing to do with use of facilities, but noted that the village had no reservations with the use of the facilities. At her wits’ end it seemed, she then took the initiative to make the commitment for the village, even after she confessed that formal permission is needed after consultation with the community’s Bridge Committee and the Village Council.
Harmon said that Sukhai’s impatience raises a lot of suspicion and questions, and the agreement is a clear representation of an election gimmick.
“This agreement is tainted and is in my view, not an expression of the community’s consent. It is an improper agreement and the APNU-AFC partnership will, once it assumes office, revoke and review this programme,” he added.
In speaking with the Amerindian Minister yesterday, she sought first to comment that the Kaieteur News carried a “juicy article” on the matter, but she wanted to make it clear that the agreement was not being finalized as was reported.
She emphasized that the negotiations on the land were four months in the making between Bai Shan Lin, the Village Council and the community.
Sukhai said that the Bai Shan Lin officials had asked on Wednesday to use some of the existing facilities and she indicated to them that it would have to be dealt with as a separate request. She said that the Amerindian Act allows her to speak on land issues and give guidance in that regard, among other matters. She stressed that the Act allows the Village Council to operate as an autonomous body, and therefore such decisions would have to be determined by that body. She added that the affairs of the communities are also decided by that body.
Sukhai disclosed that she noted that the Company Director did not turn up to the event. Instead the General Manager did and because of that, the title for their signature on the document had to be changed.
The Minister said that she was given the assurance that the Village Council did consult with the community on the project, notwithstanding the fact that even if the community disagrees, it is the prerogative of the Council to still go forward with whatever decision it deems fit.
She said that at the end of the day, the Council is the custodian of the village. She noted too that this is not the first time that the Hururu village got into such an arrangement. She said that they had similar arrangements before with another company.
Sukhai was also asked if she was concerned with signing of the agreement, considering the allegations of abuse against the indigenous people by this very company. The Amerindian Minister said that she is not aware of any such abuses by the company on her people, and if that is the case, there are the relevant authorities at her Ministry who would be willing to take up the case or give a hearing. She emphasized that there has been no formal complaint in that regard.
The agreement sees Bai Shan Lin leasing 27.4 acres of land from Hururu at $5,000 an acre. The company will be allowed to construct a wharf and log pond, along with two buildings, and a parking lot for their equipment and other vehicles. The lease will run for 25 years.
Bai Shan Lin has also promised to upgrade 2.5 miles of road, which it will be using, and also to build a sporting facility for youths of the area. Road works are said to commence within two weeks.

 March 22, 2015

Hururu residents dissatisfied with Bai Shan Lin agreement

The February 25th lease agreement signing between Bai Shan Lin and the Hururu Village Council is not going well with everyone. The Village Council signed on to an agreement with the Chinese Company that paved the way for usage of the wharf in the community which is located on the Berbice River and the construction of a stretch of road through the community.
In the lease agreement, the Chinese logging company is getting access to 24.7 acres of land for the construction of that road at $5,000 per acre annually.
Hururu is an Amerindian Village located in Region Ten. Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon recently said that full support was never given by the community for the agreement that was entered into.
“Even the people of that community were not consulted and recently they would have collectively raised their voice and they are preparing a petition for the Minister of Amerindian Affairs to know quite clearly that they are not satisfied with that deal.”
According to Solomon, the majority of people of the remote community feel as though they have been sold out by the deal that was struck.
“There is absolutely no consultation and that is what the people have signed against in terms of that petition. They have started the petition, even members of the executive of the council have signed the petition so as to reverse the decision that was made to lease to Bai Shan Lin land for them to open up a logging pond.”
The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs which overlooked the signing had also disclosed that there are benefits that the community will derive from the agreement with Bai Shan Lin. It was also stated at the time that Toshao Winsbert Benjamin had said that the community so far is enjoying good relations with the Chinese logging company.

 

April 28, 2015

Govt. facilitates Chinese takeover in mining, logging and commerce – Businessman

As he outlined the reasons for endorsing A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change

(APNU+AFC) coalition, local businessman, Jacob Rambarran, said, recently, that too many incentives are being granted to foreign investors while Guyanese are left to fend for -+themselves on an unleveled playing field.
Rambarran was recently interviewed by communications officer, Royston King, on a programme aired on  RBS channel 13.
During the interview, Rambarran touched on many issues which are negatively impacting Guyana’s economy and by extension the quality of life being enjoyed by citizens.
One of the many things he pointed to is that while Guyana has lots to offer, locals are being denied the opportunity to make a decent living.
According to him, more than or equally disturbing is the fact that the government looks out for friends and families of those in ruling positions. Foreigners are being allowed to gain more from the country’s natural resources than born and bred Guyanese, he added.
He said that Chinese nationals have control of the logging industry, the gold mining industry and have a firm grip on commerce.

Chinese in Gold mining
Rambarran pointed to recent revelations to the effect that Chinese are closing in on local miners with regards to the number of owned mining properties.
A recent report stated that Chu Hongbo, who also owns Bai Shan Lin logging company, has 109 medium-scale mining prosperities, making him the third largest holder of medium scale mining permits in Guyana.
The report has also highlighted Hongbo’s 72 mining claims pointing out that the claim system was intended exclusively for Guyana and it was never the intention of the mining Act to allow non-Guyanese persons and corporations to operate in the small and medium scale mining systems.
Rambarran lamented that along with the many claims that Chinese nationals were able to get their hands on, they are also given duty free concessions. “But I read that one of the Chinese is now a Guyanese so that makes it ok.”
Rambarran was referring to the defence mounted by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to the effect that Hongo has attained Guyanese citizenship via naturalization hence his legal entitlement to claims.
“Guyanese are feeling rejected in their own country…there are no incentives for them,” said Rambarran.

Chinese in Logging
The businessman then turned his attention to what is happening in the logging industry w2hich Rambarran said  has suffered a massive Chinese takeover.
Bai Shan Lin is the largest logging company in Guyana. It has been accused of “raping” the forest, destroying roads and giving Guyana nothing in return.
Reports are that the company has a policy to “chop down anything in its way” without replanting.
“You see what is happening in the logging industry; the entire forest is being cut down,” said Rambarran.  He said that billions of dollars in logs are being shipped out of Guyana and “(the Chinese) are not only taking from their own concessions, they’re also buying from the locals.”
“Guyana is not gaining; I am not seeing the gain, but somebody is pocketing a lot of money because a lot is going out but I do not think the ordinary Guyanese is gaining anything.

Chinese in Commerce
Rambarran made no qualms to accept and admit that “Guyana needs foreign investment.” He said that the problem however, is that a level playing field is not being established.
“We need to have a level playing field. I think if there is a leveled field people would not complain. Everybody paying full taxes but the Chinese are not doing so.”
He said that Guyanese business people create jobs for Guyanese but “Chinese are here selling Chinese products, promoting China, keeping their people employed and keeping Chinese industry going. W need to look at our own industries and keep it going.”
He lamented that the government is not seeing it necessary to do all it can to promote local business ventures. The result is that “Guyanese are presently at a disadvantage.”

 

April 29, 2015

Bai Shan Lin uses Guyanese to acquire large concession

There is evidence that months before becoming a naturalized Guyanese, Chu Hongbo, the principal in Bai Shan Lin Forest Development Inc., had a Guyanese holding almost 700,000 hectares of state lands for him.

The forested lands were immediately transferred to Chu and Bai Shan Lin’s control after the Chinese investor received his Guyanese citizenship last year.
The transaction has raised several questions, one of which is why concerns were not triggered by  the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) that a Guyanese who is not a known logger, could be given control of such a large swath of forest as well as the legality of it being transferred later to Chu.
After Barama Company Limited, a Malaysian operation which has 1.6 million hectares, Bai Shan Lin is the third largest holder of state land that has been allocated for forestry activities.

The company reportedly also has a significant foothold in the Mining sector.
Bai Shan Lin’s activities in logging and mining have been under the microscope for over a year now after indications that the company was responsible for exporting large amounts of logs.
In January, GFC which monitors the forestry sector disclosed that the company only has “legal access” to 627,072 hectares instead of over one million hectares that was being reported.  These include 344,849 hectares as State Forest Exploratory Permits (SFEP’s).
Bai Shan Lin also controls 274,053 hectares of Timber Sales Agreement -Joint Venture Agreements and 8,170 hectares of State Forest Permissions.
Government has been on the defensive over Bai Shan Lin which was supposed to put down factories for plywood and other value-added wood products. These are yet to become operational.
Last year, several overhead shots of the Bai Shan Lin operations in especially the Kwakwani, Upper Berbice area, were published by Kaieteur News showing large stocks of logs ready for exports. It drew widespread criticisms over the seeming coziness of Government with the Chinese logging firm.
Earlier this month, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) announced in a statement that Chu has become a naturalized Guyanese and thus was entitled to acquire the properties via the relevant systems under the Mining Act and Regulations.
In fact, 98 of his Mining Permits listed were won via an open competitive bidding process at last year’s auction.
With increased scrutiny over logging in Guyana’s forests especially with a US$250M agreement with Norway which mandates this country to control its deforestation rates, GFC has been under pressure to defend its monitoring as the government’s regulator.
Last year, exported logs earned $24.4M compared to US$12.5M in 2013; sawn lumber US$20.3M compared to US$19.6 in 2013 and roundwood US$4.1 as against US$2.7M in 2013.
According to 2014 log production, values show an increase of 42 percent over the 2013 total for categories that include Wamara and the other lesser utilized species and a mere 11 per cent increase for those species in the prime category -also called Special Category.

 

April 30, 2015

Bai Shan Lin delays US$70M wood processing factory for gold, housing, logging

– no evidence company signed investment agreement
Bai Shan Lin was reportedly approved US$70M to invest in a wood processing plant just off the Linden area. Instead it diverted the money to logging, gold and housing activities.

Bai Shan Lin which has several operations across the country, has been attracting attention not only because of its large logging operations but also the manner in which it acquired hundreds of thousands of hectares of state lands it now controls.
The delay in the wood processing plant has been questioned by critics and Opposition alike who say that the absence of an investment proposal has only worsened matters.
The US$70M was reportedly used to gain control of logging and mining lands.
Bai Shan Lin was leased a large area off Linden by the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) for the proposed processing facility and for which it is paying a significant monthly rent on.
Guyana has been pushing for more value-added operations in the forestry sector but there is little evidence of how serious it is when it comes to monitoring Bai Shan Lin’s commitments and deadlines to make it happen.

With Bai Shan Lin expanding operations rapidly in recent years, there was a noticeable increase in forest products’ exports. Last year, it was reportedly more than 20 percent. And it is believed that log exports were mainly responsible.
The company came under the spotlight last year when Kaieteur News published photographs showing huge piles of logs in the Kwakwani, Berbice area ready for export.
Government and Bai Shan Lin downplayed the extent of the company logging operations saying that everything was above board.
But recent disclosures that Chu Hongbo the principal in Bai Shan Lin, acquired his Guyanese passport last year and now owns more than 50 percent of the company, has again raised questions.
It has also been reported that Bai Shan Lin used a Guyanese to acquire and hold around 700,000 hectares until Chu Hongbo became a national of Guyana last year.
With the delays of its wood processing operations, revelations that a Guyanese acquired the forestry concessions and the fact that Bai Shan Lin has gained a significant toehold in the gold mining sector, there has not been much word from Government as to how serious it is about value-added processing in Guyana.
Last year, exported logs earned $24.4M compared to US$12.5M in 2013.
Bai Shan Lin has been granted lands to build luxury homes at Providence as well as a mall.
It has also been granted significant duty free concessions on executive SUVs, and other equipment as well as tax holidays on basis of being tax gifts.

 

April 30, 2015

Woe to Guyana if Chinese go into fishing – Businessman

Chinese have already made moves to get into the fishing industry, but while fishermen expressed concerns

over that worrying attempt, local businessman, Jacob Rambarran has explicitly stated that Guyana would be in serious trouble if the Chinese enter the country’s fishing industry.
Rambarran said that Chinese nationals have, in recent times, taken over the mining and logging industries while maintaining a strong grip on commerce.
During a recent interview that was aired on Channel 13, Rambarran sided with critics who had before stated that Bai Shan Lin is raping the forest while giving Guyana little or nothing in return. He projected that the same thing would happen if the Chinese go into the fishing industry. The only difference is that lots of Guyanese will be put out of jobs and the price for fish would skyrocket.
Discussions have already commenced between officials of the Agriculture Ministry and representatives of interested Chinese fishermen. The foreigners sought clarification on various aspects of the country’s fishing sector, including local legislation.
Minister of Agriculture, Dr Leslie Ramsammy has said, “They (Chinese) are seeking clarifications on our laws… we (Ministry) are seeking more information about their interest.”
The last time the Chinese fishing matter came up; members of the local industry had expressed grave concern over those operators entering the sector.  Local fishermen were initially concerned about purported additions to the fishing industry.
The Guyana Association of Trawler Owners and Seafood Processors (GATOSP) had expressed unease when allegations surfaced that some 40 fishing licences were being granted to Chinese nationals. The Agriculture Ministry had however, clarified the matter stating that no licences had been granted.
Local fishermen were more concerned about the purported additions to the fishing industry since they claimed that they were being asked to reduce their operations because of depleted resources.
During his interview, Rambarran said that that fishermen are already struggling to cope with high fuel prices and “if government should grant fishing licence to the Chinese, it is going to be a disaster for all the people involved in fishing whether  they work in the processing plant, dry fish or sell fish.”
He said, “No one will be able to monitor the Chinese; they will not only fish. They are going to catch everything in the ocean and they are going to have one large processing plant.”
Rambarran added, “They are not only going to source fish using their own boats, they will buy from local fishermen….there will be less for local consumers, the price will go up. People will lose jobs.
The businessman explained that the Chinese have fished their entire ground and are now coming to small countries, “and catch everything. There will be no monitoring.” He said that the same thing that is happening in the logging industry will happen in fishing.

 

May 01, 2015

Bai Shan Lin selling Providence lots for up to $24M

Chinese investor, Bai Shan Lin, as part of its plans for Guyana, says it is working to build a five-star, state-of-the-art gated community in Providence with homes costing from $40M upwards.
Lands have been advertising by Sunset Lakes Inc., the Bai Shan Lin subsidiary developing the community, on its Facebook page as selling for between US$40,000 ($8M) and US$105,000 ($24M).
The community which has amenities like a supermarket, a bar, a post office, telecommunication, swimming pool, gymnasium and playground, is said to be in keeping with European standards.
The gated community, offering 24-hour armed guard service, sidewalks and roads will also feature solar powered street lights and the “most advanced water filtration system” along with 24-hour access to potable water.
There will also be backup electricity for power failure and an underground drainage system.
“The villas can be equipped with air-conditioners and solar water heaters at the request of our clients.”
Know as “New Life”, the housing developer says that the different models of villas will be fireproof and earthquake resistant. Sunset Lakes is also offering to customize villas for its clients.
The development was unveiled last October during GuyExpo at Sophia where Sunset Lakes had an impressive booth showcasing its plans for “New Life”.
When Kaieteur News visited the booth at GuyExpo, the newspaper was told that the houses range “to suit all kinds of people”.
The company has decided to have different sizes of houses, with the smallest house costing $50M and the largest, $130M.
A brochure shared out at GuyExpo stated, “We at Sunset Lakes Inc. take great pleasure in introducing to you, for the first time in Guyana, a Five Star State-of-the-Art Gated Residence, offering all prestigious and modern amenities to ensure you live that deeply desired New Life.” Bai Shan Lin, the company behind the ambitious community, is a Chinese-owned company which is aggressively engaged in a number of initiatives in Guyana, in logging and gold mining.
Its activities have raised questions after it became known that the company was able to become one of the largest holders of logging and mining concessions in Guyana.
Log exports have seen a significant increase in recent years, with an explosion of harvesting in especially the Region Ten, Upper Berbice area.

 

May 03, 2015

Ten years later, BaiShanLin still to establish wood processing plant

– blamed Go-Invest in August 2014 for delays, now accusing media
After ten years of mainly extracting logs and benefitting from billions of dollars worth in tax concessions, remissions and tax holidays, Chinese company, BaiShanLin is still to honour its commitment to establish a Wood Processing Plant.

Last year, it blamed the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) for delaying its application for this factory. Now, it is blaming the “hostile” media reports in 2014 for dispiriting financiers.
In a statement last week, the Chinese company said that it is concerned about the apparent “misrepresentations and false reports” being carried by some sections of the media on its operations in Guyana.
It identified Kaieteur News (KN) as the leader of the “hostile” campaign. It claimed that the newspaper had no evidence to support many of its claims.
It cited a recent KN article with the headline: ‘BaiShanLin delays US$70M wood processing factory for gold, housing, logging.’
Quoting the article, “BaiShanLin was “reportedly” approved US$70M to invest in a wood processing plant just off the Linden area. Instead it diverted the money to logging, gold and housing activities.”
BaiShanLin, in its statement, insisted that it is a privately owned company and does not receive capital from the Government of Guyana. Kaieteur News at no time contended in that article or any article for that matter, that BaiShanLin receives funding from the Government of Guyana.
The Chinese company also took offence to the word “reportedly”.  It is of the belief that such a word lends more to sensationalism and less towards keeping the public informed. But even in its response to the article, BaiShanLin does not deny that it was approved ‘US$70M’ for certain activities.
With regard to the wood processing plant in the Linden area that was to be constructed, Bai Shan Lin, one of the largest exporters of the country’s prime species of wood, complained that it has indeed suffered major setbacks in completing its wood processing facility that will create hundreds of jobs for Guyanese.
It claimed that these “setbacks” directly relate to lack of adequate funding from its financiers, who, since last year “when these sustained attacks began,” became concerned about the “soundness of investing further in what appeared to be a hostile environment.”
It would contradict what the company said in August last year when local media reported on the extent of BaiShanLin’s operations in Guyana.
Back then, the company failed to mention in its published advertisements that “financiers” were scared to invest. Instead, back then BaiShanLin sought to throw the blame on GO-Invest for the delays.
In one of its ads, the company stated that in 2008, it applied to the “Government of Guyana through the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) and other agencies to lease lands to set up a factory to process logs and engage in value-added production, such as the making of furniture, craft and hardwood flooring.”
It had said then that it was experiencing delays.
Kaieteur News later reported that GO-Invest had had no such application. BaiShanLin had nothing to say when this was revealed.
This caused many, including the opposition, to challenge the government to make public the investment agreement it signed on to with the Chinese logging company. To date, this is yet to be done.
Further, on the note of logging, BaiShanLin said that as it relates to operations, it has consistently remained well within the law/regulations governing the forestry sector.
It has been reported on extensively, by insiders and other well-informed critics, including Dr. Janette Bulkan, a forestry specialist, that BaiShanLin practices landlordism.
The Timber Sales Agreement (TSAs) which governs logging does not allow that.
BaiShanLin also sought to justify its great access to the mining sector. The regulations stipulate that only Guyanese can participate in auctions and bid for mining lands. It said that the company’s owner in Guyana, Mr. Chu Hongbo is a naturalized Guyanese and that he is entitled to benefit from that clause.He did not say whether all the statutory requirements for naturalisation were met.
BaiShanLin failed to point out that it has been granted hundreds of millions of dollars in duty free concessions and other breaks and therefore has an unfair advantage when it comes to competing with local operators.
Last year, Bai Shan Lin’s operations came under scrutiny after it became known that the company has been able to acquire several hundred thousand hectares of state lands for logging and mining. This was before Hongbo became a citizen of Guyana.
In fact, it has become the third largest holder of state forests in the country. An advertisement in this paper earlier this week shows the over-reach and dominance of Bai Shan Lin across Guyana.
The company is being blamed for a significant increase of log exports although Government says that those increases are still within the allowable figures.

 

May 05, 2015

APNU+AFC blasts BaiShanLin for failure to honor promises to Guyana

– As furor against Chinese company continues to rise
A Partnership for National Unity plus Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC)’s Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine and

Khemraj Ramjattan have both condemned the alarming rate at which concessions are being handed to BaiShanLin.
They say that this is being done at the expense of local businessmen. They also point to the company’s failure to honour its commitments to provide Guyanese employment.
These issues recently came to the fore with the revelations of the large tax concessions granted to the Chinese-owned company.
BaiShanLin has been under scrutiny for its large scale extraction and export of Guyana’s timber using a primarily Chinese workforce.
Though the Government of Guyana has protested that BaiShanLin’s export level remains within the parameters of the law, the Chinese company has not created jobs within Guyana’s sector for Guyanese or made any serious attempt to give back to the Guyanese people.
Despite the fact that the company has been in Guyana since 2005, BaiShanLin is yet to honour its commitment to Guyana to establish a wood processing plant, instead exporting all of the extracted timber almost instantaneously.
Roopnaraine expressed his dismay at the entire situation, stating that the local private sector and the small miner and forester were the ones whose livelihood suffered the most, but that Guyana was also deriving no benefit in the entire process.

Roopnaraine stated that it was necessary for the government to implement a more consistent tax regime and to provide more incentives and a level playing field for local miners and foresters, who have long complained of the domination of BaiShanLin on the country’s timber market.
The politician nevertheless noted that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) was just caught up in the imbroglio, being mandated to fulfill the Government’s policies.
Any change in the tax policy towards foreign investors must come from the Government itself, Roopnaraine said.
Ramjattan was critical of the company, noting that the non-implementation of the timber processing plant in Linden, was a fundamental violation of the company’s agreement, when they would have had to lay out a proposal upon approaching the Government of Guyana.
He also cited the huge amounts of logs being exported as another violation that the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) was tacitly allowing.
Financial analyst Ramon Gaskin had blasted the government’s “sweetheart deal” with BaiShanLin in the latest Thursday night broadcast of Nation Watch with Christopher Ram.
He stated that the Chinese company’s continued presence in Guyana was doing nothing more than

harm to the economy.
Added to this was the fact that BaiShanLin was in a virtual ‘tax paradise’ not having to pay any royalties or applicable value added taxes (VAT) among other concessions.
Gaskin had described it as Guyana having to subsidize the Chinese economy. China is currently rated as the world’s second largest economy, far ahead of Guyana’s.
The company is reported to have benefitted from billions of dollars worth in tax concessions, remissions and tax holidays, but when enquiries into its failure to honour its commitment to build the wood processing plant started last year, it blamed the Guyana Office for Investment (Go- Invest) for delaying its application for the factory.
Within the last week, however, it has shifted the blame to “hostile” media reports in 2014 for discouraging financers, singling out Kaieteur News as the leader of the “hostile campaign”.
It also claimed that the newspaper had no evidence to support many of its claims.
BaiShanLin, in its statement, insisted that it is a privately-owned company and does not receive capital from the Government of Guyana. Kaieteur News at no time contended that BaiShanLin receives funding from the Government of Guyana. But even in its response to the article, BaiShanLin does not deny that it was approved ‘US$70M’ for certain activities.
With regard to the wood processing plant in the Linden area that was to be constructed, BaiShanLin, one of the largest exporters of the country’s prime species of wood, complained that it has indeed suffered major setbacks in completing its wood processing facility that will create hundreds of jobs for Guyanese.
It claimed that these “setbacks” directly relate to lack of adequate funding from its financiers, who, since last year “when these sustained attacks began,” became concerned about the “soundness of investing further in what appeared to be a hostile environment.”
It would contradict what the company said in August last year when local media reported on the extent of BaiShanLin’s operations in Guyana.
Back then, the company failed to mention in its published advertisements that “financiers” were scared to invest.
Instead, back then BaiShanLin sought to throw the blame on GO-Invest for the delays.
In one of its advertisements, the company stated that in 2008, it applied to the “Government of Guyana through the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) and other agencies to lease lands to set up a factory to process logs and engage in value-added production, such as the making of furniture, craft and hardwood flooring.”
It had said then that it was experiencing delays.
Kaieteur News later reported that GO-Invest had had no such application. BaiShanLin had nothing to say when this was revealed.
This caused many, including the opposition, to challenge the government to make public the investment agreement it signed on to with the Chinese logging company. To date, this is yet to be done.
Further, on the note of logging, BaiShanLin said that as it relates to operations, it has consistently remained well within the regulations governing the forestry sector.
It has been reported on extensively, by insiders and other well-informed critics, including Dr. Janette Bulkan, a forestry specialist, that BaiShanLin practices landlordism.
The Timber Sales Agreement (TSAs) which governs logging does not allow that.
BaiShanLin also sought to justify its great access to the mining sector. The regulations stipulate that only Guyanese can participate in auctions and bid for mining lands.
It said that the company’s owner in Guyana, Mr. Chu Hongbo is a naturalized Guyanese and that he is entitled to benefit from that clause. He did not say whether all the statutory requirements for naturalisation were met.
BaiShanLin failed to point out that it has been granted hundreds of millions of dollars in duty free concessions and other breaks and therefore has an unfair advantage when it comes to competing with local operators.

 

May 8, 2015

Chinese company forcing local truckers out of business

Local truckers in the logging industry are angry over what they describe as “extremely unfair competition” from  Chinese firm BaiShanLin’s “200 duty-free” trucks.

The local truckers now claim that the Chinese company is forcing them out of business.
In a recently published letter in this newspaper,  headlined “200 duty-free BaiShanLin trucks pushing us out of business”, local truckers wrote that the Chinese firm is using its tax free advantage to transport logs at a far cheaper price than the local truckers.
One of the local truck operators at one of Guyana’s busiest truck terminals, expressed outrage because the Chinese company is now pushing them out entirely.
They are competing for local business outside of the agreed BaiShanLin operations. He lamented that such a move is utterly unfair to the ‘small man’.
“When it comes to wood they (BaiShanLin) have been cutting into the private businesses at a cheaper cost because of the concessions the government is giving them,” said the trucker.
He lamented that some of his colleagues have been forced to look for business outside of their regular timber clients as a result of the BaiShanLin trucks.
“Who would want to spend more money on transporting with one company, when you practically got another one doing it almost for free. The customers are going to BaiShanLin… It’s just unfair!”
He added that what is worse is that BaiShanLin trucks were only supposed to do transport for only the company.
However, they have now branched out to other private markets, competing with local truckers who took loans from the bank to pay duty.
When asked whether truckers employed by the Chinese company were Guyanese, the trucker answered in the negative. “They got their own people driving their trucks,” he said, referring to Chinese nationals.
They blamed the current administration for this turn of events.
The angry truckers explained that before BaiShanLin’s trucks arrived they previously “enjoyed” a fair share of the lumber shipping business. This made it possible for them to repay loans and pay their share of taxes.  However, since the arrival of the 200 duty-free trucks, the Chinese company is offering log transport at lower prices that local truckers cannot compete with.

 

May 19, 2015

Local operators forced out…BaiShanLin takes over river transport

There is growing anger by local contractors over unfair competition from BaiShanLin, a Chinese company that

has been handed waivers, tax breaks and duty-free concessions by the Jagdeo administration.
Days after truckers complained that BaiShanLin has been taking away their businesses, there are more accusations now.
This time, barge operators who have been fetching sand and logs for local private companies, are accusing BaiShanLin of muscling its way in and hijacking the riverain transportation business.
An operator who has been in business for more than two decades, said that his usual 10 trips a month have been reduced to almost zero.
“I have more than five crewmen and they have families. My payroll is almost $1M monthly. How can we compete against the Chinese when they have been granted so many concessions?
“We pay taxes on everything. I am asking the new President, David Granger, to investigate this. They are offering their service far cheaper than us. They can afford it. We can’t.”
“BaiShanLin gets duty free concession on fuel and on every other thing. So it is impossible for us to compete.”
The operator said that he is aware of at least two quarrying companies that BaiShanLin is doing work for.

While barge operators have taken loans and spent millions of dollars to set up operation, BaiShanLin’s 2,200 tonnes tug barges are proving a major advantage when compared to the smaller ones operated by private operators.
BaiShanLin is a Chinese investor who was under investigation by the last parliamentary Opposition for its logging and mining practices.
Under the Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar presidencies, the company was granted billions of dollars in tax breaks and duty free concessions, and was allowed to import scores of trucks and other pieces of heavy equipment.
The company had built at least one barge and was in the process of constructing at least two self-propelled barges at the Linden location.
Reportedly, they have also been granted concessions and licence on fuel imports, giving them a clear edge in not only the logging and mining sectors, but the transportation arena which they have now entered.
BaiShanLin has also reportedly been using its barge to fetch logs of private operators along the Berbice River.
Specifically, the tax breaks and duty free concessions were for them to use in their logging operations.
However, BaiShanLin has also entered the gold mining sector, ship building,

housing and even using trucks to haul logs for private loggers. The latter have been complaining bitterly of the unfair competition, saying that they spent millions of dollars and even took loans to buy their trucks.
The previous People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government, led by Jagdeo and Ramotar, has been secretive about the details of the investment agreement with BaiShanLin.
After almost a decade in the country, the company has failed to establish wood processing facilities but has rather been concentrating on exporting logs.
It has been blamed for a major spike in wood exports in recent years.
Last year, a flyover of the Berbice River area, saw huge areas of cleared lands with piles of logs as far as the eye can see.
The combined Parliamentary Opposition which won last week’s General Elections, had vowed to review BaiShanLin’s agreement to ensure that Guyana is receiving the best deal.

 

May 20, 2015

If you can’t add, don’t subtract from Guyana’s forests – Dr. Roopnaraine

By Kiana Wilburg
Based on its observations and in some cases, concrete evidence which it accumulated over the years,

the A Partnership for National Unity plus Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) has been unrelenting in its criticisms of the mismanagement of the Natural Resources sector.
Tipped to head this very Ministry, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine in an interview yesterday told Kaieteur News that should he be confirmed to handle this division, there would be a serious “cleansing process.”
Speaking particularly on the affairs of the Forestry Sector, Dr. Roopnaraine said that his plans for this industry which he is most passionate about would not be too different from what he has outlined for mining.
The politician asserted that one of the very first things he would seek to look at is the contracts granted under the forestry division.
He said that it is important to note that the APNU+AFC government understands the importance of continuity in relation to some of those contracts with foreign investors, for “you can’t just go in there like wild people believing in scrapping everything in which the former government entered into.”
The politician emphasized however that the new administration has on the other hand, a responsibility to ensure all contracts were entered into in accordance with the law and should any irregularity in any set of contracts be detected, the appropriate action will be taken.
“But my hope is we can really bring these operations, the forestry sector and that of the mineral sector into a very orderly state and right now there is a lot of disorder in the forestry sector… I had a meeting with some people who are active in there and they have a lot of concerns…
“We have to get the full picture of what is happening in the sector and from where we were in the opposition there was never really enough information. We now have control of the state and we will use all the means at our disposal to get an accurate picture of everything that is happening within the Natural Resources Ministry,” Dr. Roopnaraine expressed.
The APNU Executive Member who has been shadowing this sector over the years said, too that he is alarmed by the shipment of logs out of the country and the lack of value added activity by those individuals.
Bai Shan Lin is one of the largest logging companies in Guyana for over ten years and is still unable to fulfill its promise of ensuring value added products in Guyana.
“We want to ensure that people who cut the forest will have value added first and not be shipping out or is just here to cut the logs. We will ensure that this is stamped out. It has to come to an end… It has to. We are not going to be tolerant at all of this.”
Dr. Roopnaraine said that Guyana is “getting nothing” and for him, it is unacceptable.
He said that while the government has not moved collectively towards this position, for him it is “if you can’t add value then you can’t be allowed to subtract from the forests.”
The politician said that the APNU+AFC government will be making moves to regularize this very soon.

 

May 24, 2015

Forestry expert urges investigation of Asian logging companies

– accuses BaiShanLin, Barama of breaching agreements, failing to honor commitments
Overly generous concessions and other suspicious benefits granted by the People’s Progressive Party/

Civic-led (PPP/C) administrations to mainly Asian logging companies have one forestry expert now urging the new Government to launch an investigation to ensure that there is no repeat of these “sweetheart” deals.
There have been increasing accusations, both locally and internationally, that blatant examples of companies like Chinese-owned BaiShanLin and Malaysian-owned Barama Company Limited, are evidence that the previous companies failed to perform their duties and ensured that Guyana benefitted from foreign investments.
Experts like Girwar Lalaram, who has spent decades in the logging industry serving for several years as Chairman of Malaysian-owned Barama, believe that immediate action should be taken against these companies.
Lalaram, the economist, is also calling for a forensic audit to be done on both BaiShanLin and Barama.
Barama has the biggest concession in the country of over 1.6M hectares while BaiShanLin reportedly controls more than 700,000.
Lalaram, who resigned last year from BaiShanLin after serving one year as Deputy General Manager, is contending that the reliefs/concessions that have been obtained by these Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) has more than compensated for the level of investment that they have made in Guyana.
Lalaram said that the previous Governments said they brought in foreign investors to create employment

for locals but no actions have been taken to ensure that commitments are kept.
He said that from observation, the companies continue to do as they so desire without adapting to procedures and laws of the country.
Timeliness
“If you are not fulfilling obligations, you should be given a time frame to do it. If you cannot do it then you, as the country, should review the FDI agreement. What they are doing is totally wrong.”
Explaining the current modus operandi of these FDIs in Guyana, the forestry expert said that foreign companies have for one been given benefits not afforded local loggers. He said that what is not known widely is that BaiShanLin has only been exporting mainly one species of wood and in so doing has been underselling other species in the local market.
Coupled with this have been the outrageous duty free concessions, tax holidays and fiscal concessions that have been granted to them as against little for local operators. Lalaram was also critical of the fact that BaiShanLin has now entered the trucking business, edging out locals who operated between Linden and Kwakwani, in Region Ten.
Such a situation has been allowed to threaten the livelihoods of Guyanese who took loans and paid taxes but who are yet feeling the squeeze.
“So far no investment agreement between the Government of Guyana and

BaiShanLin has been made public,” Lalaram noted.
“In normal circumstances, tax holiday and fiscal concessions throughout the world by way of Foreign Direct Investments are not awarded for more than ten years. Yet we have some of these agreements that give the time frame of more than 20 years. Essentially, the Guyanese public is at loss in terms of the nature of the agreement.”
Lalaram explained that by policy, there is not supposed to be more than 18 percent of foreigners employed at these firms. At present, 90 percent of BaiShanLin employees are Chinese. These positions include cleaners, field and general labourers.
Comparatively, Malaysian company Barama was given an initial 10 years tax holiday and fiscal concessions, which include total exemption from duty and taxes for all imports including fuel. That has been extended, Lalaram claims.
Reduced Workforce
He says the concessions and taxi holidays given to these companies are “quite unique.”
“At the start of operations, Barama employed more than 2,000 Guyanese but today, fewer than 100 locals are employed there yet this company is benefitting from concessions and tax holidays.”
He said that between 1993 and 2007, Barama’s foreign exchange income into Guyana was approximately US$23M but today, it is less than US$1M.
“The consequences of such are the loss of employment for locals, loss of revenue to the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and high prices in the local market for produce that came from local resources.”
Lalaram is convinced that Guyanese loggers have been overlooked by the past administration and this needs to be rectified urgently. He pointed out that the small number of locals that are employed at these Asian companies are not being offered the protection associated with normal FDIs.
As a matter of fact, he accused the companies of not adhering to local safety laws. “Guyanese work barefooted, without helmet, without safety gear,” he said.
The economist said that over the years, the Ministry of Labour has done nothing to ensure compliance even with the Laws of Guyana in terms of safety and the general labour laws.
The workers, he said, “Are given a flat pay without any tax, NIS. They are not even given a pay slip.”
Lalaram pointed to significant differences between wages and salaries of expatriates and Guyanese. At present the Chinese workers get paid twice as much for the same tasks that Guyanese would perform, he said.
Expats are covered by life and accident insurance and medical benefits, There is little for the locals. He insists that both Asian companies have failed to fulfill their obligations to the Guyanese government and people.
“Their focus has always been on exploiting the resources and making money. It’s a sad situation for Guyana.”
Lalaram has also taken Go-Invest to task. He explained that while Go-Invest is the architect of these investment agreements, it has failed to monitor these operations to ensure that the obligations by the FDIs are fulfilled.
He said that Go-Invest is a failed institution – by way of performance, monitoring and giving away the resources of this country which local investors have been denied.
“Research has shown that nowhere in the world where FDIs have been attracted to countries are they given concessions for periods extending beyond 10 years. This is the only country where one company is given a 28-year tax holiday,” Lalaram contended.
“The point is if one is to do the Maths, the relief that has been obtained by the FDIs more than compensates for the investment that they have made in Guyana.”
The executive even accused the two companies of acquiring lands by paying off persons.
“We should take note of the former Canadian Prime Minister who said that natural resources of his country belong to the people and the children of Canada and are not for sale or exploitation. Henceforth, you cannot build a nation by giving away its natural resources. You cannot create jobs for the young if there are no resources.”
Lalaram said that with the change in administration, he expects that there will be changes with a level playing field being established.
Lands given under concessions and not used should be seized.

 

May 24, 2015

Go-Invest was kept in the dark on many foreign investments

–     “Bai Shan Lin did not come through us”- CEO

By Abena Rockcliffe
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest), Keith Burrowes,

said yesterday that Guyana’s premier investment agency can only account for about 10 percent of the foreign investments made in the country in recent years.
Burrowes made this known as he conducted a telephone interview, during which he found it necessary to note that he has no political allegiance and is fully prepared to work with the new government.
Burrowes referred to a letter he said was published a month ago. In it he stated that he was working with government since the era of Forbes Burnham. “I am not politically aligned; Governments over the years thought that I was competent for the job and I have succeeded always.”
The CEO said that he has already struck a good relationship with senior officials of the new government.
However, when asked about his preparedness to tell the new government how Guyana has been benefitting from the many foreign investments made in the country, Burrowes dropped the bomb that his company can only account for 10 percent of the total investments.
He said that most foreign investments in Guyana’s natural resources whether gold, diamond or timber went through the Ministry of Natural Resources which was headed by Robert Persaud. Companies like “Bai Shan Lin did not come through us.”
The CEO said that he has long been pushing for the establishment of a database to record all investments despite which agency the investors went through.
The idea, he said, was to have all investment related issues anchored in one data base so that at any one time a true reflected of Guyana’s overall investment rating can be had. Burrowes said that the current system allows for many inaccuracies in accountability.
For example, Burrowes said that when the government asks Go-Invest for a figure on the amount of investment in Guyana to put in the budget, that figure is made to represent the total investments when the truth of the matter is that Go-Invest can only account for a limited amount.
He said that GO-Invest cannot speak for the majority of investments in gold. “Ideally at least we should have information on the investment even if it did not go through us…the database would address this problem. It can be placed at Office of the President and all investments information can be sent to that database despite which agency the investor goes through.”
Burrowes said that he is fully prepared to answer to the new administration. He is prepared to say how Guyana has been benefitting from foreign investments, but only those that came through Go-invest.
The CEO said that there are many initiatives that the agency has in store to make Go-Invest more marketable. For example, he said that training has already started to make some staff members bi-lingual with an aim to be able to better reach out to investors. He said that already the sign board outside GO-Invest has four different languages.
Also, Burrowes said that there is a perception in Guyana that GO-Invest deals strictly with foreign investors…”We want Guyanese to know that the agency is not foreign driven and is there to facilitate local investments from investors who are suitably qualified.”
Burrowes boasted that Go-Invest has been operating successfully since he took over.
He also informed that his work towards the completion of a document to guide the company’s proposed restructuring process is at a halt as he awaits the new Government’s vision for the company.
Under the new administration, Burrowes will have to answer to the newly appointed Minister of Investments, Dominic Gaskin.

 

May 26, 2015

Lucrative concessions/tax breaks…Govt. to address Chinese investors on Thursday

Amidst concerns about several multi-billion-dollar investments in the country by especially the Chinese, the new administration is expected to address a group on Thursday.

According to the Guyana-China Business Council (GCBC), yesterday, the meeting will be held at the Arthur Chung International Convention Centre, Liliendaal, on Thursday.
Chinese entrepreneurs who are residents or have invested in Guyana are expected to attend this first meeting of the Guyana-China Business Council (GCBC) for this year.
“This is a special meeting that will be addressed by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, and Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin,” the body says.
Zhang Limin, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, has also been invited to the meeting.  “He is expected to speak about  the bilateral trade relations and social contracts between Guyana and China which he recently said, have been maintained on a sound and stable developmental footing since diplomatic ties were first established between our two countries over 160 years ago.”
Current Chairman of the GCBC, Clinton Williams, said that the primary purpose of this special meeting is to facilitate a “productive exchange of ideas” through discussions of issues specific to the conduct of business in the various sectors of the economy in which Chinese investors and immigrants are involved.
The Guyana-China Business Council has been operating under the umbrella of the Private Sector Commission for more than 10 years, its statement said.
“It went into abeyance for a while and was resuscitated in 2012.  The Council also played a significant role in the GuyExpo 2013 Business Forum that was coordinated by the Guyana

Manufacturing & Services Association (GMSA) as part of its 50th Anniversary observances.”
The GCBC said that it expects that a wide cross-section of Chinese entrepreneurs will seize this opportunity to discuss the hot-button trade and social issues that concern them with the recently appointed Ministers of Government and their country’s Ambassador to Guyana.
Concerns have been growing over investments by the Chinese in recent years.
Not only have they been taking over commerce and buying up significant properties in the city, they have also entered the mining and logging sectors.
Local businesses have also been complaining about the quality of goods entering Guyana together with the lack of monitoring to ensure that the goods are meeting acceptable standards in terms of quality and safety.
Of special concern to the new administration, which was in opposition in the last Parliament, was the lucrative concessions granted to a number of Chinese companies in logging and mining

 

sector.
A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition, which won the May 11 elections, had vowed to examine a number of agreements and several seemingly lucrative tax breaks and other concessions.
Questions were raised over what Guyana was benefiting as against what was being extracted.
Truckers and barge operators have complained that Chinese companies like BaiShanLin have unfairly taken away their businesses.
Residents of Region Ten had complained of roads being badly damaged by the heavy containers and other heavy equipment, but taxpayers were forced to foot the bill.
The Chinese Government themselves have been lending Guyana billions of dollars for development works that include the Timehri airport expansion project, the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric project, the E-Governance project and the Guyana Power and Light Inc.
Cash-flush China has been rapidly expanding across the globe into commerce and large-scale infrastructural projects.

 

June 21, 2015

Massive Customs fraud taking place with BaiShanLin’s Wamara logs export – Bulkan

 

A prominent forestry expert has warned of a massive Customs fraud taking place in exports of Wamara

logs to China.
In a letter published yesterday in Kaieteur News, Janette Bulkan said that public records available indicate systematic under-invoicing when it comes to shipping of the logs to especially China.
An Assistant Professor at a Canadian university, Bulkan is now urging for a forensic audit to be carried out in the natural resources sector.
Guyana learnt about Wamara logs last year after it was disclosed that one company, BaiShanLin, was shipping container loads of it out of Guyana every month.
It sparked an investigation by Kaieteur News which found a huge log yard in the area east of Kwakwani, Berbice River and the company benefitting from significant tax and other concessions.
According to Bulkan, BaiShanLin was under-valuing its Wamara log exports by almost US$500 ($100,000) per cubic metre, according to a Market Export Report of the Forest Products Development & Marketing Council (FPDMC).
Bulkan explained that the price range for exported Wamara logs for January to March 2015 was between US$200 and $220 per cubic metre.
However, the Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) import price for Wamara logs into China was US$760 per cubic metre. This can be verified in the latest edition of the Tropical Timber Market Report of the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), she said.

“This difference of US$500 per cubic metre provides an indication of the scale of Customs fraud, which was estimated for Guyana at US$84 million in 2003, rising almost continuously to US$440 million in 2012,” she said in the letter.
It has long been the contention that BaiShanLin and other companies are involved in what is known in accounting terms as transfer pricing. In essence, transfer pricing occurs when a local company sells to its parent company or subsidiary overseas. The prices quoted are not necessarily the market price.
With Guyana, like other countries, basing its royalties and taxes on the prices quoted by the overseas buyers, it means that Customs would be losing millions of dollars in revenues.
Critics have accused BaiShanLin of deliberately getting its buyer(s) in China to quote low prices and keeping its profits there.
“The transfer pricing in Wamara log exports is a very good example of why forensic audits in the natural resources sector are urgently needed,” she said.
Bulkan noted that around half of the illicit flows in Guyana, someUS$1.464B for 2003-2012 were attributed to export under-invoicing. This is according to the Global Financial Integrity 2014.
It is not the first time that Bai Shan Lin would be accused of illegality in its operations and business dealings.
The company has been granted hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks, duty free concessions of luxury vehicles, heavy equipment and trucks, and even acres of lands in Providence for high end homes.
The new Government had vowed to examine the investment agreement of BaiShanLin to determine whether the company has lived up to its promises.
So far, it has failed to establish promised wood-processing facilities which would create jobs. Rather, the emphasis has been on the export of logs.
Bulkan in her letter also raised questions about the inspections done by the Guyana Forestry Commission, which regulates the industry.
She disclosed that Guyana is also exporting fire ants to China, according to the same ITTO report: “Fire ants found at Fujian port – Recently fire ants were found in Pau rosa [wamara] logs from Guyana for the first time by the Fujian Entry-exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau. The batch of Pau rosa logs was sealed after fumigation treatment to prevent ant infestation. The fire ants are found in tropical and subtropical areas of South America. They can be a serious problem for livestock. It has also been found that fire ants can damage power supply systems by biting cables.”
Bulkan noted that it is the Ministry of Agriculture that provides a phyto-sanitary inspection and fumigation service, and exporters should be showing the phyto-sanitary certificate when they apply to the Guyana Forestry Commission for an export certificate.
“So how would it be possible for log exporter BaiShanLin to be exporting infested logs? Surely it could not be because they have bypassed the phyto-sanitary service and the GFC and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) inspections prior to the sealing of the shipping container?”

 

September 06, 2015

BaiShanLin ordered to stop selling logs on local market

In a bid to stop Chinese logging company BaiShanLin’s encroachment on the local market, the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) entered into an agreement with the company to prohibit them from direct competition with local loggers.
This agreement was inked on 20th April, 2015 and was meant to cover a six-month period, but the Government mandate was reportedly not enough to deter the Chinese company from continuing its sale of logs on the local market.
In the document, seen by Kaieteur News, the “numerous complaints from various stakeholders within the forestry sector” was cited as the principal reason for the agreement. The contract also noted that BaiShanLin was selling logs at reduced prices, thereby affecting the “livelihood of various companies, communities and associations in Guyana”.
BaiShanLin has come under much fire in recent times with the company being accused of expanding out of the logging sector by diverting funds and equipment originally intended for logging purposes to gain footholds in industries such as mining, housing and commercial river transportation.

There have also been protestations from local loggers who have found it impossible to compete with BaiShanLin, since the tax breaks and duty free concessions granted to the Chinese company for their logging operations, gave them a distinct advantage and allowed them to charge prices far below what the locals could offer.
According to the agreement between Commissioner of GFC James Singh (acting on behalf of Government) and Managing Director of BaiShanLin, Chu Hongbo, the Chinese company was ordered to halt its sale of logs on the local market from April 2015 until the six month period ends, in October.
The terms of the agreement stated that, “The Company shall desist from selling logs locally until the conclusion of this agreement.”
The agreement also specified, “The Company, recognizing the concerns raised by the Government of Guyana and acting in good faith, is willing to purchase logs locally from stakeholders at an agreed price during the life of this agreement.”
However, at least one major logging company has indicated that efforts to solicit BaiShanLin to purchase logs from its stockpile have not even been acknowledged.
The agreement also went on to mandate that the Government of Guyana, in consideration of the agreement, would not “publish or re-open the issue concerning the sale of logs locally by the company”.

In closing, the final term of the agreement stated, “Nothing in this contract shall be construed as preventing the parties from re-entering into a fresh agreement, after the conclusion of this agreement, concerning the subject matter contained here.”
BaiShanLin is already under the microscope after years of failing to produce any value added goods from its forestry operations. Its failure to implement wood processing facilities has been criticized by the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) administration.
The company was under investigation by the last Parliamentary Opposition for its logging and mining practices.
Under the Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar administrations, the company was granted billions of dollars in tax breaks and duty free concessions, and was allowed to import scores of trucks and other pieces of heavy equipment. Specifically, the tax breaks and duty free concessions were for them to use in their logging operations and eventually, for value added operations.
Reportedly, they have also been granted concessions and license on fuel imports, giving them a clear edge in not only the logging and mining sectors, but the river transportation arena.
BaiShanLin has reportedly been using its barge to fetch logs of private operators along the Berbice River.
The previous PPP/C administrations, led by Jagdeo and Ramotar, have been consistently secretive about the details of the investment agreement with BaiShanLin. In addition, the GFC has stolidly defended BaiShanLin’s operations, at one point stating that there were no violations.
The details of the investment agreement between BaiShanLin and the Government of Guyana are yet to be revealed.
The company has, however, been blamed for a major spike in wood exports in recent years.
Last year, a flyover of the Berbice River area saw huge areas of cleared lands with piles of logs as far as the eye can see.
Recently, Minister of Governance, Raphael Trotman revealed that Government has met with BaiShanLin and Indian company Vaitarna Holdings Private Incorporated. During the meeting, the companies had promised to get their wood processing facilities up and running within months.
Trotman had noted that the companies will not escape sanctions should they fail to make good on their promise. He had indicated that their contracts would be reviewed if these further promises were reneged on.

 

November 06, 2015

Bai Shan Lin wants two more years to set up processing plant   

By Kiana Wilburg

The APNU+AFC Government appears to have stayed its hand in the move to sanction those logging companies that have failed to establish facilities which would add value to Guyana’s highly valued woods.

Chinese logging giant, Bai Shan Lin wants two more years to get its long-awaited wood-processing facility up and running and it seems as though this has been granted by the new administration, regardless of the fact that such a commitment to the Guyanese people had not been fulfilled for over ten years.
This was made known yesterday during a post-Cabinet meeting with the press at the Ministry of the Presidency.
Minister of Governance, Raphael Trotman, was questioned about his threat some months ago to reveal the action which will be taken by the end of October, should Bai Shan Lin and others fail to make any moves to add value to Guyana’s lumber exports.
But up to yesterday, the government seemed to have modified its position against the defaulting company.
Trotman said, “In terms of Bai Shan Lin, we had met with them on successive occasions and we have had discussions with other foreign companies that have been in the forestry sector. Bai Shan Lin as we know and I don’t think it’s a secret that it has not complied in its entirety. I have met with representatives of the China Development Bank who of course are financing Bai Shan Lin.
“I am led to believe that the company itself is in the process of restructuring. Then it will reengage with the government, but as for now there has been a pause because there has been a process of restructuring its corporate activities and seeking new financing from China Development Bank.”
The Governance Minister also said that when he last spoke with the company (and this was three weeks ago), he was informed that the Chinese logging company was in no position to have the mills that it said it would have imported within the next ten months.
As a result of this sad situation for the company he said, “They have asked for two years and we have had discussions with them about an alternative mill and that is on board. But as I said, much depends on Bai Shan Lin securing the financing.”
Bai Shan Lin is the very company which Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, had said, mimics the behaviour of a bacterium called spirogyra. He had said during the 2015 election season that this “bacterium” gobbles what it wants and keeps splitting and spreading and that is exactly what Bai Shan Lin is doing.
He had said, “With the rate at which this spirogyra (Bai Shan Lin) is going, when you get to my age, Bai Shan Lin would have gobbled up everything.
“But let it be known that once the laws of the country are breached by foreign or local companies, we will speak about it and we will take action. The level of examination and action to follow will surly arrest this wanton destruction of our forests.”
Bai Shan Lin had given conflicting reasons in the past to justify the delay of establishing this wood-processing facility. In fact, Commissioner of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), James Singh a few months ago had also revealed that the company indicated to him that the current holdup is as a result of “financial difficulties.”
Singh had explained, “They told us that they have been experiencing some financial difficulties in the sense that they were unable to meet some bench marks for certain lending agencies…We met with them and they had some concerns. They indicated to us that they met with some government officials and are expected to submit a revised programme in relation to the facility to them and wait for it to be reviewed.”
He had said, too, that a team from the China Development Bank also accompanied the Chinese company to the meeting. The Commissioner said that he told Bai Shan Lin to make the wood processing facility their “priority.”
Singh said that the company promised that once the “financial difficulties” are over, it will also submit the revised programme on the facility to the Commission.
A few months ago, Trotman had told the media that the companies this time around will not escape sanctions for should they fail to make good on their promise then their contracts will be reviewed for termination.
Trotman who is also vested with some responsibility for the natural resources of the nation had explained that Government will be looking at the concessions that have been granted to certain, if not all companies in the forestry sector.
Presidential Advisor on Sustainable Development, Dr. Clive Thomas, had said that the behaviour of the logging companies such as Bai Shan Lin which have benefitted significantly from Guyana’s forest resources is absolutely “unacceptable”.
He said too that he will be recommending to the David Granger-led administration for some of their concessions to be taken away.
“Guyana cannot continue to be giving out hundreds of millions of dollars worth in these tax breaks or concessions and we aren’t benefitting from value added operations. If companies make a commitment to do so then the ethical thing to do is to deliver what was promised. If not, their concessions should be taken away,” the economist had said.
In 2014, BaiShan Lin blamed the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) for delaying its application for its wood processing factory. In one of its advertisements, the company stated that in 2008, it applied to the “Government of Guyana, through the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) and other agencies, to lease lands to set up a factory to process logs and engage in value-added production, such as the making of furniture, craft and hardwood flooring.”
It had said then that it was experiencing delays.
Kaieteur News later reported that GO-Invest had no such application. BaiShanLin had nothing to say when this was revealed. This caused many, including the then opposition, to challenge the previous government to make public the investment agreement it signed onto with the Chinese logging company. This was never done.
In April, the company then blamed the “hostile” media reports during 2014 for dispiriting financiers.
In a statement, the Chinese company had said that it is concerned about the apparent “misrepresentations and false reports” being carried by some sections of the media on its operations in Guyana. It identified Kaieteur News as the leader of the “hostile” campaign and even cited a KN article with the headline: ‘BaiShanLin delays US$70M wood processing factory for gold, housing, logging.’
But in its statement, it did not deny that it was approved ‘US$70M’ for certain activities.
With regard to the wood processing plant in the Linden area that was to be constructed, BaiShanLin, one of the largest exporters of the country’s prime species of wood, had complained that it has indeed suffered major setbacks in completing its wood processing facility that will create hundreds of jobs for Guyanese.
It claimed that these “setbacks” directly relate to lack of adequate funding from its financiers, who, since last year “when these sustained attacks began,” became concerned about the “soundness of investing further in what appeared to be a hostile environment.”

 

November 14, 2015

Unwise and reckless to grant Bai Shan Lin two-year extension –says Clive Thomas

By Kiana Wilburg

Presidential Advisor on Sustainable Development, Dr. Clive Thomas, is of the firm belief that it would be a rather “unwise and reckless” move for Chinese logging company, Bai Shan Lin, to be granted any further extension on the construction of a long awaited wood-processing facility in Guyana.

“I feel it is time that sanctions be imposed,” the economist added.
Word of Bai Shan Lin’s request for a two-year extension to fulfill its promise first came to the forefront during a press conference with Governance Minister, Raphael Trotman last week.
It was there that Trotman was questioned about his threat some months ago to reveal the action to be taken by the end of October, should Bai Shan Lin and others fail to make any moves to add value to Guyana’s lumber exports.
Trotman said, “In terms of Bai Shan Lin, we had met with them on successive occasions and we have had discussions with other foreign companies that have been in the forestry sector. Bai Shan Lin as we know and I don’t think it’s a secret that it has not complied in its entirety. I have met with representatives of the China Development Bank who of course are financing Bai Shan Lin.
“I am led to believe that the company itself is in the process of restructuring. Then it will reengage with the government, but as for now there has been a pause because there has been a process of restructuring its corporate activities and seeking new financing from China Development Bank.”
The Governance Minister also said that when he last spoke with the company (and this was three weeks ago), he was informed that the Chinese logging company was in no position to have the mills that it said it would have imported within the next ten months.
As a result of this sad situation for the company he said, “They have asked for two years and we have had discussions with them about an alternative mill and that is on board. But as I said, much depends on Bai Shan Lin securing the financing.”
Yesterday, Dr. Thomas said that it would be highly “reckless” should Bai Shan Lin’s request be approved.
He said, “Given their horrible track record, as the Presidential Advisor on Sustainable Development, I would deem it unwise to grant them this. They had ten years to get it done. What’s their excuse for not getting it done then?
“It was clear that it was not priority for them and now they cry financial difficulties. I do not agree with any further pardon because they have shown utter disregard over the years for the country’s laws and have benefitted from millions worth in concessions.
“I believe, too, that some amount of order needs to be injected into the logging industry. It is time that companies, whether local or foreign, get the message that value added production is important and that the government will no longer compromise on this.
“Besides, you cannot have a playing field where one company is making efforts to start, as is the case with Vaitarna and then Bai Shan Lin is making requests to get started later. It would not send good signals in that area.”
Mr Thomas had said that the behaviour of the logging companies that have benefitted significantly from Guyana’s forest resources is absolutely “unacceptable”.
He said, too, that he will be recommending to the David Granger-led administration for some of Bai Shan Lin’s concessions to be taken away.
“Guyana cannot continue to be giving out hundreds of millions of dollars worth in these tax breaks or concessions and we aren’t benefitting from value added operations. If companies make a commitment to do so then the ethical thing to do is to deliver what was promised. If not, their concessions should be taken away,” the economist had said.
Bai Shan Lin had given conflicting reasons in the past to justify the delay for establishing this wood-processing facility. In fact, Commissioner of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), James Singh a few months ago had also revealed that the company indicated to him that the current holdup is as a result of “financial difficulties.”
Singh had explained, “They told us that they have been experiencing some financial difficulties in the sense that they were unable to meet some bench marks for certain lending agencies…
“We met with them and they had some concerns. They indicated to us that they met with some government officials and are expected to submit a revised programme in relation to the facility to them and wait for it to be reviewed.”
He had said, too, that a team from the China Development Bank also accompanied the Chinese company to the meeting. The Commissioner said that he told Bai Shan Lin to make the wood processing facility their “priority.”
Singh said that the company promised that once the “financial difficulties” are over, it will also submit the revised programme on the facility to the Commission.
A few months ago, Trotman had told the media that the companies this time around will not escape sanctions for should they fail to make good on their promise then their contracts will be reviewed for termination.
Trotman who is also vested with some responsibility for the natural resources of the nation had explained that Government will be looking at the concessions that have been granted to certain, if not all companies in the forestry sector.
In 2014, BaiShan Lin blamed the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) for delaying its application for its wood processing factory. In one of its advertisements, the company stated that in 2008, it applied to the “Government of Guyana, through the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) and other agencies, to lease lands to set up a factory to process logs and engage in value-added production, such as the making of furniture, craft and hardwood flooring.”
It had said then that it was experiencing delays.
Kaieteur News later reported that GO-Invest had no such application. BaiShanLin had nothing to say when this was revealed. This caused many, including the then opposition, to challenge the government to make public the investment agreement it signed onto with the Chinese logging company. This was never done.
In April, the company then blamed the “hostile” media reports during 2014 for dispiriting financiers.
The Chinese company had said that it is concerned about the apparent “misrepresentations and false reports” being carried in some sections of the media on its operations in Guyana. It identified Kaieteur News as the leader of the “hostile” campaign and even cited a KN article with the headline: ‘BaiShanLin delays US$70M wood processing factory for gold, housing, logging.’
But in its statement, it did not deny that it was approved ‘US$70M’ for certain activities.
With regard to the wood processing plant in the Linden area that was to be constructed, BaiShanLin, one of the largest exporters of the country’s prime species of wood, had complained that it has indeed suffered major setbacks in completing its wood processing facility that will create hundreds of jobs for Guyanese.
It claimed that these “setbacks” directly relate to lack of adequate funding from its financiers, who, since last year “when these sustained attacks began,” became concerned about the “soundness of investing further in what appeared to be a hostile environment.”

 

November 20, 2015

Govt. denies BaiShanLin granted 2-yr extension for processing plant

–    company was blocked from exporting logs
Government has not yet granted Chinese-owned logging company, BaiShanLin International Forest Development, an extension of two years to complete its planned processing facilities along the Soesdyke/Linden Highway.

The facilities are a critical part of BaiShanLin’s investments in Guyana and would have been a key factor in the determination of granting hundreds of millions of dollars in duty free concessions and other tax breaks to the foreign investor.
The factory has been delayed for several years now, despite promises.
Recently, Minister of Governance Raphael Trotman, who has responsibilities for natural resources, when questioned about the BaiShanLin’s progress, disclosed that the company wanted another two years.
The new government (which had criticized BaiShanLin’s activities before it came into power in May) was even contemplating granting the two-year extension which had sparked a flurry of questions.
According to the Ministry of the Presidency, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has taken note of the maelstrom that arose from reports that Government has granted BaiShanLin a two-year extension to fulfill its obligations, and also, permission to continue the export of logs as normal.
“Both reports are inaccurate and not factual. By way of clarification, the Department of Natural Resources & Environment would like to inform the public that it has not granted the company a two-year extension as mistakenly reported in the media, and wishes to advise that the reference to “two years” made by the Minister of Governance, was merely to make the public aware that a two-year extension was being sought by the company.”
Rather, the department has not considered the request and has requested information from the company

about its proposed business plan and evidence of financing.
“It is only upon receipt of those documents that such an application can be objectively scrutinised, and a decision made about the future of the company’s operations in Guyana,” the statement indicated.
With regard to the valid concerns about the export of logs, the department insisted that the company has not shipped logs in several months; following an earlier restriction placed on exports. However, a quantity of locust logs remains in a holding area and their quality is rapidly degrading. The department is now planning to release a sizeable quantity into the local market for use by furniture manufacturers, while the surplus will either be allowed to depreciate further, or will have to be exported.
BaiShanLin was on the former Opposition’s radar, after it became known that the company was granted significant concessions and allowed in return to conduct what appeared to be unprecedented harvesting activities.
Reportedly, the company has collected almost US$70M for the processing plant from a Chinese bank but invested it on other ventures, including gold mining and housing development.
BaiShan Lin had given conflicting reasons in the past to justify the delay of establishing this wood-processing facility.
Commissioner of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), James Singh a few months ago had also revealed that the company indicated to him that the current holdup is as a result of “financial difficulties”.

Singh had explained, “They told us that they have been experiencing some financial difficulties in the sense that they were unable to meet some benchmarks for certain lending agencies…We met with them and they had some concerns. They indicated to us that they met with some government officials and are expected to submit a revised programme in relation to the facility to them and wait for it to be reviewed.”
He had said, too, that a team from the China Development Bank accompanied the Chinese company to the meeting. The Commissioner said that he told BaiShanLin to make the wood processing facility their “priority.”
Singh said that the company promised that once the “financial difficulties” are over, it would also submit the revised programme on the facility to the Commission.
A few months ago, Trotman had told the media that companies, this time around, will not escape sanctions: should they fail to make good on their promise then their contracts will be reviewed for termination.
Presidential Advisor on Sustainable Development, Dr. Clive Thomas, recently warned against a two-year extension for BaiShanLin.  The company is also facing problems with the Central Housing and Planning Authority for falling behind on its housing development at Providence, East Bank Demerara, and is under investigation by the Labour Department, following complaints.

 

November 27, 2015

Local truckers complain bitterly as… CJIA contractor hires BaiShanLin to truck sand

Local truck operators are complaining bitterly about being sidelined from jobs at the US$150M expansion project at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri.

The jobs for fetching sand, they say, was handed illegally several months ago to Chinese-owned logging company, BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc.
This particular company is in deep trouble with Government for failing to construct a wood processing facility in Region 10, despite significant reports of timber harvesting and an equal, unknown amount in log exports.
The establishment has been here almost a decade and granted hundreds of millions of dollars in tax and duty free concessions.
For several months now, log exports have been halted for BaiShanLin pending an assessment by Government regulators of their operations. The company says that it is awaiting financing from the China Development Bank for the processing facility and wants a two-year extension.
The duty free concessions were for trucks, skidders, excavators and other equipment to be used specifically for BaiShanLin’s activities in their logging concessions.
It would be a breach of the company’s investment agreement to use it elsewhere, in another sector, or in this case, for hire to another company.
The exact amount of trucks and equipment BaiShanLin shipped in has never been disclosed, but insiders believe that the company has at least 200 trucks.
The duty free concessions had been a hot topic of interest for Guyana, and for the current Government, which while in Opposition prior to the May 11th general elections, spoke vehemently about it.
Yesterday, based on complaints by local truck operators, reporters from Kaieteur News confirmed that scores of trucks from BaiShanLin are working on the runway expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
In a compound managed by the CJIA contractor, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), several of BaiShanLin’s trucks and equipment were seen. There was evidence that crude attempts had been made to cover up the logo of BaiShanLin on a number of trucks. Some of the logos were painted over while others were covered by white plastic.
However, the registrations were still in BaiShanLin’s company name.

CHEC officials were unwilling to talk about it and instead summoned an armed guard to demand that the reporters vacate the area.
One senior CHEC employee who claimed he is in charge, was seen on the phone constantly talking.
Workers confirmed that BaiShanLin has been hired to transport sand for the runway extension which has been shifted from the northern end to the southern side.
In addition to trucks, it appeared that BaiShanLin’s heavy equipment is on site as well, but with little identifying marks, it was hard to tell.
It is unclear whether CHEC’s contract allowed it  to hire BaiShanLin without going to tender.
As a matter of fact, the contract signed between the Government of Guyana and CHEC, and dated November 2011, placed the provision of sand as a responsibility of the Government of Guyana.
“The Employer will provide the sand and other fill material (sites) to the contractor for free, and the distance from material source to the project site shall be within 12 km, but if the distance is more than 12 km, the transportation fee will be increased according to actual distance. The Employer shall be fully responsible for the quantity, quality and timely supply of the abovementioned sand and other fill material,” the contract said.
CHEC also agreed to use local nationals and make sure the proportion of the Chinese labour and the local nationals will not be less than the ratio of 6:4, except for special skills.
It is unclear yesterday which consultant has been retained to supervise the project on behalf of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure.
BaiShanLin is facing problems also with the Labour Department and has been warned to correct a number of infractions. A housing project at Providence has been stalled along with a massive showroom, apparently because of finance.
In the meantime, BaiShanLin has ventured into the gold mining sector, concrete mixing and rental of its barges.

 

November 28, 2015

CJIA probing use of BaiShanLin’s trucks in US$150M expansion project

An investigation has been ordered by the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) into how several trucks belonging to a logging firm, BaiShanlin Forest Development Inc., have been working on the expansion project at Timehri.

Yesterday, Ramesh Ghir, Chief Executive Officer of CJIA, said that he only learnt of the presence of the trucks after reading Kaieteur News yesterday.
He has asked the consultants for a report on the matter.
The runway extension is part of a bigger US$150M project to modernize the airport to allow for bigger planes to land.
Last year, the then Government of Guyana hired Canadian supervising firm, MMM Group in association with locally-based Caribbean Engineering and Management Consultants (CEMCO), to manage the runway part of the project. The consultants were to be paid US$5.9M.
There would be questions if it was the responsibility of the consultants to determine whether BaiShanLin should have been allowed to truck sand for the runway project.
The issue was raised this week when several local truck operators complained that they saw no tenders by the Government or CJIA that they wanted trucks to transport materials to the site.
What also have the operators angry is that BaiShanLin is a logging company that was granted hundreds of millions of dollars in duty free concessions to bring in trucks and other heavy equipment, specifically for use in the forestry activities.
BaiShanLin would have had to seek permission for the duty free import under its investment agreement signed with the government.
Using the trucks at CJIA would have been highly illegal and a breach of the agreement.
A visit to the area on Thursday found several of BaiShanLin’s trucks in the compound of China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) south of the main runway at CJIA where works are ongoing.

There was evidence that crude attempts had been made to cover up the logo of BaiShanLin on a number of trucks. Some of the logos were painted over while others were covered by white plastic. However, the registrations were still in BaiShanLin’s name.
CHEC officials were unwilling to talk about it and instead summoned an armed guard to demand that the reporters vacate the area.
Workers confirmed that BaiShanLin has been hired to transport sand for the runway extension and has been on site for several months now.
In addition to trucks, it appeared that BaiShanLin’s heavy equipment is on site as well, but with little identifying marks, it was hard to tell.
This particular timber company is in deep trouble with Government for failing to construct a wood processing facility in Region Ten, despite significant reports of timber harvesting and an unknown amount in log exports.
The establishment has been here almost a decade and has been granted hundreds of millions of dollars in tax and duty free concessions.
The duty free concessions were for trucks, skidders, excavators and other equipment to be used specifically for BaiShanLin’s activities in their logging concessions.
The duty free concessions had been a hot topic of interest for Guyana, and for the current Government, which while in Opposition prior to the May 11 general elections, spoke vehemently about it.
As a matter of fact, the contract signed between the Government of Guyana and CHEC, and dated November 2011, placed the provision of sand as a responsibility of the Government of Guyana.
CHEC also agreed to use local nationals and make sure the proportion of the Chinese labour and the local nationals will not be less than the ratio of 6:4, except for special skills.
In the meantime, BaiShanLin has ventured into the gold mining sector, concrete mixing and rental of its barges.

 

November 29, 2015

GPL cuts power to BaiShanLin headquarters

The financial troubles enveloping Chinese-owned logging company, BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc., seems to be multiplying with technicians cutting power to the company’s headquarters in Providence last week.

According to officials of the state-owned Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL), BaiShanLin was caught stealing power last year and had been assessed and penalized.
The logging company reportedly was supposed to pay over $20M but failed.
Between Thursday and Friday, GPL disconnection crew descended on the Cacique Palace and Banquet Hall, a partially finished hotel behind Princess Hotel.
In August, Kaieteur News reported that the logging company owed around $600M for the property.
It had belonged to a group of private developers who were aiming to capitalize on the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
However, the US$3.5M ($700M) project was not completed despite a $30M cash injection by the then Government.
To recover its monies, the previous administration had established a team comprising the developers and Keith Burrowes, a senior official.
BaiShanLin, which was rapidly expanding its tentacles in the logging and other sectors, expressed an interest. A deal was reportedly reached for US$4.5M, down from the original asking price.
However, BaiShanLin between 2012 and 2013 only paid US$1.5M. There was difficulty in collecting the remaining US$3M.
The spotlight has been on BaiShanLin’s operations in Guyana along with its closeness to consecutive administrations of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, which was voted out in May, following general elections.

The APNU +AFC, while in Opposition, had criticized the seemingly excessive concessions and other tax breaks granted to the company. The criticisms have refused to die away.
In the beginning, the company was harvesting an extraordinary large amount of logs and exporting them. A flyover last year in Kwakwani confirmed that indeed the company’s operations, as far as forestry activities go, were extensive.
It came to light that the company questionably acquired significant other forestry concessions, making it one of the largest players in the timber export business in the country.
It was discovered that the company was also granted hundreds of millions of dollars in duty free concessions for trucks, excavators, skidders and road making equipment for use specifically in its logging operations.
In return, BaiShanLin promised to build a modern, wood processing factory just off Linden, Region 10 that would have created jobs for locals.
The company has been here for almost a decade but has failed to build the facility.
Guyana later learned that BaiShanLin reportedly collected almost US$70M for the wood processing factory but instead diverted the monies to gold mining, a housing community at Providence and a mall to showcase Chinese products, among other ventures.
With regard to gold mining, the company has acquired a number of concessions.
Gold miners have been complaining that BaiShanLin breached its investment agreement by using its trucks and equipment from logging in the gold mining sector.

It has placed local operators at a disadvantage as they are required in most cases to pay the taxes and duties.
The New Life gated community project at Providence is also facing problems with little work seen on the 100-acre plot the Chinese company bought from local businessman, Brian Tiwarie.
Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) has given BaiShanLin up to February to finish off critical infrastructural works or face penalties.
The nearby mall in Providence is also halted with little work done since December.
In the meantime, BaiShanLin has applied to the new Government for a two-year extension to build the wood processing facility in Linden. This is because a loan it has applied for from the China Development Bank is on hold.
In recent months, to raise cash, and with little monitoring from the authorities, BaiShanLin started entering the local market, using its trucks and other equipment to vie for jobs.
Last week in one of the biggest scandals for the new administration, BaiShanLin had quietly started to fetch sand for the runway expansion of the US$150M Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
The logos on the logging trucks were covered in paint and stickers, in a crude attempt to disguise them. Many of the trucks still carried registrations showing BaiShanLin as the owner.
They had secretly been working there for months now with the nearby CJIA management saying late last week it had no idea. An investigation has been launched.
Nobody knew something was wrong except for local truck operators who claimed they saw no advertisements and in any case, BaiShanLin is acting illegally when it uses its trucks that were specifically allowed in for logging, to be hired in another business.
Amidst it all, there is little evidence that anything much is being done by regulators, including the natural resources sectors, to monitor the seeming lawless situation the company has been operating under.
While at the CJIA runway extensions site on Thursday, GPL contractors also went to the contractor’s compound to cut the power off.
China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), the contractor, reportedly owed over $1M.
The contractor had not received a bill, an official told the GPL crew.
CHEC was allowed to pay the money on Friday.

 

December 06, 2015

SARU launches investigation into BaiShanLin operations

Chief among the complaints made to the State Asset Recovery Unit (SARU) are those on corrupt land

deals. But SARU’s Head, Dr. Clive Thomas is alarmed that Chinese logging company, BaiShanLin has been like a recurring decimal among the hundreds of allegations on crooked land deals which pour in on a daily basis.
It has led him to start a detailed investigation into the company’s operations in Guyana.
Dr.Thomas said, recently, “Corrupt land deals is perhaps our number one complaint here. But we are concerned that BaiShanLin has so many complaints against it. And when we made some checks, we found some disturbing things. We had no option but to zero in on their operations because they involve, what I deem to be, the unlawful attainment, disposal and use of the state’s assets. And that I cannot sit by and watch continue.”
The economist continued, “As such, we have launched an investigation into that entity. We have already prepared a detailed document on them and their operations since they came into Guyana. The report shows that they are a major source of corrupt land deals. This company has been operating very crookedly in Guyana.”
The Presidential Advisor said that there have been numerous startling irregularities under the Chinese logging company but said that based on the nature of the investigations, he would not be inclined to reveal the findings at this stage.
“We don’t want them to have a clue about the depth of our knowledge on them. Let them wonder what we do and don’t know. But if you see the blocks of land that they own. I know the nation and the government I am sure are not aware of how far their ownership runs. But we are doing some map work and with that, we will be able to display all the places they own.
“But I will not release the details of what we have at this point. What I can say is that they probably own more land than the Guyana Sugar Corporation at this point and they acquired it through a lot of Memoranda of Understanding signed with the PPP,” Dr. Thomas said.
He added, “This is a wicked, wicked situation we are facing here. BaiShanLin under the PPP was gobbling up state resources everywhere. There are some serious networks of criminality that were allowed to just flourish under the previous administration. And the investigation will unearth everything.”

BaiShanLin is one of the largest companies in the logging industry and had been able to acquire so much wealth and concessions from the previous government that it has been able to spread its reach into other industries, inclusive of the housing and mining sectors.
Earlier this year, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) announced in a statement that Chu Hongbo, the principal in BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc., became a naturalized Guyanese and thus was entitled to acquire the properties via the relevant systems under the Mining Act and Regulations.
In fact, 98 of his Mining Permits listed were won via an open competitive bidding process at last year’s auction.
Last year, Sunset Lakes Inc. which is a subsidiary company of BaiShanLin, unveiled its plans to start an extravagant and lush gated community in Providence with homes costing from $40M. Questions arose as to how the Chinese company got access to prime state lands but the former administration was tightlipped about the transaction and so was the company.
BaiShanLin had also promised that it would set up a wood processing factory in Guyana but it has been over ten years and this promise is yet to be fulfilled. It recently requested from the new administration, an extension of two more years to get the facility up and running.
While this has not been granted, Government has in the interim, placed a ban on the company’s ability to export logs.
Minister of Governance, Raphael Trotman, had said some months ago that companies such as BaiShanLin would be given until the end of last October, to get their act together, or else sanctions would be instituted.
But nothing of the sort has happened. In explaining the company’s position as communicated to him, Trotman had said, “In terms of BaiShanLin, we had met with them on successive occasions and we have had discussions with other foreign companies that have been in the forestry sector. BaiShanLin as we know and I don’t think it’s a secret that it has not complied in its entirety. I have met with representatives of the China Development Bank who of course are financing BaiShanLin.
“I am led to believe that the company itself is in the process of restructuring. Then it will re-engage with the government, but for now there has been a pause because there has been a process of restructuring its corporate activities and seeking new financing from China Development Bank.”
The Governance Minister also said that when he last spoke with the company, he was informed that the Chinese logging company was in no position to have the mills that it said it would have imported within the next ten months.
As a result of this sad situation for the company he said, “They have asked for two years and we have had discussions with them about an alternative mill and that is on board. But as I said, much depends on BaiShanLin securing the financing.”
BaiShanLin had given conflicting reasons in the past to justify the delay in establishing this wood-processing facility.
In 2014, BaiShanLin blamed the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) for delaying its application for its wood processing factory. In one of its advertisements, the company stated that in 2008, it applied to the “Government of Guyana, through the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) and other agencies, to lease lands to set up a factory to process logs and engage in value-added production, such as the making of furniture, craft and hardwood flooring.”
It had said then that it was experiencing delays.
Kaieteur News later reported that GO-Invest had no such application. BaiShanLin had nothing to say when this was revealed. This caused many, including the then opposition, to challenge the previous government to make public the investment agreement it signed onto with the Chinese logging company. This was never done.
In April, the company then blamed the “hostile” media reports during 2014 for dispiriting financiers.
In a statement, the Chinese company had said that it is concerned about the apparent “misrepresentations and false reports” being carried by some sections of the media on its operations in Guyana. It identified Kaieteur News as the leader of the “hostile” campaign and even cited a KN article with the headline: ‘BaiShanLin delays US$70M wood processing factory for gold, housing, logging.’
But in its statement, it did not deny that it was approved ‘US$70M’ for certain activities.
With regard to the wood processing plant in the Linden area that was to be constructed, BaiShanLin, one of the largest exporters of the country’s prime species of wood, had complained that it has indeed suffered major setbacks in completing its wood processing facility that will create hundreds of jobs for Guyanese.
It claimed that these “setbacks” directly relate to lack of adequate funding from its financiers, who, since last year “when these sustained attacks began,” became concerned about the “soundness of investing further in what appeared to be a hostile environment.”

 

December 09, 2015

Duty-free concessions…BaiShanLin given free-for-all under the PPP/C

– senior Govt. official
Days after it was announced that the State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU) has launched an investigation into the operations and acquisitions of the Chinese-owned BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc., worrying details are emerging that suggest that it was all a wild-west situation with respect to concessions.

A senior Government official yesterday indicated that the logging company within the last two years was allowed to bring in scores of trucks and heavy duty equipment, clearing them without the necessary Customs documents being completed.
“We are finding some scenarios where the vehicles and equipment were allowed under what is known as “Permit For Immediate Delivery” (PID). It means that the vehicles would come on the wharves where they are released without the documents being perfected.”
The problem with the situation is that more than a year later, in some cases, the company has been using the equipment and trucks to do their work. But the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) is still to close the files on the importations.
The concessions and tax breaks to BaiShanLin have been angering business owners and other Guyanese who are forced to abide by the GRA’s strict rules when it comes to the importation of the vehicles and other equipment that attract duties.
Last year, over $60B of the national budget of Guyana was granted in duty free concessions to investors, remigrants, farmers and miners, according to state audit reports, raising questions as to how the previous administration, under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic , was managing the country’s revenues.
It had also raised the issue of corruption in the process, with state auditors complaining of the absence of a proper accounting system.
Normal Guyanese buying a car for US$5,000 are asked to pay up to US$10,000 ($2M) to remove it from the city wharves, while under concessions, that US$10,000 is waived.
“We are looking into the process. The Investment Agreement…what was brought in…and other things. There are many questions,” the Government official said yesterday.
FACING FLAK

BaiShanLin is facing flak from several quarters over its operations here which range from logging, gold mining, trucking sand, barge operations, cement mixing and housing.
The company initially came in about a decade back, partnering with Jialing and  others to conduct logging operations.
However, the company rapidly extended in recent years, and was granted suspiciously large concessions, including land and tax breaks.
Last year, Bailiang Chu, the country manager, was granted citizenship. He was able to acquire mining lands.
Recently, truck operators complained about the company being allowed as a sub-contractor to truck sand for the runway expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
Officials believed that BaiShanLin breached its investment agreement with the Government of Guyana which bars the company from using the trucks and concessions from doing anything outside of logging.
The company has failed to establish a wood processing plant under its agreement although collecting almost US$70M from China Development Bank.
BaiShanLin is claiming that negative publicity has affected the balance of the US$140M loan it has taken from the bank for its investments in Guyana.
Its gated housing scheme at Providence is facing a February 2016 deadline after numerous delays, and a promised mall nearby is at a standstill.
In the meantime, the company has secretly started working its river barges for private companies, fetching stone and other materials.
TWO-YEAR EXTENSION
It has asked Government for a two-year extension on the processing facility for Linden, in order to finalise the Chinese loan.
The company came under scrutiny last year after details were disclosed about the extent of its operations.
A flyover last year over the Kwakwani operations found a huge stockpile of logs in that Upper Berbice, Region 10 area.
This year, the new administration, under David Granger, has restricted log exports for the company, in light of alleged wrongdoing.
Last week, SARU’s Head, Dr. Clive Thomas, disclosed that initial checks found worrying signs of regulations being flouted, warranting a deeper probe.
“As such, we have launched an investigation into that entity. We have already prepared a detailed document on them and their operations since they came into Guyana. The report shows that they are a major source of corrupt land deals. This company has been operating very crookedly in Guyana.”
The Presidential Advisor said that there have been numerous startling irregularities under the Chinese logging company, but said that based on the nature of the investigations, he would not be inclined to reveal the findings at this stage.
Although not getting into specifics, he had this to say.
“What I can say is that they probably own more land than the Guyana Sugar Corporation at this point and they acquired it through a lot of Memoranda of Understanding signed with the PPP.”

 

December 22, 2015

Govt. seeks legal advice on BaiShanLin’s operations

-company’s operations almost at standstill
Government is not rushing in to deal with what has widely been seen as breaches by Chinese-owned

logging company, BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc.
Rather, any action would have to be guided by legal advice which the new Government has requested.
The statements were made yesterday by Minister of Governance, Raphael Trotman, when he appeared before Parliament’s Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources to talk about work under his watch.
BaiShanLin’s operations have been facing Government scrutiny with local businesses complaining that the company is muscling in on their territory, wrongfully using equipment granted under concessions. The problem is that the concessions were granted for logging and local analysts are arguing that the company is breaching its agreement when it competes with equipment, which includes scores of trucks, excavators, skidders, barges and road-making equipment.
Yesterday, Chairman of the Committee, Odinga Lumumba, who is from the Opposition, questioned Minister Trotman whether it is the plan of the government to specifically “isolate” BaiShanLin and look at its activities.
The coalition government, which took office in May following early General Elections, had vowed to look at the arrangements that Government has with the company.
Trotman, who was accompanied by Department Heads under his supervision, stressed that the Memorandum of Agreement (MoU) was signed by former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, “so strictly speaking it is not a Natural Resources issue.”
Also present at the proceedings was Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan.
Rather, the arrangements appear to be a “bilateral one” between Singh and that company.
Trotman disclosed, however, that the agreement suggests that BaiShanLin came here to do wood processing.
“As to whether or not there was a restriction that they must enter or not into any other activity, I can’t say because I have not seen that as that would require a legal opinion.”

Trotman said that he was aware of media reports that the company is competing in hauling stones using its barge, apparently for hardware giant, Toolsie Persaud Limited. Recent photos published by Kaieteur News, suggest the company is quite busy making weekly trips with local operators saying they have been forced to cut staff as work dries up.
Trotman said that legal questions are being raised on whether BaiShanLin should be allowed and whether the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment should intervene.
“These are things that will require legal opinion. We have solicited them and we are waiting. We are not going to rush in a wild…manner based on what is reported in the press. Because, as I said, an MoU aside, it could be that a company once it is lawfully registered and maintained in the Companies’ Registry, may do other things.”
He declined to speculate and said that the legal advice is being awaited.
However, the company is facing other troubles, the official disclosed.
BaiShanLin has been blocked from exporting logs and there is a current ban on the shipping out of Locust wood, which is popular in the furniture business. Manufacturers have complained of shortages in the market, forcing Government to step in.
Responding to questions about complaints by Region Ten residents, of roads deteriorating in the face of BaiShanLin’s operations in that area, the Minister said that the Company’s activities are down to a minimum.
BaiShanLin has been here almost a decade now.
Its gated housing community at Providence is at a standstill and a nearby mall is standing desolate with no work ongoing. The Company said almost US$70M of a US$140M financing from China Development Bank is in limbo because of negative publicity over the past year.
The BaiShanLin situation has raised questions about the country’s capacity to handle large-scale investment, to ensure Guyana gets the best deal.
BaiShanLin is 51 percent owned by the Chinese government.
It local principal, Chu Hongbo, was granted Guyanese citizenship last year.

 

January 17, 2016

BaiShanLin ventures into hardware supplies

Local truckers and hardware suppliers are facing tough competition from this truck. Owned by BaiShanLin Forest Development, the truck was seen Friday offloading steel at a North Road construction site.
A Chinese official on the truck when asked said he is selling steel on behalf of BaisShanLin. Asked where the hardware store was located, he said the steel rods came from the company’s unfinished showroom at Providence, EDB. He was willing to supply, with free delivery, once an order was given to him.
The Chinese company has been venturing into all kinds of business outside the original logging operations it came here to do. These including ready-mix cement, barge operations, trucking, gold and diamonds mining, logging, housing, fuel, road maintenance, ship building, among other things. They have been under scrutiny for the billions of dollars in waivers and concessions that they received.

 

January 18, 2016

Concessions granted under PPP must be renegotiated – Govt. Official

The A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) had promised that once it assumes office, it would release many of the concession agreements which were signed between the PPP regime and certain foreign investors.
This campaign promise is yet to be fulfilled.
Kaieteur News had asked the Minister with some responsibility for the Natural Resources Sector, Raphael Trotman when government will release these concession agreements, specifically those signed with Chinese logging company, Bai Shan Lin Forest Development Inc.
Trotman said that the possibility does exist for this to happen but he would have to speak with the Finance Minister, Winston Jordan for guidance on that matter, since the subject of concessions falls under his portfolio.
But when contacted, Jordan said that his office is not in possession of those agreements and the respective sectors would have those documents, given the manner in which such deals were done under the previous government.
He said that in any case, while the Government promised to make those contracts public, they may be subject to confidentiality clauses. As a result of this, he noted that this would inhibit the move by Government to expose the agreements.
Another Government official explained, “Based on some of the information we already have, some of the concession deals brokered with some foreign investors border on illegality. We will have to renegotiate some of these deals and ensure that they fall in line with the law because as it is, it creates an unhealthy and an unlevel playing field for others who were not allowed such lavish concessions and tax breaks.”

Also sharing his views on the matter yesterday was University Professor, Dr. David Hinds. He said that he agrees that there must be the renegotiation of the extravagant concession packages which were granted to certain companies under the PPP rule.
“But in doing so, you have to have a bottom line. The first bottom line should be that concessions must fall within the ambit of the law; they must not violate Guyanese law in letter or spirit. Second, our negotiators must always ensure that there is a fair balance between the conditions under which we seek to attract capital investments and the protection of our workers. In other words we must never negotiate away from the adherence to best practices in labour relations.
“We must ensure at all cost that Guyanese workers are utilized if those skills exist in Guyana and that they are paid living wages and assured work safety and adequate conditions. Third, in instances where investments are in areas of our natural resources our negotiators must ensure that the concessions are not so liberal that the country does not get adequate returns in the form of taxes etc. We must not in the haste to attract investments negotiate away ownership and control. One of the things, for example, we must insist on is re-investment of some of the profits in the country. There is no guarantee that one gets everything one asks for. But there must be clear bottom lines and we must always pose to ourselves the primary question—how in the first and last instance does this investment benefit Guyana and its working people?”
The University Professor also stated that it is very important to know who will be negotiators.

“We have to have at all times negotiators who are nationalists and not simply advocates of trickle-down economics. And we have to make sure that our negotiators are people of integrity who would not negotiate away our patrimony in exchange for their personal enrichment,” asserted Dr. Hinds.
Chinese logging giant, BaiShanLin is one of the foreign companies which has benefited from millions of dollars worth in concessions under the PPP. But after 10 years, this company is yet to deliver on its promise of a wood processing facility in Guyana.
And its Indian counterpart, Vaitarna Holding Private Incorporated (VHPI), after three years, is still to get the ball rolling on its promise of significant value added operations of a similar nature.
Presidential Advisor on Sustainable Development, Dr. Clive Thomas says that such behaviour from companies which have benefitted significantly from Guyana’s forest resources is absolutely “unacceptable”. He had said that he would be recommending to the David Granger-led administration for some of their concessions to be taken away.
“Guyana cannot continue to be giving out hundreds of millions of dollars worth in these tax breaks or concessions and we aren’t benefitting from value added operations. If companies make a commitment to do so then the ethical thing to do is to deliver what was promised. If not, their concessions should be taken away. They need to face sanctions of that nature or probably something stronger.  Bai Shan Lin and Vaitarna have become logging giants in this country and by its own actions, it is clear that we should review all of their concessions. I would be advising the President of taking such actions. My position on this is clear; they need to cut off some of their benefits,” the economist said.
“This is obviously not part of how one promotes the suitability of an economy and an industry and we cannot continue to go this route. Allowing this sort of behaviour to continue sends a dangerous message to other potential investors and local companies. What has the Guyana Forestry Commission done regarding such infractions? Is this not important?
“We really need to change the landscape of the way business is done in the logging industry and eliminate this kind of slackness we allow these companies to get away with. This is not about whether you are foreign or not. At the end of the day it is what is right for the development of the country and quite frankly these two companies have just been taking and taking and not fulfilling their promises of considerable value added operations. It has been years now, so what can possibly be their excuse? They need to face serious sanctions.”
In 2014, BaiShanLin blamed the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) for delaying its application for its wood processing factory. In one of its advertisements, the company stated that in 2008, it applied to the “Government of Guyana, through the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) and other agencies, to lease lands to set up a factory to process logs and engage in value-added production, such as the making of furniture, craft and hardwood flooring.”
It had said then that it was experiencing delays.
Kaieteur News later reported that GO-Invest had had no such application. BaiShanLin had nothing to say when this was revealed. This caused many, including the then opposition, to challenge the previous government to make public the investment agreement it signed onto with the Chinese logging company. This was never done.
In April, last, the company then blamed the “hostile” media reports during 2014 for dispiriting financiers.
In a statement, the Chinese company had said that it is concerned about the apparent “misrepresentations and false reports” being carried by some sections of the media on its operations in Guyana. It identified this publication as the leader of the “hostile” campaign and even cited a KN article with the headline: ‘BaiShanLin delays US$70M wood processing factory for gold, housing, logging.’
But in its statement, it did not deny that it was approved ‘US$70M’ for certain activities.
With regard to the wood processing plant in the Linden area that was to be constructed, BaiShanLin, one of the largest exporters of the country’s prime species of wood, had complained that it has indeed suffered major setbacks in completing its wood processing facility that will create hundreds of jobs for Guyanese.
It claimed that these “setbacks” directly relate to lack of adequate funding from its financiers, who, since last year “when these sustained attacks began,” became concerned about the “soundness of investing further in what appeared to be a hostile environment.”
Amidst harsh criticisms of its operations during 2014 and earlier this year in several quarters,  BaiShanLin  insisted that it has consistently remained well within the law/regulations governing the forestry sector.
It has been reported on extensively, by insiders and other well-informed critics, including Dr. Janette Bulkan, a forestry specialist, that BaiShanLin practices landlordism.
The Timber Sales Agreement (TSAs) which governs logging does not allow that.
In fact, the company has become the third largest holder of state forests in the country.
Additionally, Transparency Institute Guyana Inc. (TIGI) had said that given the conflicting reports on whether BaiShanLin and Vaitarna operations are in conformity with our laws, specifically the Guyana Forestry Commission Act and the Environmental Protection Act , their contracts should be made public. It had issued this call to the past administration, but this was also ignored.
In view of the public outrage at the extent to which these two companies were said to be exploiting the forests resources, TIGI also called on the past administration to place a halt on their operations. But this was as the old adage goes; “throwing water on duck’s back.” Instead, the Donald Ramotar Government chose to defend the two companies.

 

February 04, 2016

Insider trading allegations surface at GGMC

One would expect that due process would be followed when it comes to the dispensation of rich, mineral

lands controlled by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).
But officials of the entity say that this is not always the case.
They said that only a “special or premium” group of operators benefit from information that is not always supplied or made readily available to the public.
Allegations have surfaced to the effect that in many cases, only rich mining operators benefit from having inside friends. These friends would alert them that certain , rich lands have been repossessed and are ready for the taking.
Kaieteur News understands that this happened in many instances under the PPP regime. One case implicated Bai Shan Lin Director, Chu Hongbo.
The matter dates back some years ago when GGMC had granted a Prospecting License to Brian Chase. This allowed Chase access to a specific piece of land in the Mazaruni area so that he could evaluate the commercial mineral wealth.
Chase, however, failed to renew his Prospecting Licence. The Commission in such cases is empowered by the law to repossess the land; and it did.
When the land was repossessed, Kaieteur News understands that the Bai Shan Lin Director was notified and preparations were put in place for him to grab the mineral rich lands.
Chu Hongbo applied for a Mining Permit, instead of a prospecting licence and that was granted. He capitalized on the prospecting done by Chase who found a rich vein of gold so he, Chu, did not need a prospecting licence.
A Mining Permit is of five years duration and may be renewed for further periods, not exceeding five years

on each occasion or for the life of the deposit of the mineral in respect of which it is granted.
The GGMC official explained, “There are cases where mineral rich lands would be repossessed from prospectors. This happens when the prospectors fail to renew their licences.”
He said that the Board has the power to repossess mining lands.  When this happens the Chairman and the Minister are aware of the repossession.
The official said that Minister is the authority to grant prospecting and mining licences. He said that the GGMC commissioner is only authorised to grant prospecting permits.
He went on to say that only the Board can issue  Mining permits.
The official said that there have been cases where those with the authority waste no time “in notifying friends, the minute rich lands are repossessed.
These repossessed lands are kept for certain people; the first come first served procedure does not even get a chance to take place.”
Williams was asked about this yesterday but he completely denied it.
When Kaieteur News asked Clinton Williams, the former Board Chairman, if “hypothetically speaking”

the possibility existed for GGMC officials to share their knowledge of reclaimed lands with a close friend of theirs.
Did Chu Hongbo, of BaiShanLin, for example, had access to such insider information that allowed him to go through the right channels to get those lands?
Williams stated, “I can’t confirm or deny. I would not be able to tell you whether the possibility existed. There have been lots of allegations about that hence the Board agreed that there should be a system review given the allegations of that nature.”

 

 

 

 

February 5, 2016

Despite large scale gold operations…Chinese companies make no declarations

Finance Minister Winston Jordan, in his budget presentation, last week, reported that at least a third of taxes and other revenues that could have been collected were not, because of poor enforcement by the Guyana Revenue Authority and other revenue-collecting agencies.
Tax revenues were leaking from everywhere. As a matter of fact, Government estimates billions of dollars were also lost to the country because of poor management of the concessions for foreign investors, remigrants and even local contractors.
As a matter of fact, in 2014 it was estimated that almost $60B was granted in concessions and tax waivers, significant when taken into account that the country’s budget was a total of $220B.
These concessions went to companies and individuals in the gold mining and forestry sectors.
The monies lost would have gone a far way in helping to pay public servants a much needed raise and plug into other areas, the Finance Minister asserted.
In recent days, the administration has vowed to haul back the situation. Its main exports of gold, timber, rice and sugar dwindled in earnings.
The government has started making changes at the Guyana Revenue Authority, and has announced new measures that will see legal amendments that mandate everyone and every business to be up-to-date with their returns before they can renew even their driver’s and other licences.
A government official told Kaieteur News that two of the biggest areas that have been defrauding the country of revenues are the situation in gold mining and the timber sector.
In addition to smuggling, a large number of miners have not been up-to-date with their gold declarations. The official said the failure to declare their gold hampered them from benefiting from a number of concessions granted by Government.
This also caused the country to lose billions of dollars yearly.
As allegations of wrongdoing continue to focus attention on the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), it is being reported that several persons and companies snatched up mining lands that had been returned to the state.
They did this through insider information.
Within the last few years, large swaths of mining lands across the country were granted to them.
A significant amount of land has ended up in the hands of not only locals but also a number of foreign nationals and companies.
In recent weeks, Kaieteur News has been investigating the activities in the extractive industries. It is clear that the enforcement aspect is alarming, officials said.
Checks with other Government officials revealed that the Chinese alone have been allowed access to hundreds of thousands of acres of mining lands. Two of the large beneficiaries are Rong An Inc. and BaiShanLin.
These two companies, despite their large scale gold mining, on a number of locations across the country, have not been making the corresponding declarations of gold, government officials say.
As a matter of fact, Rong An barely declared 150 ounces in 2014. There was no declaration in 2015 by the said company.
BaiShanLin, through a number of companies and its principal, Chu Hongbo, has no records that suggest it was making declarations.
For each ounce of gold sold, Guyana is supposed to collect seven percent of the value in royalty. This should have raised alarming questions over the monitoring being conducted by the regulator, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission. But according to the official, there was no question asked, so nothing was done.
Whether there was incompetence or corruption involved will be known soon.
What is known, according to miners, is that the Chinese are indeed heavily involved in mining.
BaiShanLin, for instance, facing scrutiny in its logging operations and barred from exporting logs, has been reportedly diverting its equipment to the many gold concessions the company and owners have been able to acquire.
A few years ago, Rong An Inc. was reportedly removed from mining in the vicinity of the Kaieteur Falls. It was affecting residents who lived downstream in the area.

 

February 06, 2016

Non-declaration of gold…Chinese logging company extracting over 500 ounces weekly in one operation alone

There are more details emerging regarding the operations of BaiShanLin, a Chinese logging company

that is now involved in large scale gold mining.
From one area alone, in Ekereku, Mazaruni, Region Seven, BaiShanLin has been extracting over 500 ounces of gold, weekly, according to miners.
There is no evidence that BaiShanLin or any one of the many companies it has registered, declared anything to local gold dealers or to the Guyana Gold Board.
The Chinese company shifted its operations from timber after public scrutiny within recent times saw the David Granger administration last year halting log exports. The company had failed to build a wood processing plant, in compliance with its business plans and contractual arrangements.
BaiShanLin’s local principal, Chu Hongbo, who was granted citizenship in 2014, managed to buy up, via auctions and other means, several mining properties. He had shifted part of his logging operations to the gold fields.
For example, the company and Chu Hongbo have managed to build an impressive mining operation at Ekereku which according to GGMC records, is listed as ‘Sheet 15 SE’.
In that area alone, the company has at least 26,400 acres of mining lands.
All were acquired between the 2014 and 2015, when GGMC’s allocation of mining lands and financial activities raised alarm.
Ekereku is rich in gold deposits. For decades it has attracted miners.
According to GGMC officials yesterday, there is little indication from records that any visits were made to the BaiShanLin mining camps by Mines Officers to ensure operations are in keeping with regulations.
The issue is also about a disconnect of information sharing between GGMC and the Guyana Gold Board, the government agency that buys gold.

How BaiShanLin and other operators are allowed to conduct mining activities without attention from GGMC would also raise alarms about the monitoring and capacity of GGMC and how much revenue is being lost to the country.
For BaiShanLin alone, the 500 ounces of gold would represent over $100M weekly in revenues. This translates to $7 million in royalties for Guyana.
This particular company has been sparking anger because of the seeming reluctance by consecutive Governments to act.
It owes Government for properties it bought; it is facing delays in its housing project and trade mall on the East Bank of Demerara. It controls a large swath of prime lands at Providence.
BaiShanLin was also allowed to snap up hundreds of thousands of forest lands, making it the second biggest property owner, on paper, behind Barama Company Limited.

 

February 7, 2016

Govt. launching special unit to police mining, logging industry

-PPP presided over weak, ineffectual system of ensuring compliance – Minister Trotman
Amidst growing concerns over regulatory monitoring of the country’s mining and logging sectors,

Government has announced a tougher system to ensure that the country collects its dues.
A new inspection department is about to be launched and there will be no exceptions when it comes to enforcement, warned Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, yesterday.
The Minister was responding to questions about weaknesses in Government’s systems that has allowed for significant leakage of royalties and taxes from especially the two sectors, amounting to billions of dollars in losses annually to the Treasury.
In recent days, there were worrying disclosures that a controversial Chinese company and its principals have been mining but not declaring and paying its taxes and royalties.
The Minister disclosed that the finishing touches on a Compliance and Inspectorate Division of the Ministry of Natural Resources are being applied with the body to become operational shortly.
The division, he said, will monitor the work of Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Guyana Gold Board (GGB), Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and miners and loggers to ensure strict compliance with the laws and regulations.
Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, will take charge of the division.
According to Trotman, overtime and under the ruling of the previous government, the regulatory monitoring fell to a low, affecting collections and allowing an undesired situation.
“This year the government is improving the regulatory process which had been allowed to grow weak and ineffectual under the PPP administration.”

Trotman noted that emphasis is being placed on ensuring that mining is better monitored.
“…and so we expect more field activity by GGMC and a closer collaboration with Guyana Gold Board and GRA to ensure that revenues are received. We are not distinguishing between Guyanese, Brazilian, Chinese or Canadian companies. We expect all to abide by the mining laws, the labour laws and to pay royalties and taxes.”
This year, also, a Government statement said yesterday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be restructured to offer a better service and improve its efficiency.
The agency, as well, will take on more of an enforcement role, according to Trotman.
He explained that in the past, the agency did not have the power to enforce regulations.
He added that officers of the EPA will be trained to become ’enforcers’ and those from the GGMC will benefit from training in compliance and monitoring at the Mining School.
In recent days, there were revelations of glaring problems within GGMC, involving the allocation of lands for mining.
There were also indications that GGMC failed in its mandate to ensure monitoring.
For example, controversial Chinese-owned, BaiShanLin Forest Development, managed to grab up a significant number of mining lands. The problem was mining activities did not see any returns for the Government of Guyana as somehow no declarations were made, although as much as 500 ounces were mined from Ekereku, Region Seven area alone.
In that area, BaiShanLin has over 26,000 acres.
Government has been insisting that it has found significant weaknesses in its tax collection systems with a lack of enforcement allowing businesses not to comply.
That is all about to change with a number of measures being introduced in the different ministries and state agencies to increase revenue collections.

 

February 8, 2016

Major spike recorded for GGMC mining lands months before elections

– Chinese among big beneficiaries

There was a mad rush under last administration to give out mining lands.
According to records of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), over the last two years the GGMC processed more than 4,000 applications.
According to the GGMC figures, in 2014, almost 3,000 transactions were recorded. This fell to just over 1,100 last year.
The figures would be significant when one considers that in 2013, more than 1,300 applications were processed. In 2012 there were 2,500 applications processed.
That was the highest recorded figure since 2005 when there were 124 transactions for mining permits, mining licences and other prospecting applications.
The number of applications actually picked up in 2009 with 971 transactions that year. In 2011 there were 1,100.  This was the signal year for the rush to grab mining lands.
Of course, as world prices for gold climbed, there was that rush by miners for more lands spiking in 2012.
A glance at the last two years also found that Chinese-owned acquisitions by the Clinton Williams-led Board grew significantly months before the May 11, 2015 General Elections which the David Granger administration won by a slim majority.
Especially benefitting were two companies–Rong An Inc. and logging company, BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc.
Buying up mining lands in his own name was BaiShanLin’s local principal, Chu Hongbo.
Chu Hongbo’s company is facing intense scrutiny for activities in Guyana where the company benefited from billions of dollars in tax waivers and other concessions, including logging and housing lands.
GGMC’s Board of Directors was chaired over the last two years by Clinton Williams.
However, the life of that controversial Board came to an end in December with Government naming city businessman, Stanley Ming as the new Chairman.

 

March 25, 2016

Forensic audit report on GFC recommends…Repossess state forests, recover cost of concessions to BaiShanLin

-halt all agreements with company

By Kiana Wilburg
Very soon, the Granger administration will have to make a crucial decision on whether it will bring the hammer down on a Chinese company found with a history of corruption in Guyana, or continue to treat with it diplomatically.  
The current administration was recently in receipt of a forensic audit report prepared by Chartered Accountant, Anand Goolsarran. This report documents numerous irregularities which go as far back as 2006, when BaiShanLin International Forest Development Inc was incorporated.
The main objective of the company, when it came in 2006, was to set up downstream wood processing operations in Linden and on the East Bank Demerara.
In his audit report, Goolsarran revealed that on November 4, 2011, the Guyana Forestry Commission granted a State Forest Exploratory Permit (SFEP ) to the Chinese company. This covered 104,783 hectares of State forest.
On the surface, everything seemed well with this arrangement. But what alarmed the forensic auditor  BaiShanLin was blessed with the permit (SFEP) for which it failed to meet the necessary requirements.
The criteria the Chinese firm failed to meet included (a) the submission of audited financial statements for the last five years; (b) evidence of technical and financial qualifications; and (c) a history of compliance.
Goolsarran revealed that a key consideration for the grant of the permit was the reassurance BaiShanLin gave the government to build a state-of-art wood processing facility in Linden. It intended to do so since 2006.
The forensic auditor revealed that the company had leased 200 acres for this purpose and had given a commitment to complete the facility by the end of 2013, following which the Government of Guyana would make available a further 100 acres for additional value-added processing.
As a condition for the grant of the permit, the auditor  discovered that the company was required to carry out an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) before any extraction could begin.
It was also required to prepare a business plan and do a forest inventory. However, at the time of the expiration of permit on November 4, 2014, the company had not honoured its obligations.
The auditor said that documents show that BaiShanLin contended that it faced a number of constraints including the need to repair and upgrade roads.
As a result, the forensic auditor found out that on October 1, 2014, BaiShanLin requested an extension of one year to fulfill these obligations under the permit and to set up the wood processing facility.
He emphasized however that Section 9 (9) of the Forests Act 2009 specifically prohibits any renewal of such a permit. He said that there is also no provision in the Act for an extension once the expiry date reaches.
In spite of this, the laws of the Forest Act were ignored and the Commission approved BaiShanLin’s request for an extension of the permit.
Goolsarran noted that BaiShanLin’s extended permit expired on November 4, 2015, but there was no board in place to address the issue. He said that Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, indicated that the company applied for a further extension of two years to set up the wood processing facility.
“The Ministry of the Presidency later clarified that the Government had not taken any decision and that it has requested information from the company about its proposed business plan and evidence of financing.
“Upon receipt of this information, BaiShanLin’s request would be reviewed and a decision taken,” Goolsarran noted.
Up to the time of reporting, Goolsarran said that the company was yet to provide the business plan and evidence of financing.
He said that if this second request for extension is approved, the company would have enjoyed the benefit of the grant of an exploratory permit covering a period of six consecutive years whereas the law allows for a maximum period of three years for such a permit.
Taking into consideration that the Chinese company has failed to fulfill its obligations to Guyana, and the fact that the Forests Act does not permit a renewal  of a SFEP at the end of three years, the contract with the company Goolsarran said, should be terminated forthwith.
Goolsarran also recommended that State forest should be returned to the Commission for reallocation.
In addition to this, he said that the coalition administration should consider terminating the investment agreements with the company and recover the value of the fiscal concessions granted to it.

 

March 27, 2016

BaiShanLin illegally grabbed five major forest companies

– Calls made for Chinese company to surrender those state forest concessions for re-allocation

Enjoying special benefits from the former regime, unimaginable waivers and pardons from the Guyana

Forestry Commission (GFC), and gobbling up billion-dollar concessions on an annual basis were just not enough to satisfy Chinese company, BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc.
It wanted much more than this.  A recently released forensic audit report prepared by Chartered Accountant Anand Goolsarran exposed how the company made swift moves to gain control of five major companies in the forestry sector. These companies include Sherwood Forrest Inc, Haimorakabra Logging Co., Wood Associated Industries Co. Ltd., Puruni Woods Inc. and Kwebanna Wood Products Inc.
The Forensic Auditor stated that in July 2007, Sherwood Forrest Inc. was granted a permit covering 167,066 hectares. In May 2010, Chu Hongbo of BaiShan Lin acquired 100 percent ownership of the shares in the company and became the Managing Director.
The other Directors were Chu Wenze and Zhang Li Na. The State Forest Exploratory Permit (SFEP) of the company was converted into a Timber Sales Agreement (TSA) on May 8, 2015 while the Environmental Permit was granted on the same day. This was the last business day before the May 2015 National and Regional Elections.
Goolsarran also noted that the Guyana Forest Commission granted Woods Association Industries Co. Ltd a TSA in January 2000 covering an area of 26,085 hectares.
In April 2009, Mr. Chu Wenze, bought over the shares in the company. With effect from April 3, 2012, the new Directors were Zhang Li Na, Chu Wenze and Chu Hongbo.
In August 2004, Puruni Woods was granted a SFEP covering an area of 110,253 hectares. The Commission converted the SFEP into a TSA in July 2007. In August 2013, Heilongjiang Forest Engineering and Processing Development Inc. bought 90 per cent of the shares in the company, and Mr. Chu Hongbo became Director/Secretary as well as the Managing Director.
Goolsarran also documented in his report that in April 2009, the Forestry Commission granted Kwebanna Wood Products Inc. a TSA covering 87,361 hectares. The original company was A. Mazaharally and Sons but the new company was incorporated in January 2008.
In October 2010, there was a change in directorship of the company, with Mr. Chu Hongbo becoming the Managing Director while the other directors were Chu Wenze, and Chu Tongwei.
The forensic auditor noted however that there was no evidence that the specific approval of the GFC was granted in relation to the change of ownership/control of these companies.
He argued that in the circumstances, the holders of the Timber Sales Agreements should have surrendered their authorisations to the Commission.
He emphasized that these companies hold TSAs covering a total of 441,119 hectares. This means that BaiShanLin had access to a total of 627,072 hectares of State forest.
Goolsarran said that since the Forests Act prohibits the transfer of ownership/control of a forest concession without the specific approval of the Commission, then the five concessionaires that have transferred such ownership or control to the officials of BaiShanLin should be made to surrender their concessions to the Commission for reallocation to other potential concessionaires.

 

March 28, 2016

BaiShanLin secured $$billion in duty free concessions for machinery unrelated to its work

– Forensic auditor calls for concessions on these items to be repaid

The forensic audit report on the operations of Bai Shan Lin Forest Development Inc. has brought even more worrying findings into the spotlight. It was noted that this very company was granted concessions for machinery, equipment and construction materials which were just too excessive and in many instances, had nothing to do with its work.
The forensic audit report also had data which were provided by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The data show that during the period 2012 to 2015, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic administration granted Bai Shan Lin fiscal concessions on a variety of machinery, equipment and construction materials. These items carried a value of $7.5 billion, equivalent to US$37.3 million. The total value of concessions granted amounted to $1.827 billion. The report which was prepared by Chartered Accountant Anand Goolsarran, noted that GRA indicated that it was unable to provide information relating to the earlier years because of computer problems.

The concessions for the equipment and other machinery was based on investment agreements entered into between the former Government of Guyana and Bai Shan Lin for the construction of a wood processing facility in Region 10.
Goolsarran said, “A review of the list of items of machinery, equipment and construction materials for which fiscal concessions were granted indicates that many of the items were either unrelated to, or were significantly in excess of the requirements for the construction of wood processing facility.”
The forensic auditor said that indeed, the evidence suggests that the fiscal concessions granted were substantially in relation to Bai Shan Lin’s ownership and or control of five logging companies which had Timber Sales Agreements (TSAs) as well as its proposed investment at Providence, East Bank Demerara.
The Chartered Accountant noted that up to the time of reporting, Bai Shan Lin had not fulfilled its obligations under the investment agreements and was requesting an additional two years to construct the long awaited wood-processing facility. The APNU+AFC administration is yet to say whether it will grant the Chinese company a two year extension.
Goolsarran said it is important for one to remember that the company in a letter to the former Prime Minister, Sam Hinds, promised that the wood processing facility would have been completed since 2007. A further assurance was given in July 2012 in a letter to the former Minister of Trade, Industry and Commerce that the facility would be ready by the end of 2013.
The forensic auditor said that the investment agreements specifically provide for termination where there has been a failure to undertake the business proposal without providing a reasonable explanation.
He said that when this happens, Bai Shan Lin is required to repay the value of all fiscal concessions granted.
Goolsarran said that despite the persistent failure by the Chinese company to honour its obligations under these agreements, and without reasonable explanations, no action has been taken to terminate the agreements under the previous regime.
In addition to this, the Chartered Accountant said that the Guyana Revenue Authority and/or Go-Invest was/were required to visit the business premises and inspect assets that benefitted from the fiscal concessions. However, there was no evidence that this was done.

 

March 29, 2016

East Bank housing land scandal…A criminal probe will answer all questions- Ramjattan

– BaiShanLin was willing to pay US$8M despite knowing BK got it for $458M

A criminal investigation at this time into how hundreds of acres of prime state lands managed to be parceled

out into the hands of few, under the previous administration, would be more than welcome, a senior Government official said yesterday.
Minister of National Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, who while in the Opposition was vocal about how the lands were being handled, noted that in the past, he had asked about the transactions during the National Assembly.
“I have read your reports on the audit reports and on the East Bank housing. I do believe, and I will repeat what I said then…that we need to have a better understanding of what transpired under the stewardship of Housing Minister, Irfaan Ali, and his Government.”
Ramjattan, who is the leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), which forms part of the coalition Government, disclosed that he has also seen reports that businessman, Brian Tiwarie, weeks after signing the agreement of sale with the Central Housing and Planning Authority in February 2014, turning around and selling his land for three times more than he paid for it.
“An investigation into the lands, hundreds of acres of it worth billions of dollars, should be launched. We are talking about 25,000 applications on file for house lots. People are desperate for land.”
Asked about the appointment of Tiwarie as a Ministerial Advisor on Business Development, which came to light Monday via a report in Kaieteur News, Ramjattan said that he was not aware of it until he read it.
Asked whether it should not have been made by the Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, instead of Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, Ramjattan admitted that “certainly” the latter suggestion would have been the ideal situation.
However, he refused to be drawn into further comment.

The East Bank Demerara lands, according to the PPP/C, were given out to private developers to build infrastructure and homes for sale.
However, many of the 20-off developers have failed to meet deadlines. Many of the plots have remained under bushes with works stalled on quite a few.
In the case of Tiwarie, he was written to in 2011, indicating that a 100-acre plot of land behind Providence Stadium was earmarked for his company, Sunset Lakes Inc.
However, the agreement of sale between him and the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) was not sealed until three years later, in February 2014. The delay was never explained.
Huge Profit
The 100-acre plot was sold for $458M, less than the $471M that he had been told to pay three years earlier.
The transaction became even weirder. Two months after that agreement of sale with CH&PA,
Tiwarie’s company, Sunset Lakes, turned around and sold the land to Chu Hongbo, the local principal of BaiShanLin Forest Development for a whopping US$8M.
The logger, however, failed to come through with his promises to develop the lands. A few unfinished structures and a fence are all that is there now.
Chu Hongbo and his companies- there are several of them that he has registered- are now in deep financial

trouble and have been ordered to halt log exports. The company has received hundreds of millions of dollars in duty free concessions, tax breaks and other benefits.
Tiwarie earlier this year sued Chu Hongbo saying he failed to pay a balance of US$4M.
The contractor now wants back the lands, wants the advance of US$4M forfeited, and another US$4M in interest. Tiwarie is also demanding $50M in damages for breach of the agreement.
Tiwarie has also blocked Chu Hongbo from committing the lands to Citizens Bank for a debenture.
According to the agreement that Tiwarie had with Chu Hongbo, the latter was very much aware at the time of its agreement that Sunset Lakes only paid $117M of the $458M that CH&PA charged.
Yet the logger agreed that he should pay the US$8M – or more than three and a half times the amount.
Tiwarie, who was close to the previous administration, joined ranks with new David Granger administration last year, and began assisting with the Brickdam cleanup for the May 26, 2015 celebrations and inauguration.
The CH&PA transaction in 2014 would be a mere indication of the amount of money at stake when it came to the lands on East Bank Demerara.
CH&PA reportedly had no official notice that the company had been sold. Rather, Sunset Lakes was introduced as a joint venture partner.
As a matter of fact, Tiwarie wanted the matter to be kept quiet. In September last year, he wrote a local newspaper that is closely associated to the ex-minister Ali and insisted that he is the still the owner of Sunset Lake.
He said that he is currently constructing four homes and that two were almost complete. There was no mention of the 100 percent sale of shares of Sunset Lakes to Chu Hongbo in that article attributed to Tiwarie.

A number of other developers, like BK, have reportedly sold their plots, but those transactions will be illegal as CH&PA’s agreements are specific—the developers are to build homes, not sell the lands or sell house lots.
CH&PA under pressure
The Sunset Lakes transaction would continue to raise alarming questions about CH&PA, which oversees the state’s housing programmes.
The deals, signed under the previous Government of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, have been angering state officials and citizens alike, for a simple reason. There are more than 25,000 applications for house lots in the database of the CH&PA.
There are few plots of land for housing remaining in the East Demerara area. The new Government is under pressure to find new lands.
Between 2011 and 2015, hundreds of acres of prime lands were parceled off and sold to private developers by CH&PA.
Many of them breached conditions by failing to build within the stipulated time. Instead they were selling off lands as house lots, instead of constructing homes. CH&PA paid little attention to what the developers were doing.
Shortly after the David Granger administration took office last year, senior housing officials paid surprise inspection visits to lands stretching from Eccles to Golden Grove, East Bank Demerara. These lands went to two dozen developers.
The inspection team found little activities on the lands. The developers were hauled in for a meeting and given a February 2016 deadline to complete infrastructural works.
However, not much progress has been made. There were questions itself about some of the developers.
One of them is Luxury Realty, whose Director, Ravie Ramcharitar, is also a senior official in Queens Atlantic Investment Inc. That company is controlled by Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, the best friend of the ex-President Bharrat Jagdeo.
Luxury Realty benefitted from 28.8 acres of prime lands at Providence, but has done little since receiving the lands in December 2013.
Another person who benefitted was Mohamed ‘Arafat’ Qualander, one of the owners of Queensway, a Water Street business.
In November 2011, three days before General Elections, he signed a deal with CH&PA for 35 acres of land behind Golden Grove. He paid $500,000 per acre. He is a close friend of former President, Donald Ramotar.
At the time, CH&PA was headed by former PPP/C Minister of Housing, Irfaan Ali.
Under his watch, the ‘Remigrant’ housing scheme was launched but its administration and who really received lands from the CH&PA are now being investigated.
Reportedly, the current CH&PA Board of Directors, headed by City Mayor, Hamilton Green, has launched a number of investigations in several transactions by the entity.

 

March 31, 2016

Joe Harmon’s China trip raises several questions

A trip to China by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, has turned out to be not so routine.

One of his advisors, Brian Tiwarie, who accompanied him, had his appointment rescinded on Tuesday, mere hours after Kaieteur News reported on it.
Tiwarie was with the Minister in China.
A terse statement from the Ministry of the Presidency said: “The appointment of Mr. Brian Tiwarie as Ministerial Advisor on Business Development has been rescinded.”
The report of the appointment was heavily criticized on social media, especially by supporters of the coalition Government.
The visit itself by Harmon came under scrutiny on social media with questions asked yesterday about the “real” reasons.
The Minister was reportedly in China with Larry London, Chairman of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority and Chinese loggers/investors, Su Zhi Rong and Chu Hongbo.
Accompanying the Minister on the trip from New York to China last Monday were a close relative and a member of his office.
Social media comments questioned whether Minister Harmon was in China to talk about the purchase of an aircraft for Government.
New reports recently said that the administration had received a proposal for the purchase of the plane amidst concerns that travel expenses for senior Government officials have been mounting.

However, Government officials had dismissed the reports of the plane purchase.
Yesterday, the attention by bloggers was whether the China trip by the Minister was state-sponsored especially in light of the absence of business officials from the Government.
“Is China the best place to buy a jet for our President? Will he meet or hold meetings with bosses of BaiShanLin about that company’s ongoing legal troubles with our Government?” one blogger asked.
Questions were also asked whether it was an official trip paid for by Guyanese taxpayers.
Tiwarie is one of Guyana’s biggest contractors when it comes to infrastructural works. He has branched off to other businesses including mining, quarrying, real estate and aviation.
He was close to the previous PPP/C Government, but immediately offered his help to spruce up the Brickdam area for the new administration following their victory at the May 11 General Elections.
His appointment as a Ministerial Advisor was not announced by the Government.
It was signed by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, on January 19, 2016.
Under the previous administration, BK International won several contracts, including the East Bank Demerara four-lane extension, the West Coast Demerara road improvement project and the troubled $600M Supenaam wharf, which is now facing problems and has to be repaired.
The company also clashed with Government on the management of the Haags Bosch dumpsite project.

 

April 01, 2016

Minister halts seizure of Bai Shan Lin vehicles

BaiShanLin has been at the centre of controversies over the years it has been in Guyana. The company failed to fulfill agreements signed with the previous administration even as it enjoyed billions of dollars in concessions.
Recently, with the change in Government, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has been trying to clampdown on all those who have been trying to evade paying taxes, including BaiShanLin.
The State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU) is also involved in investigating the tax dodgers.
Towards this end, GRA, in collaboration with other relevant agencies, launched a special operation to seize a number of luxury vehicles imported by the Chinese logging company, BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc.
Kaieteur News understands that these vehicles were being seized due to the fact that the Chinese company failed to pay the required duties within the legally stipulated timeframe.
But before officials from the GRA’s Customs Department and the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) could carry out the seizures, they received a call from a Government official who gave strict instructions that the vehicles must not be removed, to leave the company alone, and to walk away from the premises.
Kaieteur News understands that it was Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, who gave the orders to the GRA and SOCU officers. Several attempts were made by this newspaper to contact Harmon on the matter, but all proved futile.
Several Government Ministers confirmed that they were aware of the issue. They, however, declined to give an on-the-record comment.
The details of the matter were also confirmed with the State Asset Recovery Unit (SARU). The Unit is currently looking into the issue.
Chairman of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Rawle Lucas, when contacted yesterday, said that he became aware of the issue on Wednesday.
Asked if GRA would still pursue the matter despite the intervention of the senior Government official, he said, “I expect that this matter would be dealt with accordingly. At this stage I really can’t give any further comment. But at least we have a Minister (who could conduct an investigation).
“You have to remember that I am not an Executive Chairman of GRA, so I can only begin to seriously enquire as to whether that really represents acceptable policy from an entity like GRA, and if that is part of their modus operandi.”
Asked if he would be informing Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, on the matter, he said, “Oh, I think my minister is very much aware about this issue already”.

 

April 2, 2016

Political interference in GRA/BaiShanLin scandal…Govt. must desist from following PPP path, must chart its own—WPA Member

Before the historic May 11 General and Regional Elections, the APNU+AFC coalition party was highly critical about the actions of Chinese logging company, BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc. in Guyana.
In fact, many members of the APNU referred to the Chinese company as a heartless investor who has benefitted from billions of dollars worth in concessions while raping the nation of its prime forest lands.
Given the party’s position before the elections, many critics were under the impression that the coalition party had a clear sense of direction on how to deal with the company should it assume office.
But the recent actions of a Government Minister have left many wondering whether the party is now backpedaling.
One such person is Executive Member of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Donald Ramotar. The former President recalled that it was only yesterday that Kaieteur News revealed that Minister of State, Joseph Harmon halted a seizure operation that was being carried out on BaiShanLin.
The operation was being executed by GRA in collaboration with officials from the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU). Kaieteur News understands that these vehicles were being seized due to the fact that the Chinese company failed to pay the required duties within the legally stipulated timeframe.
But, before officials from the GRA’s Customs Department and the Special Organized Crime Unit could carry out the seizures, they received a call from Harmon who gave strict instructions that the vehicles must not be removed, to leave the company alone, and to walk away from the premises.
Several attempts were made by this newspaper to contact Harmon on the matter, but all proved futile.
Ramotar said that if the report is indeed true then Harmon was indeed wrong to interfere in the operations of GRA.
The former President said that the APNU+AFC Party was one that boasted of doing better than the PPP and made a promise to restore confidence, transparency and accountability. Ramotar said that the party is only left wanting, given Harmon’s actions.
He said that the Minister of State should face the nation and explain himself. “It is the honourable thing to do,” he added.
Adding his voice to the matter was Executive Member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), Dr. David Hinds.
In an interview with Kaieteur News, he said that if what is reported was true, then it represents either a lack of coordination among government agencies or the absence of a clear policy by the political directorate on what to do with BaiShanLin.
“From the look of things it seems to be the latter. It is not unusual, especially for new governments which are finding their feet, for there to be a lack of coordination among the agencies or between the political directorate and the agencies. This could be a case of simple miscommunication,” expressed Dr. Hinds.
The University Professor said it is possible that that might be the case here. He said however that there seems to be different signals from different persons in the party.
Dr. Hinds said that if GRA has been moving to seize the vehicles, then it must have been doing so based on directives from above.  He said that if it is now being told to cease the operation, then there must have been a change of policy.
“If this is so, the question is why this was not communicated through the proper channels? I think that the lack of a clear overall policy on what to do with BaiShanLin and similar situations is hampering the government,” expressed the political activist.
The Professor of Caribbean and African Diaspora Politics opined that there is a limit to how much one can innovate as you go along. He said that at some point the Government has to decide what to do one way or the other.
“Are you going to keep the deals made by the previous government or are you going to scrap them and start afresh or amend them? I appreciate that there might be differences of opinion on what to do. That is normal. But you have to arrive at some kind of consensus, even if it’s a preliminary one,” expressed Dr. Hinds.
Several Government Ministers confirmed that they were aware of this issue. They, however, declined to give an on-the-record comment.
Chairman of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Rawle Lucas, when contacted on Thursday, said that he became aware of the issue on Wednesday.
Asked if GRA would still pursue the matter despite the intervention of the senior Government official, he said, “I expect that this matter would be dealt with accordingly. At this stage I really can’t give any further comment. But at least we have a Minister (who could conduct an investigation).
“You have to remember that I am not an Executive Chairman of GRA, so I can only begin to seriously enquire as to whether that really represents acceptable policy from an entity like GRA, and if that is part of their modus operandi.”
Asked if he would be informing Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, on the matter, he said, “Oh, I think my Minister is very much aware about this issue already”.
Jordan was contacted on Friday on the issue. He admitted that he is aware of the matter. Jordan however declined to offer a detailed comment, except to say, “I am going to investigate the veracity of this allegation.”

 

April 3, 2016

Political interference in GRA/BaiShanLin scandal…Harmon’s action warrants immediate investigation

…President Granger must take action which shows zero-tolerance for reckless, unlawful and or corrupt behavior–Chris Ram

Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram, is of the firm conviction that revelations of political interference in

the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) by the new administration summon the need for a thorough investigation.
Ram made this assertion in light of a report in Kaieteur News that Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, halted a seizure operation that was being carried out on BaiShanLin.
The operation was being executed by GRA in collaboration with officials from the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU). Kaieteur News understands that these vehicles were being seized due to the fact that the Chinese company failed to pay the required duties within the legally stipulated timeframe.
But before officials from the GRA Customs Department and the Special Organized Crime Unit could carry out the seizures, they received a call from Harmon who instructed that the vehicles must not be removed, that the ranks should leave the company alone, and to walk away from the premises.
Several attempts have been made by this newspaper to contact Harmon on the matter, but all proved futile.
Harmon was noted in the media on several occasions lambasting BaiShanLin for its reckless operations in Guyana as well as the former regime for its encouragement of the company’s actions.
In fact, the Minister of State in 2014 had said that the former government has been silent about BaiShanLin’s “immoral and abusive acts” and “there can only be one logical conclusion for that—they are benefitting financially in exchange for allowing the rape to continue.
“Citizens need to understand the corrupt beast that it (former Govt.) is dealing with.”
He had said, too, “It is only a win-win deal for the parties involved and BaiShanLin’s kickbacks seem to have silenced the (former) government.”
It was Harmon who said that he found it sickening that former President Bharrat Jagdeo invited BaiShanLin

to this country under the pretext that it was going to foster good developments, and all along the true intention was to rape this country of its resources.
Harmon had said, “It seems that the (former) Government is being paid to shut its mouth…These companies are just being encouraged to gut this country, and indicators show that Guyana is slipping further into the abyss of poverty.”
Given the aforementioned, Ram opined that if there is indeed political interference as indicated by the Kaieteur News article then it is worrying indication of a big problem.
The Chartered Accountant said, ”BaiShanLin has one of the most complex corporate structures in Guyana with over 15 companies here, making any effort to connect the dots quite a significant task.
“Additionally, the issue of the GRA interference was a major problem just a few months ago and that should have been behind us.”
The Attorney-at-Law added, “This Government should have ensured that such practices remain in the past. There should be no political interference in GRA.  We need an investigation into this issue and it should be led by the GRA board itself so that members can ascertain who the unlawful instructions came from and the people who carried out those instructions.”
The anti-corruption advocate emphasized that it is time that the country practice real transparency and accountability. Ram made it categorically that there should be no relaxed, biased or nonchalant approach when it comes to the tax revenues of this country.
The Chartered Accountant also recalled that the Tax Reform Committee in its report earlier this year highlighted the billions of dollars Guyana is being given to companies each year.

Ram expressed, “We need to do a very thorough and continuous examination of these concessions. They are granted on the expectation that investments will be made in Guyana in the form of capital expenditure and employment generation and that there would be compliance with the laws.
“If there are breaches whether in GRA or in the Ministry of the Presidency then actions have to be taken by President David Granger to show that his administration “is serious about stemming reckless, unlawful and or corrupt behaviour in the bud.”
Several Government Ministers confirmed that they were aware of this issue. They, however, declined to give an on-the-record comment.
Chairman of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Rawle Lucas, when contacted on Thursday, said that he became aware of the issue on Wednesday.
Asked if GRA would still pursue the matter despite the intervention of the senior Government official, he said, “I expect that this matter would be dealt with accordingly. At this stage I really can’t give any further comment. But at least we have a Minister (who could conduct an investigation).
“You have to remember that I am not an Executive Chairman of GRA, so I can only begin to seriously enquire as to whether that really represents acceptable policy from an entity like GRA, and if that is part of their modus operandi.”
Asked if he would be informing Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, on the matter, he said, “Oh, I think my minister is very much aware about this issue already.”
Jordan was contacted by this newspaper on Friday on the issue. He admitted that he is aware of the matter. Jordan however declined to give a detailed comment on the matter, except to say, “I am going to investigate the veracity of this allegation.”

 

April 4, 2016

GFC Boss must say if he got anything in exchange for silence on BaiShanLin

– WPA Exec. Member

A sense of shock and disappointment is what critics and anti-corruption advocates now feel as they examine the damning forensic audit report on the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC). The report, which was prepared by Chartered Accountant, Anand Goolsarran shows that not only did GFC condone unlawful practices by Chinese logging company, Bai Shan Lin Forest Development Inc. but it was also part of the process.
It has left critics and even some political activists wondering if the GFC Commissioner, James Singh got anything in exchange for his silence and inaction on the level of corruption that was taking place right under his nose.
Specifically, Executive Member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), Dr. David Hinds said that it is clear from the forensic audit report that BaiShanLin has a monopoly in the Forestry Sector. He stressed that this runs counter to the notion of a developmental model that is based on the encouragement of local investment.
Hinds, a highly qualified Buxtonian said that foreign investments should be encouraged as the country needs it. But he noted that such investments should not structurally undermine local, small and medium scale initiatives. And this is what the GFC has allowed to happen.
Dr. Hinds opined that when BaiShanLin got the opportunity to access large concessions, it became a monopoly. He said that this is never good for an economy, especially when that monopoly is foreign-owned.
The political activist said that foreign companies are never known for leaving much of their profits in the countries in which they invest. He said that it therefore becomes imperative that the host countries do not grant them such control as BaiShanLin was granted by the previous government.

The University Professor added, “The fact that BaiShanLin was also able to acquire ownership of five major local forest companies, in violation of the Forest Act, is also worrying. But the fact that the former government permitted this is really the unkindest cut.”
He questioned, “How can you allow a foreign company to break the laws of the country you were elected to govern with such impunity? Where was the Guyana Forestry Commission? In effect, we elected a government to appropriate the country’s resources for itself and its local friends and to give away the rest to their foreign friends. These people are not nationalists.”
The Executive Member of the WPA also questioned why the Chinese company was allowed to hold on to a premium forest contract for eight years without setting up the promised wood processing facility.
Dr. Hinds said, “We now know that they are a sacred cow. For the past decade, this company has been very much part of the web of corruption in Guyana. One has to ask what did those who were tasked with managing the Forest Sector get from BaiShanLin in return for turning a blind eye and/or facilitating its unfair dominance and violation of the law.”
The Executive Member of the WPA is of the firm conviction that the billions worth in concessions granted to BaiShanLin must be recovered. He said that he is also in full support of the recommendations by the forensic auditor for the Government to terminate all agreements made by the past administration with the Chinese firm.
The Professor on Caribbean and African Diaspora Politics said that Guyana may be poor but, “We must have some dignity.” He said that no Government should be allowed to sell out the nation’s natural resources in exchange for the personal enrichment of a few.
Dr. Hinds is of the opinion that there needs to be a national revolt against this blatant high class rape of the country. He said that from BaiShanLin to the illegally granted broadcasting licences to the land giveaways, the country was stolen.
The Executive Member of the WPA emphasized that there is a linkage between these corrupt, unlawful acts and they demand prompt and decisive remedial action from the Government.
He stressed that the time for bold leadership is now.
In his forensic audit report, Goolsarran exposed how the Chinese company made swift moves to gain control of five major companies in the Forestry Sector. These companies include Sherwood Forrest Inc, Haimorakabra Logging Co., Wood Associated Industries Co. Ltd., Puruni Woods Inc. and Kwebanna Wood Products Inc.
The forensic auditor noted however that there was no evidence that the specific approval of the GFC was granted in relation to the change of ownership/control of these companies.
He argued that in the circumstances, the holders of the Timber Sales Agreements should have surrendered their authorisations to the Commission.
He emphasized that these companies hold TSAs covering a total of 441,119 hectares. This means that BaiShanLin had access to a total of 627,072 hectares of State Forest.
Goolsarran said that since the Forests Act prohibits the transfer of ownership/control of a forest concession without the specific approval of the Commission, then the five concessionaires that have transferred such ownership or control to the officials of BaiShanLin should be made to surrender their concessions to the Commission for reallocation to other potential concessionaires.
Goolsarran also recommended that all state forest owned by the company should be returned to the Commission for reallocation.
In addition to this, he said that the coalition administration should consider terminating the investment agreements with the company and recover the value of the fiscal concessions granted to it.

 

April 05, 2016

Order to stand down on BaiShanLin’s vehicles…Govt. silent on way forward

By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell
It is not clear if the government has made a decision to just ignore the fact that Minister of State,

Joseph Harmon, has been accused of undermining the strength of one of the most important bodies in Guyana—Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).  However, it is obvious that no Government Minister is ready to publicly address the issue.
The scandal surrounding the apparent controversial link between logging company BaiShanLin and Minister of State Joseph Harmon continues to cause outrage as it goes unaddressed.
Kaieteur News published reports that Harmon halted a seizure operation that was being carried out on BaiShanLin. The operation was being executed by GRA in collaboration with officials from the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU).
The vehicles were being seized due to the fact that the Chinese company failed to pay the required duties within the legally stipulated timeframe.
But before the GRA and SOCU officials could carry out the seizures, they received a call from Harmon who instructed that the vehicles must not be removed, that the ranks should leave the company alone, and to walk away from the premises.
Several attempts have been made by this newspaper to contact Harmon on the matter, but all proved futile. The article was first published on Thursday and four days have elapsed and the Minister has not even issued a statement in an effort to clear the air.
Kaieteur News was reliably informed that no effort has yet been made to correct Harmon’s wrong by

allowing the GRA ranks to successfully complete the exercise that was halted.
To confirm this, Kaieteur News contacted Chairman of the GRA Board of Directors, Rawle Lucas, to find out if the vehicles have since been removed. Lucas told Kaieteur News that he is not aware of any development on the matter further to what has been reported in the press.
Kaieteur News also contacted the Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, to find out about the progress made in an investigation he had promised to launch into the matter.
But he chose not to give a comment.
When contacted last Friday, Jordan had admitted that he is aware of the matter. Jordan however declined to give a detailed comment on the matter, except to say, “I am going to investigate the veracity of this allegation.”
When Kaieteur News contacted him yesterday, the Minister said, “No, no, no, I am in a meeting at the moment;” subsequent efforts to make contact with Jordan proved futile.
Anti-corruption advocates are outraged. David Hinds, Christopher Ram and Anand Goolsarran have all made strong comments on the matter.
They all expressed disappointment in Harmon and said Guyana cannot be made to suffer a repeat of what was had under the rule of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C)
Goolsarran said, “This runaway train must be halted in its track before it is too late,” as he noted the repercussions of political interference in GRA.  Citizens have also been airing their disappointment in the letter pages of Kaieteur News.

 

April 05, 2016

GFC boss tries to break free from corruption allegations

…admits to landlord relationship with Chinese

By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell
Absolutely not! That was the response given to Kaieteur News yesterday when Commissioner of

the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), James Singh, was asked to respond to suggestions that he might have been bribed to stay silent while Chinese logging companies abused Guyana’s resources.
Singh said that he is in no way corrupt and that he has proved that in a response GFC prepared to the forensic audit report. That report highlighted vast discrepancies and high levels of corruption at GFC.
On Sunday, Kaieteur News quoted Executive Member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), Dr. David Hinds, asking Singh to say if he got anything in exchange for his silence on BaiShanLin’s illegal activities.
The GFC forensic audit report said that not only did GFC condone unlawful practices by Bai Shan Lin Forest Development Inc, the Commission was also involved in the process.
This is what prompted Dr. Hinds’s question. He noted that Singh stayed silent while corruption took place right under his nose.
Hinds said that it is clear that BaiShanLin has a monopoly in the Forestry Sector.
Hinds said that foreign investments should be encouraged as the country needs it. But he said that such investments should not structurally undermine local, small and medium scale initiatives. And this is what the GFC has allowed to happen.
When contacted yesterday, Singh expressed disappointment that Kaieteur News did not contact him before carrying the article that quoted Dr. Hinds. He said that if he was contacted before he would have been able to note that GFC handed in a “detailed” response to the issues that were highlighted in the audit report.
Even though he tried to distance himself from schemes that have been highlighted as corrupt, Singh admitted that he has rented one of his properties to some Chinese.
Kaieteur News received information that the Commissioner rented one of his properties to Chinese involved in logging. However, while Singh confirmed that he rented to Chinese, he claimed that that set of Chinese are not involved in logging.

The Commissioner also told Kaieteur News that he could not have been involved in corruption as all “joint ventures” between GFC and BaiShanLin were approved by GFC’s board of Directors.
He added that the ventures “went through a process in keeping with the forestry act.”
In his forensic audit report, Goolsarran exposed how the Chinese company made swift moves to gain control of five major companies in the Forestry Sector.
These companies include Sherwood Forrest Inc, Haimorakabra Logging Co., Wood Associated Industries Co. Ltd., Puruni Woods Inc. and Kwebanna Wood Products Inc.
The forensic auditor noted however that there was no evidence that the specific approval of the GFC was granted in relation to the change of ownership/control of these companies.
He argued that in the circumstances, the holders of the Timber Sales Agreements should have surrendered their authorisations to the Commission.
He emphasized that these companies hold TSAs covering a total of 441,119 hectares. This means that BaiShanLin had access to a total of 627,072 hectares of State Forest.
Goolsarran said that since the Forests Act prohibits the transfer of ownership/control of a forest concession without the specific approval of the Commission, then the five concessionaires that have transferred such ownership or control to the officials of BaiShanLin should be made to surrender their concessions to the Commission for reallocation to other potential concessionaires.
Goolsarran also recommended that all state forest owned by the company should be returned to the Commission for reallocation.
In addition to this, he said that the coalition administration should consider terminating the investment agreements with the company and recover the value of the fiscal concessions granted to it.

 

April 06, 2016

Even after first contract breached…GFC rewards BaiShanLin with another State Forest Permit

The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and Chinese logging company, BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc., share a rather special relationship.
When the Chinese company was first granted a State Forest Exploratory Permit (SFEP), it did not satisfy the necessary requirements, which included the submission of audited financial statements for the last five years; evidence of technical and financial qualifications; and history of compliance.
In spite of this, GFC went ahead and granted the company the permit on the condition that it would establish a state-of-the-art wood processing facility.
Critics posit that a logical person would conclude that since the Chinese company failed to meet all the obligations of its first contract, the GFC would think twice before granting another such permit.
However, a forensic audit report prepared by Chartered Accountant, Anand Goolsarran, shows that the company did not see it fit to heed the guidelines of its own Forest Act or even pay attention to the company’s breach of its first contract. Goolsarran exposed how GFC went ahead and granted the Chinese logging company a second permit in spite of its failings with its first permit.
Goolsarran said that notwithstanding Baishanlin’s failure to honour its obligation under SFEP 01/2011, on 26 April 2013, the Commission granted the company a second exploratory permit (SFEP 01/2013) covering 73,015 hectares of State forest. He noted that this time, the company submitted audited financial statements for the period 2007 to 2011; evidence of US$30 million to be invested; and information that of a significant number of heavy duty machinery in Guyana which would be used.
The Forensic Auditor asserted however that a review of these statements indicates that the company was in dire financial difficulties. In particular, except for 2007, the auditors have qualified the accounts of the company because of accumulated losses that cast doubts as to the ability of BaiShanLin to continue as a growing concern for the foreseeable future without sustained financing.
Goolsarran said that the Commission also granted BaiShanLin two State Forest Permits (SFPs) covering an additional 8,170 hectares of State forest.
He noted, however, that it is not clear on what basis these permits were granted. The Chartered Accountant said that the Commission has since advised that one permit was relinquished in March 2015.
The Commission commented that the granting of the second SFEP to BaiShanLin was aimed at further boosting and consolidating the raw materials requirement for the Wood Processing Facility. But Goolsarran was not satisfied with this response. He emphasized that the approval for the second permit should have awaited the completion of the wood processing facility which is yet to be completed.

 

April 06, 2016

GRA seizes BaiShanLin’s luxury vehicles

By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell  
The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has finally been able to complete a seizure exercise that started

just over two weeks ago. Initial attempts to seize vehicles owned by BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc. were hampered by Minister of State Joseph Harmon who instructed GRA officials to stand down.
After a series of articles highlighting Harmon’s action in undermining GRA and the outrage vented by those who thought Guyana was about to make a turnaround for the better, GRA got its way.
Officials from GRA’s Customs Department yesterday swooped down on BaiShanLin’s Providence office and collected the keys to the high-end vehicles. GRA carried out the operation in high noon.
Two luxury vehicles were seized—a Lexus SUV bearing licence plate number PRR 2888 and a Nissan mini-van bearing licence plate number PRR-3888. The vehicles, worth millions, were then taken to the GRA storage bond at Eccles.
The vehicles were seized due to the fact that the Chinese company failed to pay the required duties within the legally stipulated time.
The controversial company had been a favourite of the previous government and was allowed to get off with illegal operations. Harmon’s actions suggested that the company was about to get off just as lightly under the new government. A government official is yet to speak on the issue.
When the vehicles were being seized initially, GRA officials had received a call from Harmon who instructed that the vehicles must not be removed, that the ranks should leave the company alone, and vacate the premises.
Several attempts have been made by this newspaper to contact Harmon on the matter, but all proved futile. The article was first published on Thursday, and four days have elapsed and the Minister has not even issued a statement in an effort to clear the air.

Anti-corruption advocates are outraged. David Hinds, Christopher Ram and Anand Goolsarran have all made strong comments on the matter. They all expressed disappointment in Harmon and said Guyana cannot be made to suffer a repeat of what occurred under the rule of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C).
Goolsarran said, “This runaway train must be halted in its track before it is too late,” as he noted the repercussions of political interference in GRA.
Citizens have also been airing their disappointment in the letter pages of Kaieteur News.

 

 

 

April 10, 2016

Breach of duty-free concessions…Chinese contractor caught trucking airport sand to MovieTowne site

The Chinese contractor working on the multi-billion- dollar expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) was caught using its equipment illegally on a private job.

According to officials, China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC) used its trucks and other vehicles and possibly even sand from the airport project on the MovieTowne construction at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara.
CHEC’s trucks, more than 25 of them, were granted duty free concessions by the previous government for the US$150M airport work. CHEC also reportedly received tax waivers on at least six pick-ups and four SUVs.
Somewhere along the way, the company’s sister company, China Harbour Engineering (T&T) Ltd (CHEC) also managed to win the contract to construct the MovieTowne project.
The Turkeyen project, to include eight cinemas and food courts among other things, was contracted to CHEC in December 2014 for US$30M.
However, it appeared that CHEC decided to use the equipment that it has stationed at the airport, including the trucks, to work along with the MovieTowne project.
Under the terms of conditions for the granting of concessions, equipment and vehicles have to be utilized specifically for the purposes it was granted—- in this case the airport project.

Late last year, CHEC’s trucks were spotted on the East Bank Demerara road with sand. It was after hours. The trucks were not supposed to be working at nights.
The supervising consultant of the airport project, a Canadian company called MMM Group, was alerted but CHEC had an explanation why the trucks were on the road at that hour. The company said the trucks were taking sand from a sandpit belonging to a businessman who operates in the Yarrowkabra area, Soesdyke/Linden Highway, to the MovieTowne site.
CHEC reportedly managed to even acquire receipts of payments from the businessman to prove its story. What was not explained was how the trucks that could only work on the airport project were allowed to take sand to another location.
The matter was reportedly raised with airport authorities and the Ministry of Public Infrastructure.
Yesterday, CJIA’s Chief Executive Officer, Ramesh Ghir, referred the reporter to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure for comments.
Efforts to contact Geoffrey Vaughn, head of the Work Services Group of the

ministry, proved futile.
For the airport project, CHEC was allowed use of three sandpits, two loam pits and two pagasse pits.
CHEC insiders last week complained that managers were also using staffers stationed at the CJIA expansion at MovieTowne. These included drivers.
As a matter of fact, a few pieces of equipment including a tower crane that came for the CJIA project has been put into use at MovieTowne.
It is not the first time that CHEC has been in trouble.
Last year, truckers complained that the company bypassed them and hired trucks of BaiShanLin, a logging company, to help fetch sand in the airport project.
BaiShanLin was blocked shortly after from participating in the contract as those trucks were illegal there…It had been granted concessions specifically for forestry purposes.
Shortly after that, the trucks of Rong-An Inc. were also used in the airport contract, illegally too.
In March 2013, the PPP/C Government turned the sod for the US$150M airport expansion.
In 2011, Guyana learnt about CHEC after a Jamaica newspaper broke the news that the Guyana Government had signed a deal with that Chinese company. CHEC has an office in Jamaica.
Some US$138M of the US$150M was coming from a Chinese loan with the remainder from the Government of Guyana.
Government later said that it was about to announce the signing when the news was prematurely leaked.
The project was to extend the runway by another 1,000 meters and build a new terminal building that would boast bridges, escalators and bigger arrival and departure halls.
Just about a quarter of the work has been done by CHEC yet it has received more than 70 percent of the monies.
The new administration, under David Granger, has announced that it is moving forward with the expansion but has scaled down the works because of monies.
There will no longer be a new terminal building, but an upgraded one.
In recent years, consecutive Governments have come under flak for managing foreign investors and contractors to ensure that they comply with agreements and don’t  abuse concessions.

 

April 10, 2016

Harmon’s China trip more than Govt reveals

“Fighting corruption is not just good governance. It’s self-defence. It’s patriotism.”  That is the belief of serving American Vice- President, Joe Biden.

All believers of Biden’s mantra are keen on finding out exactly what was the nature of Minister of State, Joseph Harmon’s recent trip to China.
When questions were raised initially, Harmon’s press secretary, Malika Ramsey, sent out a statement that sought to set the record straight about the controversial trip.
However, the information contained in that press statement runs counter to the evidence presented in a photograph that was subsequently leaked to this newspaper.
The statement indicated that Harmon and an In-House Legal Counsel at National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL), Ms. Natalia Seepersaud, visited China on state business.
The purpose of the visit was to engage in discussions with regard to the payment of the US$5 million balance owed for the purchase of 20 percent of Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) shares by Chinese company, Datang Telecom Technology and Industry Group from NICIL in 2012.
The statement said that separately, but during the same period, a team from the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) comprising Head Project Coordinator, Fitzroy Corlette, and Supervisor, David Hermonstine, along with the representative of the Chinese companies in Guyana, Clinton Williams, visited China to participate in negotiations with NUTECH, a Chinese security scanning equipment supplier, for the acquisition of container and baggage scanners.
Nowhere in the statement was anything said about the officials of a controversial logging company, BaiShanLin, being part of that trip.
However, a photograph shows Joseph Harmon, with BaiShanLin’s Managing Director, Chu Hongbo and family, and with the NICIL representative.
The picture appears to be taken on a private jet.
This leaves one to question whether the state did sponsor this jet for BaiShanLin, his family, and Harmon to fly to China or was this favour from BaiShanLin to Harmon.
Harmon has maintained a worrying silence as the media reported on a series of his recent shady actions. The Minister had promised to hold a press conference but never did.
Sources within Cabinet told Kaieteur News that Harmon did not give any information to Cabinet in any way about a meeting with BaiShanLin during that time.
As far as Cabinet knows, Harmon and the NICIL representative were supposed to be the only two persons on that “official” trip.
Recent reports in the press gave an insight into Harmon’s relationship with BaiShanLin, a company he once referred to as a spirogyra—a nasty bacterium that gobbles up everything in its path.
Harmon halted an official operation involving BaiShanLin.
The operation was being executed by GRA in collaboration with officials from the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU).
GRA was going to seize two of BaiShanLin’s vehicles due to the fact that the Chinese company failed to pay the required duties within the legally stipulated timeframe.
But before the GRA and SOCU officials could carry out the seizures, they received a call from Harmon who instructed that the vehicles must not be removed, that the ranks should leave the company alone, and walk away from the premises.
Eventually the vehicles were seized. But the government is still to say how it intends to address Harmon’s actions which some are describing as rogue behaviour.
Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, is still to update the media of an investigation he had promised to launch into the matter.
Jordan had said, “I am going to investigate the veracity of this allegation.” But efforts to contact him subsequently proved futile.
Anti-corruption advocates are outraged. They all expressed disappointment in Harmon and said Guyana cannot be made to suffer a repeat of what was had under the rule of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C).

 

April 11, 2016

Seize BaiShanLin’s materials, equipment and vehicles until $1.8B recovered

– Auditor Goolsarran

By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell

Former Auditor General and chartered accountant, Anand Goolsarran says the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has every right to seize all of BaiShanLin’s materials, equipment and vehicles until it has recovered the full $1.8B in fiscal concessions that have been granted.
Goolsarran is the accountant who conducted the forensic audit into the Guyana Forestry Commission.
Commenting on the fact that GRA was recently allowed to finally seize two of the company’s vehicles, Goolsarran said that it should not end there, since the Chinese company is in high debt because of its violation on agreements.
The accountant and anti-corruption advocate said that BaiShanLin has persistently defaulted on the investment agreement it has signed with the Government to set a wood processing plant at Linden.
Instead, it has bought five logging companies and has been involved in the wholesale exportation of logs with impunity at a time when most tropical timber producing countries have either banned log exports or have severely restricted their exportation.
Goolsarran said that it is a situation of “an unadulterated raping of our forests and destroying the lungs of the earth”.
The auditor said that the investment agreement specifically states that if the machinery, equipment and materials for which fiscal concessions have been granted have not been used for the purpose(s) specified, the value of the concessions must be repaid to the Government.

During the period 2012-2015, Baishanlin brought in US$38 million worth of machinery, equipment and materials of which fiscal concessions amounting to G$1.8 billion were granted.
“GRA should therefore seize all of these, not just the luxury vehicles, until the fiscal concessions granted are fully repaid,” said Goolsarran.
In his audit report, Goolsarran said that “according to information provided by the Guyana Revenue Authority, during the period 2012-2015, the Government granted Baishanlin fiscal concessions on a variety of machinery, equipment and construction materials with a CIF value of $7.464 billion, equivalent to US$37.320 million. This was based on investment agreements entered into between the Government of Guyana (represented by the Minister of Finance) and Baishanlin for the construction of a wood processing facility in Region 10. The total value of concessions granted amounted to $1.827 billion.GRA indicated that it was unable to provide information relating to the earlier years because of computer problems.”
He added that a review of the list of items of machinery, equipment and construction materials for which fiscal concessions were granted indicated that many of the items were either unrelated to, or were significantly in excess of, the requirements for the construction of wood processing facility.
“Indeed, the evidence suggests that the fiscal concessions granted were substantially in relation to BaiShanLin’s ownership/control of the five logging companies having TSAs as well as its proposed investment at Providence, East Bank Demerara. This is notwithstanding that the investment agreements were exclusive to the wood processing facility in Linden,” said Goolsarran.
Goolsarran noted that up to the time of reporting in the audit, Baishanlin had not fulfilled its obligations under the investment agreements and was requesting an additional two years to do so.  He said that this was despite the fact that, in a letter to the former Prime Minister, the company had given the assurance of setting up the wood processing facility by the end of 2007. A further assurance was given in July 2012 in a letter to the former Minister of Trade, Industry and Commerce that the facility would be ready by the end of 2013.
Goolsarran said that the investment agreements specifically provide for their termination where, among others, there has been a failure to undertake the business proposal without providing a reasonable explanation. When this happens, the company is required to repay the value of all fiscal concessions granted. “Despite the persistent failure by Baishanlin to honour its obligations under these agreements, and without reasonable explanations, no action taken to terminate the agreements and to recover the value of the fiscal concessions granted,” said Goolsarran.
He added that the GRA and/or Go-Invest were required to visit the business premises and inspect assets that benefitted from the fiscal concessions. However, GRA confirmed that it had not done so.
Goolsarran recommended in his report, “the Government of Guyana should consider terminating the investment agreements with the company (BaiShanLin) and recover the value of the fiscal concessions granted to it.

 

April 11, 2016

Strip Harmon’s powers, enforce code of conduct for Govt. officials – AFC

The Alliance For Change (AFC) says that too many responsibilities have been placed in the hands of Minister of State, Joseph Harmon. The Party thinks that this is the root of many problems in the coalition government which it is a part of.
In a statement issued last evening, AFC revealed that key leaders met yesterday on a retreat which is part of an ongoing effort to review the party’s performance. At that forum, the politicians also discussed a number of issues of concern to the Party. The AFC also reviewed and considered internal matters with regard to the party’s operations and structure along with its role as part of the Coalition Government of Guyana.
“Among the matters discussed at the retreat was the issue of the appointment of a Ministerial Advisor on Business Development by the Minister of State and other revelations in the public domain.”
The AFC said that it is of the opinion that the current difficulties which the government has encountered in the continuing revelations arising out of the appointment of the Advisor on Business Development “and the issues surrounding this, have their roots in the concentration of the powers of the office of the Cabinet Secretary, the Minister of State in the Ministry of the Presidency and the effective Head of Presidential Secretariat in a single person.”

AFC said that it thinks Guyana would be served best if these powers are divided.
“The responsibilities of each of the above portfolios are substantial and of critical importance to the smooth operations of the Government and would benefit from separate appointments,” it stated.
AFC said that it has mandated its leadership in Cabinet to have these issues raised and addressed “as a matter of national importance.”
Further, the AFC said that it is committed to responsible and transparent governance and looks forward to the conclusion of the Code of Conduct for government officials and the application of same.
“The Alliance For Change reiterates its commitment to the Coalition Government while recognizing that the principles of good governance, transparency and equal opportunity are fundamental to the success of the Coalition.”
Among those at yesterday’s retreat were Party Chairman, Nigel Hughes, Vice Chair, Moses Nagamootoo, General Secretary, David Patterson and Treasurer, Dominic Gaskin. Also present was Executive Member, Cathy Hughes and Noel Holder.  Kaieteur News understands that Raphael Trotman was unable to attend the meeting because he is out of the jurisdiction and Khemraj Ramjattan was unable to attend as he had to attend to an urgent personal matter.
The carefully worded statement comes in the wake of the growing scandal surrounding Minister of State, Joseph Harmon’s appointment of Brian Tiwari as advisor to the Minister of Business, Dominc Gaskin, and questions about his relationship with officials from the controversial Chinese logging company BaiShanLin.
Harmon had halted attempts by the Guyana Revenue Authority to seize some of BaiShanLin’s vehicles.
(Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell)

 

April 11, 2016

Cabinet colleague Amna Ally says…Nothing wrong with Harmon’s actions

Minister of Social Cohesion, Amna Ally, sees nothing wrong with the alleged transgressions of Minister of State Joseph Harmon in the ongoing BaiShanLin fiasco.
Kaieteur News understands that both Harmon and Ally yesterday visited Region Three to hold talks with residents there about matters coming out of the recently concluded Local Government Elections (LGE).
Addressing the meeting at West Demerara, Ally said that she is proud of Harmon. She spoke about the “many” projects Harmon undertook to better the lives of citizens in Region Three.  She said that Harmon’s main priority is the development of Guyana.
Minister Ally told the gathering, “Joseph Harmon is not corrupt. President Granger has every confidence in the Minister of State.”
She added that “had the Minister of State done wrong, he would have been gone”.
I am not accountable to the media
In addition, Harmon’s press Secretary, Malika Ramsey released a statement via her Facebook page. The statement read that Harmon “is not concerned that the current organized campaign to damage his reputation will affect the way he performs his duties as minister.

“Minister Harmon says he has always felt that it was the people who elected him, and the people who elected the Coalition Government, and it is the people who decide whether or not that government is performing – not one or two news paper columnists or one or two persons who write news paper articles.  The Minister of State says the President has spoken on the matter definitively, and he respects the president’s judgment therefore he (the Minister of State) need not say more.”
President David Granger recently had cause to undo an appointment that Harmon made without consulting him.
Harmon had appointed Brian Tiwari as Ministerial Advisor to Business. As soon as the President became aware of this he rescinded the appointment. President Granger told reporters that he saw no need for such an appointment, as he has a competent Minister of Business. It was that Minister, Dominic Gaskin, who President Granger said he has confidence in.
Kaieteur News had also reported that Harmon undermined the Guyana Revenue Authority when he halted attempts by the GRA to seize two of BaiShanLin’s vehicles.

The Chinese company had failed to pay the required duties on the vehicles within the legally stipulated timeframe.
But before the GRA and SOCU officials could carry out the operation, Harmon instructed that the vehicles must not be removed.
The vehicles were subsequently a day after a Kaieteur News exposé. But the government is still to say how it intends to address Harmon’s actions.
After promising to “investigate the veracity” of the allegation against Harmon, Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, is still to update the media of the probe.
Efforts to contact him subsequently proved futile.
Anti-corruption advocates have expressed disappointment in Harmon and said Guyana cannot be made to suffer a repeat of what was had occurred under the rule of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C).

 

 

April 13, 2016

MUZZLED…Cabinet mum on Harmon issue, Ministers reminded of privacy oath

Cabinet Members were reminded yesterday of their “oath” to keep discussions private. The caution was issued

in light of the fact that Cabinet discussed matters relating to controversies surrounding embattled Minister of State Joseph Harmon.
Kaieteur News understands that the Cabinet meeting concluded around 17:30hrs, but much more is to be discussed. Because of this, another meeting is set for tomorrow. But the existing silence is deafening.
A source close to the Cabinet indicated that “the Harmon issues indeed came up”. However, it was stressed that the matter was surprisingly not addressed as one of “national importance.”
These revelations would come as something of an affront to the Guyanese people. There is every indication that the secrecy which was practiced during previous administrations, and in recent times had totally destroyed the people’s confidence in government, is once again rearing its ugly head.
Recent photographic evidence that showed Mr. Harmon posing on a private jet with BaiShanLin’s Managing Director, Chu Hongbo and family, has raised serious questions.
The government in a statement that preceded the leaked photo had emphasised that the purpose of Mr. Harmon’s visit was to engage in discussions with regard to the payment of the US$5 million balance owed for the purchase of 20 percent of Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) shares by Chinese company, Datang Telecom Technology and Industry Group from NICIL, in 2012.
Nowhere in the statement was anything said about any meetings or interaction with officials of the controversial logging company.
Harmon has maintained a worrying silence as the media reported on a series of his recent shady actions. The Minister had promised to hold press conferences since his return, but never did.
His halting of an official seizure operation involving BaiShanLin several weeks prior was one of the actions that raised eyebrows and attracted widespread condemnation.
The operation was being executed by GRA in collaboration with officials from the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU).
GRA was going to seize a number of BaiShanLin’s vehicles due to the fact that the company failed to pay the required duties within the legally stipulated timeframe. But during the exercise, Harmon instructed that the vehicles not be removed.
Weeks later the vehicles were seized. But government is yet to say how it intends to address the obvious misuse of power by one of its senior ministers.
Harmon’s actions have been incongruous with his much-publicised intolerance toward those whom he perceived to be acting against the best interests of the country.
He was noted on several occasions lambasting BaiShanLin for its reckless operations in Guyana, as well as the former regime, for its encouragement of the company’s actions.
In 2014, he had blasted the former government for its silence about the “corrupt beast” BaiShanLin’s “immoral and abusive acts” and had opined that “there can only be one logical conclusion for that—they are benefitting financially in exchange for allowing the rape to continue.
It is only a win-win deal for the parties involved and BaiShanLin’s kickbacks seem to have silenced the (former) government”.
Harmon had said that he found it sickening that BaiShanLin had been invited to this country under the pretext that it was going to foster good developments, and all along the true intention was to rape this country of its resources.

 

April 14, 2016

Private ‘Jet trip’ was paid for by Chinese Govt. – President Granger

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, has finally offered his Cabinet colleagues an explanation for a

photograph which saw him posing comfortably with officials of Chinese logging company, BaiShanLin.
This is the very company that is currently under the watchful eye of the State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU). Ironically, it is the same company that was heavily criticized by Harmon for its wanton abuse of Guyana’s forests, excessive breaches of the nation’s laws and failure to fulfill its promise of a wood-processing facility.
Asked about Harmon’s explanation, President David Granger said, “(Harmon) has explained it to the Cabinet… The Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China was in China at that time and he (Harmon) had to go to about three or four different cities.”
“The Ambassador arranged the Executive transport because of the distance between the cities and the amount of time he (Harmon) had at his disposal so it was arranged by the Chinese Government to enable him to travel to different cities so that he can conduct the business he was there to conduct.”
Granger was then asked who funded the trip from Guyana to China. Granger said he understands that it was funded by the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).
“I know that he went to China on NICIL business. I saw the Cabinet decision,” the President added.
In a recent interview with this newspaper, Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, had said that it would not only be a “massive error in judgment” but also a “reckless move” for a politician to be on a private jet ride with officials who are under investigation by his country.

He made this assertion after being pressed by Kaieteur News to say whether in a “hypothetical” situation if he would have been caught in such a circumstance.
Given his response, he was then pressed to say whether he is comfortable with the actions of his Cabinet colleague, Joseph Harmon, who was over the weekend exposed in a similar situation.
The Public Security Minister said he is aware that in the Sunday edition of the Kaieteur News, a picture was published on the front page which showed Harmon in a photograph posing with officials of BaiShanLin on a private jet. This newspaper understands that Harmon did not inform Cabinet about any meeting or interaction with BaiShanLin officials.
In spite of this, the Minister of Public Security declined to divulge how he felt about the revelation.
The Minister of Public Security made it clear that Ministers should always live a life that can hold up to public scrutiny.

 

April 15, 2016

Harmon says potential Chinese investors funded private jet travel

Minister of State Joseph Harmon has provided an explanation to Cabinet for the photograph which was

published in the Kaieteur News Edition of April 10, in which he is surrounded by Executive Members of Chinese Logging Company, BaiShanLin.
It was on Wednesday that Kaieteur News asked President David Granger about the details of Harmon’s explanation.
The Head of State said, “(Harmon) has explained it to the Cabinet… The Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China was in China at that time and he (Harmon) had to go to about three or four different cities.”
“The Ambassador arranged the Executive transport because of the distance between the cities and the amount of time he (Harmon) had at his disposal so it was arranged by the Chinese Government to enable him to travel to different cities so that he can conduct the business he was there to conduct.”
Kaieteur News then published a story on Thursday which was headlined, “Private jet trip was paid for by Chinese Govt. –President Granger.”
The Ministry of the Presidency via a missive emphasised that Granger’s actual words were “arranged by” and not that the trip was “paid for” by the Chinese Government.
Kaieteur News has since acknowledged that it misquoted President Granger.
Yesterday, the Ministry of the Presidency issued a statement purportedly from the desk of Minister Harmon, explaining the use of the private jet.
The correspondence was captioned “Statement by Minister of State, Hon. Joseph Harmon on mode of travel while in China”
The statement read inter alia:
“I visited the People’s Republic of China on official Government business in March 2016. The Ambassador of China to Guyana, who was in the country at that time, made arrangements for me to meet officials of four companies which had signalled their intention to make significant investments in Guyana.

These Companies were located in Beijing, Shanghai, Hebei and Heilong Jiang Provinces.
In this regard, because of the significant distances involved and the limited time available on that trip, the Ambassador made arrangements for these companies to provide transportation, both air and land, for me to travel to their respective Head Offices.
On March 27, 2016, one such arrangement was made for me to visit Long Jiang Forest Industries Group, a Company situated in Heilong Jiang Province.  The Long Jiang Forest Industries Group is a state-owned company that had acquired 55 percent of the shares in BaiShanLin and is intended to fully take over the company in 2016.
Two officials from the Long Jiang Forest Industries Group, along with two officials from BaiShanLin, accompanied me on the aircraft on the flight from Beijing to Heilong Jiang Province to attend the meeting.”
BaiShanLin is currently under the watchful eye of the State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU). It is this very company that was heavily criticized by Harmon for its wanton abuse of Guyana’s forests, excessive breaches of the nation’s laws and failure to fulfill its promise of a wood-processing facility.

 

April 15, 2016

Chinese Embassy “request” prompted Harmon’s GRA interference

Minister of State Joseph Harmon has finally given an explanation as to what led to accusations of his

interference in a seizure operation that was being carried out by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) on Chinese logging company, BaiShanLin.
Harmon said that on March 17, last, representation was made to him by an official of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Guyana on an urgent matter affecting one of their national’s company operations in Guyana.
The Minister said he was advised that personnel of the GRA had gone to the premises of BaiShanLin in furtherance of a Tax demand by the Authority of $1.5 billion dollars.
The Minister explained that the GRA personnel were intent on seizing movable assets of the company.  He said that the Chinese official explained that the principals of the company were not in Guyana and requested a stay of execution of the GRA’s action for 14 days pending the return of those principals, at which time they would go into the GRA to settle their indebtedness.
He said that the Embassy official also gave the assurance that none of the assets of the Company would be removed, during that grace period.
Harmon said that considering the importance of Guyana/China relations and the urgency of the matter, he made contact with the GRA and requested the facility.
The Minister of State said that this request was granted. He said that at the expiration of the 14 days requested, the GRA proceeded with its work.
Harmon said that several reports in the media on the matter conveyed “the erroneous impression” that he had used his official Government position to interfere in GRA’s work.
The politician noted in his statement to the media that reports alleged also that there were corrupt dealings with the company involved in the intended actions by the GRA.
Harmon said, “I refrained from making a public response to those reports earlier because my actions were linked to Guyana’s diplomatic relations and its pursuit of foreign investment that would be beneficial to the people of Guyana.”
The Cabinet Secretary said that his colleagues in the Government have now been fully briefed on this and other matters, currently in the public domain.
When Kaieteur News first published a story on Harmon’s interference in the work of GRA, it was confirmed with the entity’s Chairman, Rawle Lucas.
Lucas had said, “I expect that this matter would be dealt with accordingly. At this stage I really can’t give any further comment. But at least we have a Minister (who could conduct an investigation).
Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan had also promised an investigation into the veracity of the allegations.
Since then, Lucas made it clear that officials within the entity have recommitted to doing their work without fear or favour.
The Chairman had said, “The GRA is going to carry out its duties and its responsibilities, and it has recommitted to doing so without fear or favour. We are all about restoring confidence in this agency and ensuring that mistakes of the past are not repeated.”
Asked what measures have been put in place to ensure that the situation does not reoccur, Lucas categorically stated, “Clear instructions have been given that all officials must, and I repeat, must complete all assignments.”

 

April 17, 2016

 Harmon’s intervention in GRA’s seizure of vehicles…BaiShanLin’s boss uses Guyanese, Chinese nationalities conveniently

Earlier this week, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, in a statement defending his intervention in a Customs

operation last month to seize vehicles belonging to BaiShanLin for unpaid import taxes, claimed he did it because the Chinese Embassy said it involved a company belonging to one of their nationals.
However, it would contradict the fact that BaiShanLin’s main principal in Guyana, Chu Hongbo, is a naturalised Guyanese citizen who used his citizenship to acquire several blocks of mining lands in 2014.
It would appear from Harmon’s statement, that Chu Hongbo used his Guyanese citizenship conveniently. In the case of the GRA vehicle, he switched to his Chinese nationality.
Harmon, in his statement, insisted that he intervened after considering the importance of Guyana/China relations and the urgency of the matter.
“…I made contact with the GRA and requested the facility. This request was granted,” Harmon said.
The Minister, who is also Cabinet Secretary, came under heavy fire in recent weeks for the intervention which occurred on March 17, during the operation by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
There were criticisms that he bypassed the Ministry of Finance, who has jurisdiction over GRA.
BaiShanLin, a logging company from China, came to the spotlight two years ago after it became known that the company had managed to become the second largest forest concession holder after Barama Company Limited.
It was exporting containers of raw logs monthly with little indications of the returns that Guyana was getting.
The manner of those forestry acquisitions along with the billions of dollars in tax breaks and waivers granted by the previous PPP/C government has been angering Opposition and Guyanese alike as the company has failed to honor commitments to build a wood processing plant, in keeping with an agreement signed with the previous government.

BaiShanLin, with impunity, managed to use those pieces of equipment, including trucks and excavators, to compete with locals in the transportation and even the river barge business.
The company has also been allowed to questionably purchase housing lands in Providence, East Bank Demerara and owes tens of millions for a prime hotel property it purchased from the previous Government.
The David Granger administration, while in opposition, had complained bitterly about BaiShanLin’s operations here. The coalition vowed to regularise the situation when they came to power. Minister Harmon had been one of the most vocal.
With regard to the GRA operations to seize vehicles belonging to BaiShanLin for unpaid duty Harmon said that on March 17, representation was made to him by an official of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Guyana on an urgent matter affecting one of their national’s company operations in Guyana.
“I was advised that personnel of the GRA had gone to the premises of BaiShanLin in furtherance of a Tax demand by the GRA of G$1.5 billion.”
He said that GRA personnel were intent on seizing movable assets of the company.
“The Chinese official explained that the principals of the company were not in Guyana and requested a stay of execution of the GRA’s action for 14 days pending the return of those principals, at which time they would go into the GRA to settle their indebtedness.”
The embassy officials, according to Harmon, also gave the assurance that none of the assets of the company would be removed, during that grace period.

“Considering the importance of Guyana/China relations and the urgency of the matter, I made contact with the GRA and requested the facility. This request was granted.”
GRA had gone ahead and seized two vehicles, including a luxury Lexus SUV.
It was the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) which first broke the news one year ago that Chu Hongbo has become a naturalized Guyanese and thus was entitled to acquire mining properties.
In fact, 98 of his Mining Permits listed were won via an open competitive bidding process in 2014.
Last year, it was reported that months before becoming a naturalized Guyanese, Chu Hongbo, had a Guyanese holding almost 700,000 hectares of state lands for him.
The forested lands were immediately transferred to Chu and BaiShan Lin’s control after the Chinese investor received his Guyanese citizenship in 2014.
The transaction has raised several questions, one of which is why concerns were not triggered by  the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) that a Guyanese who is not a known logger, could be given control of such a large swath of forest as well as the legality of it being transferred later to Chu.

 

April 17, 2016

Financial records never showed Chinese Govt. as part of BaiShanLin – Forensic Auditor

It appears that directors of Chinese logging company, BaiShanLin, were not as forthcoming as they should have

been to authorities in Guyana about who really are the principal owners of the company.
During an interview with Kaieteur News last year, Managing Director of the company, Chu Hongbo, revealed that approximately 51 percent of the entity was owned by the Government of China.
In fact, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon recently revealed that the Government of China actually has a 55 percent hold in BaiShanLin through a company called Long Jiang Forest Industries Group. This company is situated in the Heilong Jiang Province of China.
Harmon said, “The Long Jiang Forest Industries Group is a state-owned company that had acquired 55 percent of the shares in BaiShanLin and is intended to fully take over the company in 2016.”
But this is in stark contrast to a forensic audit report which was conducted by Chartered Accountant, Anand Goolsarran. In his report, the forensic auditor said that BaiShanLin was first incorporated in Guyana on September 20, 2006 under the Guyana Companies Act 1991.
Goolsarran noted that the company listed three persons as its only shareholders/directors. These persons were Chairman, Chu Wenze, Managing Director Chu Hongbo, and Director Zhang Li Na.
Never once did it state in its statements to the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) or to the Deeds Registry or even in its financial records that the Government of China was ever a shareholder in the company.
Goolsarran emphasized, yesterday, that the Chinese company only listed three individuals owning and operating BaiShanLin as well as taking over five other major logging companies.

The forensic auditor said that this company has literally “fooled the nation” while enjoying millions of dollars worth in concessions, the grant of an exploratory permit covering a period of six consecutive years whereas the law allows for a maximum period of three years for such a permit among other “premium” privileges.
Taking into consideration that the Chinese company has failed to fulfill its obligations to Guyana, and the fact that the Forests Act does not permit a renewal  of a SFEP at the end of three years, the contract with the company, Goolsarran said, should be terminated forthwith.
Goolsarran also recommended that State forest should be returned to the Commission for reallocation.
In addition, he said that the coalition administration should consider terminating the investment agreements with the company and recover the value of the fiscal concessions granted to it.

 

April 18, 2016

China seeks Guyana’s resources while implementing logging ban to conserve their forests

By: Kiana Wilburg

China produces 70 to 80 percent of the world’s wood furniture and half of its wood products. This includes particle board and fiberboard.
The East-Asian territory has also become the world’s biggest importer of timber imports and is second in consumption, using about 500 million cubic meters a year. It is no wonder that China’s appetite for logs appears insatiable to nations such as Guyana.
But its ravenous appetite for logs even led to an unconscionable abuse of its own prime forests. International environmentalists and organizations have been increasing the pressure on China for it to take the necessary steps to preserve its forests.
It appears that the Government of China is listening. Since last year and a little before that, the Chinese government has rolled out a series of logging bans in various provinces.
In fact, the Government of China recently released its 13th Five-Year Plan, which lays the foundation for the country’s development through 2020.

This Five-Year Plan explicitly states that China aims for an environmentally and economically sustainable model for its future development.
The East-Asian nation has even earned itself numerous congratulations for demonstrating its commitment towards achieving a “greener economy.”
Reports from China also indicate that there will be a ban on commercial logging of natural forests in State-owned plantations by the end of 2016. The country’s forest experts said that this move will have a positive impact on protecting the country’s forest resources.
Zhang Yongli, Deputy Head of the State Forestry Bureau for example has been noted by the media there, as saying that China will also gradually stop commercial logging of collectively-owned natural forests beginning in 2017.
What is even more remarkable is the fact that China, which logs about 49.94 million cubic meters of natural forest each year, initiated a landmark pilot program to ban all commercial logging of natural forests in key forest zones in the Northeast of China which is called Heilongjiang Province. This was in April 2014, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The prohibition forests experts said will be extended to all state-owned forests next year, and logging on privately owned land will be stopped by the end of 2017. The bans will cut timber output by 50 million cubic meters per year – the equivalent of 30 percent of logs, Zhang said.
Zhang is also reported as saying, “Our ecosystem has become so bad that it is no longer sustainable for China to continue serving as a world factory for wood products.”

However, statistics show that the ban on commercial logging in Heilongjiang primarily affects two major state-owned logging companies – Long Jiang Forest Industry Group and Daxing Anling Forestry Company.
Together, the two companies manage 18.45 million hectares of forests – covering 39 percent of the entirety of Heilongjiang province, according to China’s Xinhua news agency.
What is even more interesting is the fact that Long Jiang Forest Industry Group is set to fully take over BaiShanLin forest Development Inc in Guyana by year end.
Long Jiang already has a 55 percent hold in BaiShanLin.
While China is already taking measures to protect its forests, some of its companies in Guyana have been accused of carrying out a wanton abuse of Guyana’s forests.
BaiShanLin has been at the centre of these accusations.
Forensic auditor, Anand Goolsarran in a recent interview with Kaieteur News said that this company has literally “fooled the nation” while enjoying millions of dollars worth in concessions, the grant of an exploratory permit covering a period of six consecutive years whereas the law allows for a maximum period of three years for such a permit among other “premium” privileges.
Taking into consideration that the Chinese company has failed to fulfill its obligations to Guyana, Goolsarran in his recent audit report of the Guyana Forestry Commission made several recommendations. The fact that the Forests Act does not permit a renewal of a State Forest Exploratory Permit at the end of three years, the contract with the company, Goolsarran said, should be terminated forthwith.
Goolsarran also recommended that State forest currently controlled by BaiShanLin should be returned to the Commission for reallocation.
In addition, he said that the coalition administration should consider terminating the investment agreements with the company and recover the value of the fiscal concessions granted to it.

 

April 19, 2016

Harmon’s jet ride gift a violation of proposed code of conduct- Goolsarran

By Abena Rockcliffe- Campbell
Despite the fact that it is still in draft, one would have expected Ministers to still strive to abide by the code

of conduct proposed by their own Administration. So said former Auditor General and anti-corruption advocate, Anand Goolsarran yesterday.
Addressing Minister of State Joseph Harmon’s recent trip to China, he said that Harmon violated several aspects of the Code of Conduct. However, Goolsarran zeroed in on one aspect, to wit, the acceptance of gifts.
Harmon is still to face the press since revelations were made about his trip to China, his interference in the official business of the Guyana Revenue Authority and his appointment of Brain Tiwarie as Ministerial Advisor on Business development.
In his press release about the China trip, Harmon said, that the Ambassador of China to Guyana, who was in China at that time, made arrangements for me to meet officials of four companies, which had signalled their intention to make significant investments in Guyana.
These companies are located in Beijing, Shanghai, Hebei and Heilong Jiang Provinces…Because of the significant distances involved and the limited time available on that trip, the Ambassador made arrangements for these companies to provide transportation, both air and land, for me to travel to their respective Head Offices.
Goolsarran is saying that that is no justification.
Just five months after taking office, the new administration released a long-awaited Code of Conduct that is supposed to govern how Ministers behave in office.  The Code has been released for fine-tuning.
The draft document speaks to disciplinary actions or terminations for Ministers, Parliamentarians and other

public office holders who are in the breach.
It also addresses the acceptance of gifts of more than $10,000, conflict of interests, accountability and even gambling.
The code was considered crucial for the David Granger administration which campaigned for the May 11, 2015 General Elections on promises that it will be making sweeping changes to improve behaviour of public officials.
When it comes to accepting gifts, the code mandated public officials to report gifts or other forms of reward valued at more than $10,000 to the Integrity Commission.
It is being recommended that public officials should consider declining such gratuities if the acceptance of same could be perceived to have an effect on their objectivity and lead to complaints of bias or impropriety.
“Ministers, Members of Parliament and public office holders should…avoid compromising themselves or their office which may lead to an actual or perceived conflict of interest. Failure to avoid or declare any conflict of interest may give rise to criticism of favouritism, abuse of authority or even allegations of corruption.
The code of conduct also said “Public officials should also desist from accepting lavish or frequent entertainment from persons with whom the government has official dealings- including from suppliers or contractors, clubs and persons to which the state may allocate resources or job assignments.
Goolsarran told Kaieteur News that he was indeed impressed when he saw the release of the draft code of

conduct; but that was soon washed away when he read about the Harmon saga.
The anti-corruption advocate said that the arrangement in place to not accept more than $10,000 in gifts is a good one as it is the same measure used at the level of the United Nations.
“Persons accepting gifts of more than US$50 would have to declare it and surrender it to the Secretary General. You only took the gift if it was actually necessary as in the case if someone gives you a bottle of wine or Vodka worth more than the accepted limit.”
Goolsarran said that Harmon’s going to China and accepting the gift of jet rides to different provinces paid for by the Chinese companies is a clear violation of the code of conduct.
“Although it is draft one would have accepted the Ministers to abide by it.  Harmon had a right to decline those trips, as it can be viewed by the public as a measure that will taint his judgement, influencing his decisions favorably to the investors he spoke about.
Further, Goolsarran stated that if Harmon was made aware of persons in China that wanted to invest he should have advised the company to come make a proposal to Go-invest or go through the Embassy.
“It is wholly inappropriate what Harmon did, one can say he compromised himself. There is a procedure to be followed and in any case there is a Minister of Business.  The companies should simply have been made to follow the right procedure,” said Goolsarran.
The former Auditor General said, “This is the exact thing the previous government did and this is what we were all against.”

 

April 20, 2016

Forensic audit report reveals…BaiShanLin never did any Environmental Impact Assessment

By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell
If one wants to open and operate a small sawmill, that person is required to carry out an Environmental

Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) within the intended area of operation.
However, BaiShanLin, the largest logging company in Guyana which has shipped out way over US$8M worth of logs is yet to conduct such a study.
Despite all the logging and exportation, BaiShanLin does not have an actual licence to export logs. What the company had was a State Forest Exploration Permit (SFEP) which expired last year and is pending renewal.
As part of its agreement for the grant of the SFEP, BaiShanLin was required to do a number of things including to carry out an ESIA before any extraction could begin. It was also to prepare a business plan and do a forest inventory.
However, the forensic audit report into the operations of Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) highlighted the fact that BaiShanLin is yet to honor any of those obligations.
The auditor, Anand Goolsarran, reported, “It was discovered that at the expiration of the SFEP 01/2011, on November 2014, the company did not honour its obligations.
BaiShanLin contended that it faced a number of constraints, including passing through eight concessions and the need to repair/upgrade roads; and that it had since been able to access the area.
As a result, on October 1, 2014, BaiShanLin requested an extension of one year to fulfill these obligations under SFEP 01/2011 as well as to set up the wood processing facility.”
Kaieteur News has been able to confirm that as of yesterday, no ESIA has been handed in. Nevertheless the new government, under the stewardship of Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, is looking to foster even more relations with BaiShanLin.
The operations of BaiShanLin can, and has been proven to have significant negative impact on the environment.
In June 2014 BaiShanLin submitted an application to the EPA seeking environmental authorization to undertake large scale logging and sawmilling.

According to a published public notice, the company asked for the authorization for several areas including the Left Bank Essequibo River, Right Bank Berbice River, Right Bank Essequibo River, Left Bank Corentyne River, Left Bank Lysles River, River Bank Berbice River and Right Bank Powis River, including Regions Nine and Six.
It was noted that the project would entail, felling, timber extraction and transportation to a processing facility. They would also be doing grading, construction of roads, skid trails, bridges, culverts and camps with other ancillary facilities within the concession.
The EPA stated that it fully recognized that the impending works could have “significant impacts” on the environment. Thus, in keeping with the Environmental Protections Act of 1996, it asked BaiShanLin to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment.
On Redd-monitor.org, it was stated that in November 2012, Chu Wenze, the Chairman of Chinese logging company BaiShanLin, gave a presentation outlining his company’s plans for Guyana at the World Congress in Taicang, China. The company’s plans have threatened Guyana’s proposals to reduce deforestation and forest degradation.
Former Region Ten Chairman, Sharma Solomon, had on many occasions raised concerns about the impact of BaiShanLin’s operation in the region, particularly Region Ten.
BaiShanLin was in Guyana since 2006. In 2014—eight years later—Solomon said, “(Bai Shan Lin is) far advanced in (its) operations and it has still not done an ESIA to see what impact it would have on the people in the region.”
“We have always expressed concerns about BaiShanLin’s ability to comply with standards and regulations; we have always complained about that.”
He used as example the processing plant that the company has established along the Soesdyke/ Linden Highway and without compliance from any statutory agency, the company removed over 47,000 tonnes of loam to build the base of the plant, “in the process destroying and disrupting the lives of the people of Moblissa.”
According to Solomon, in the process of building the plant, the company completely destroyed the farm to market road. It was only when the people threatened to shut down the company that any action was taken.
“The company never did well for social corporate responsibility,” said Solomon.
The Environmental Community Health Organisation (ECHO) staged several protest against BaiShanLin.  Concerns were grounded in the fact that the company appeared to be posing environmental risks to Guyana with its “exploitive logging activities.”

 

April 21, 2016

Guyana is not a ‘do wuh yuh want with me’ country—Trotman on BaiShanLin

By Kiana Wilburg
When it came to the operations of controversial Chinese logging company, BaiShanLin, Minister of Natural

Resources, Raphael Trotman said that it is no longer a “do wuh ya want” scenario.
He made this clear to members of the media yesterday during a post Cabinet briefing at the Ministry of the Presidency.
Kaieteur News asked the Minister of Natural Resources to comment on the way forward with the company given that a forensic audit report has recommended the termination of the company’s contract as well as the repossession of lands under its control.
Trotman said that he will be guided by the advice of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) Board when it comes to the matter of repossession of lands, and even recouping money lost by way of concessions granted to the logging company.
He asserted that he is not going to interfere with the Board.
Trotman spoke of the ban on the exportation of logs he imposed last year. That it is still in place. He noted that this decision was taken when there was no Board in place.
Trotman also revealed that he has tasked the Board with taking action on a number of concessions that were granted to BaiShanLin and other similar matters.
He said that when it comes to the termination of the investment agreement with BaiShanLin, the powers to do so rest with the Finance Minister, Winston Jordan.
Trotman said, “The investment agreement was signed between the former Minister of Finance (Dr. Ashni Singh) and the company. Coming out of that agreement, forest concessions were given. So even if the concessions were taken away, the contract is still in existence and it is for the Minister of Finance to make that determination.”
The Minister of Natural Resources is expected to receive a full report by month end from the GFC Board as it relates to the review of concessions granted in the forestry sector.

The Member of Parliament was then asked to explain why Government continues to “engage” a company that has failed to fulfill its promises to the nation and is under investigation by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and even the State Asset Recovery Unit (SARU).
On the point of engagement, he was reminded of a recent meeting between BaiShanLin executives and Minister of State, Joseph Harmon who was on a trip to China.
Harmon had explained that his get-together with those investors was intended to facilitate, among other things, a meeting between Long Jiang Forest Industries Group. This state-owned company in China is poised to fully take over BaiShanLin this year. It already has 55 percent of the shares in the company.
To this, Trotman emphasized that there is a vast difference between the Government engaging a company that is poised to take over BaiShanLin as opposed to simply continuing to engage the company in discussions.
The connotation in the question, he said, gives the impression that Government continues to “have them do whatever they want; you know that do wuh ya want with me scenario.”
The Minister of Natural Resources stressed that this is not what is taking place.
He added, “We are at a point where we are to have an entity that can breathe new life into the company and says it can put money, re-negotiate with government and build the (wood-processing) factory that has been committed to.”
The forensic audit report on the GFC as prepared by Chartered Accountant, Anand Goolsarran, documents numerous irregularities which go as far back as 2006, when BaiShanLin International Forest Development Inc was incorporated.
The main objective of the company, when it came in 2006, was to set up downstream wood processing operations in Linden and on the East Bank Demerara. It has failed to do so.
Taking into consideration that the Chinese company has failed to fulfill its obligations to Guyana, and the fact that the Forests Act does not permit a renewal  of a SFEP at the end of three years, the contract with the company Goolsarran said, should be terminated forthwith.
Goolsarran also recommended that State forest should be returned to the Commission for re-allocation.
In addition to this, he said that the coalition administration should consider terminating the investment agreements with the company and recover the value of the fiscal concessions granted to it.

 

April 21, 2016

Controversial photo of Harmon and investors…Harmon feels regret at jet flight in China–Trotman

By Kiana Wilburg
Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, does not believe that a photograph showing Minister of State,

Joseph Harmon posing with BaiShanLin executives on a private jet trip, constitutes a conflict of interest.
In fact, Trotman is of the view that there was nothing illegal about what the picture showed.
He made this assertion in response to questions which called on him to explain why neither the Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, Minister Trotman nor any other government official was on the recent trip to China.
The Minister of Natural Resources asserted that Harmon had to travel to China to deal with a NICIL matter and his being in a jet ride is not uncommon.
He explained, “It is not uncommon that other matters came up on the trip. I may, for example, be in the USA for a particular matter and I may be asked to meet others as I have done quite recently.
“Persons wanted to invest in oil and gas and a range of other matters even though the purpose of my trip was completely different. So it is not unusual.”
With regard to the proposed Code of Conduct, Trotman was asked to say to what extent he is comfortable with Harmon’s trip as it relates to potential investors in Guyana.
He said, “Let us be real. Of course they say pictures tell a thousand words but it is not uncommon…there are levels of comfort and there are levels of discomfort and I think that the picture by itself of course was a very uncomfortable one to look at.”
The Minister continued, “But I think if you were to look at it, it is not uncommon in modern travel for the use of

a private jet. Exxon Mobil is operating in Guyana and has a fleet of helicopters at the Ogle airport.
“Should we be invited to go out to the rig, would it be inappropriate for the Government officials or the President to use that helicopter?”
Trotman said that the reaction to such situations would depend on the circumstances, but he has accepted Harmon’s explanation of the matter.
He said, “I am certain that he regrets that (the situation) has led to this.”
The Minister of Natural Resources said that while an official accepting an invitation on a private jet trip could be used for influence, he emphasized that there is no evidence to indicate that this is what took place in Harmon’s case.
With regard to his controversial trip, Harmon had explained that the Ambassador of China to Guyana, who was in the country at that time, made arrangements for him to meet officials of four companies, which had signaled their intention to make significant investments in Guyana.  These Companies were located in Beijing, Shanghai, Hebei and Heilong Jiang Provinces.
Because of the significant distances involved and the limited time available on that trip, the Minister of State said that the Ambassador made arrangements for these companies to provide transportation, both air and land, for me to travel to their respective Head Offices.
He revealed that one such arrangement was made for him to visit Long Jiang Forest Industries Group, a Company situated in Heilong Jiang Province.  The Long Jiang Forest Industries Group is a state-owned company that had acquired 55 percent of the shares in BaiShanLin and is intended

to fully take over the company this year.
Harmon said, “Two officials from the Long Jiang Forest Industries Group, along with two officials from BaiShanLin, accompanied me on the aircraft on the flight from Beijing to Heilong Jiang Province to attend the meeting.”
“At the meeting, the Vice Director of the Company, Mr. Wong Dong Xu, in the presence of officials of BaiShanLin, gave the assurance that the Company’s officials will be in Guyana by May 2016 to complete due diligence for the takeover, and to satisfy and expand on the obligations of BaiShanLin to Guyana.”
The Minister of State emphasized that he used the opportunity to convey all of the concerns and expectations of the Government and people of Guyana with respect to foreign investment generally and those with respect to BaiShanLin in particular.

 

April 23, 2016

BaiShanLin’s fails to get another extension to SFEP – Trotman

BaiShinLin may not be granted another extension to its State Forest Exploratory Permit (SFEP) which would

have allowed it to operate for six consecutive years on that permit when the law only allows for three.
The reason given for the non-grant by the Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, was not the fact that it is against the law to have an SFEP running for more than three years. Instead, the reason given by Trotman was that BaiShanLin did not seek the extension in the right way.
Trotman told Kaieteur News that the controversial logging company made an “informal” request for the extension and on those grounds it was not granted.
To date, the company has been granted two SFEPs (01/2011 and 01/2013) covering 104,768 and 73,015 hectares respectively. This is a breach of the law. And this is even in the face of the fact that BaiShanLin was not qualified in the first place to be issued an SFEP as it failed a number of requirements. These requirements include the presentation of audited financial statements for five years.
The former Board of the Guyana Forestry Commission approved of Baishanlin’s request for an extension of the SFEP, and by letter dated October 28 , 2014, the Commissioner informed the company of the board’s decision.
An exploratory permit expires on the earlier of the expiry date contained in the permit or on the third anniversary of the permit, and by Section 9 of the Forests Act 2009, the renewal of such a permit is specifically prohibited.
There is also no provision in the Act for the extension of an SFEP once the expiry date is reached.  Therefore,

Auditor Anand Goolsarran noted in his GFC audit report that “the extension granted to Baishanlin in effect constitutes a renewal of the SFEP and therefore is in conformity with the Act.”
Goolsarran also noted that Baishanlin’s extended permit expired on 4 November 2015, but there was no board in place to address the issue.
He added, “According to media reports, the Minister responsible for natural resources indicated that: (a) the company applied for a further extension of two years to enable it fulfill its obligations under SFEP01/2011, especially as regards to setting up of the wood processing facility; and (b) the Government was favourably disposed to approving Baishanlin’s request.
“The Ministry of the Presidency later clarified that no decision was taken and that it has requested information from the company about its proposed business plan and evidence of financing. Upon receipt of this information, Baishanlin’s request would be reviewed and a decision taken.”
Goolsarran said that his time of reporting, the company was yet to submit the requested information.  Based on what Trotman said, the company is still yet to do so.
If this second request for extension is approved, the company would enjoy the benefit of the grant of an exploratory permit covering a period of six consecutive years whereas the law allows for a maximum period of

three years for such a permit.

 

 

 

 

April 24, 2016

BaiShanLin’s new owner has a history of unsustainable logging –China’s Forests Experts

A Chinese logging company in Guyana, BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc and another in China, Long Jiang Forest Industries Group, share one special quality. They both have a notable history of unsustainable logging.

BaiShanLin, on numerous occasions, has been heavily criticized by the local authorities for its wanton abuse of Guyana’s forests.
Forensic auditor, Anand Goolsarran, in a recent interview with Kaieteur News said that this company has literally “fooled the nation” while enjoying millions of dollars worth in concessions and the grant of two exploratory permit without meeting the criteria.
The company has also benefited from “premium” privileges under the guise that it would establish a state of the art wood processing facility here. Ten years later and this promise is unfulfilled.
Taking into consideration that the Chinese company has failed to fulfill its obligations to Guyana, Goolsarran, in his recent audit report of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) made several recommendations. The fact that the Forests Act does not permit a renewal of a State Forest Exploratory Permit at the end of three years, the contract with the company, Goolsarran said, should be terminated forthwith.
Goolsarran also recommended that State forest currently controlled by BaiShanLin should be returned to the Commission for reallocation.
In addition, he said that the coalition administration should consider terminating the investment agreements with the company and recover the value of the fiscal concessions granted to it.
But it seems as though BaiShanLin which is currently managed by three directors, will have a new owner. Interestingly, LongJiang which operates in China has a 55 percent hold in BaiShanLin.
It has expressed to the Government of Guyana that it plans to fully take of the company by year end. It has given the coalition administration that it means well. It wants to breathe new life into BaiShanLin.
But this very company has “skeletons in its closet.”
Several Forestry experts have found that LongJiang, which is owned by the Government of China, has “a track record of unsustainable logging.”
The state-owned company operates in the Heilongjiang Province. That area holds some of China’s prime and lush temperate forests.
But after noting the exploitation of the forests in that area by state firms, one of the most powerful being LongJiang, the Government there was forced to halt commercial logging.
China’s Forestry experts have hailed the ban as a major step forward, predicting it will enable timber supplies to recover and shift the industry’s focus towards improved forestry management.
Sheng Weitong, a forestry expert and former advisor to China’s cabinet-level State Council, told chinadialogue that some laid-off loggers “will become forest rangers and learn how to manage forests because the vast numbers of young and semi-mature trees in these districts need management. Workers here neglected forest management in the past.”
“Others will be encouraged to develop alternative industries such as tourism, growing blueberries, ginseng, edible mushrooms, and flowers, or raising chickens and frogs. Existing laws are thought sufficient to tackle illegal logging.”
The ban in Heilongjiang significantly affects Longjiang Forest Industry and Daxing Anling Forestry Company (Anling Forestry), and signifies a shift towards forest conservation, rather than utilization, Sheng says.
The two state-owned companies manage 18.45million hectares of forests, covering 39 percent of the entire province of Heilongjiang, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
The Heilongjiang province, close to the frozen river border with Siberia, had forests which were once so dense that the area was known as the Great Northern Wilderness.
But China’s Forest experts emphasized that more than 50 years of unsustainable logging by state-entities such as LongJiang have led to disastrous deforestation. This has resulted in soil erosion and dust storms. And with fewer trees to retain water, Heilongjiang has suffered devastating floods.
From 2001 through 2012, Heilongjiang lost over 470,000 hectares of tree cover representing more than 2.5 percent of its forested area, according to data from Global Forest Watch (GFW).
The ban comes after years of declining tree cover loss in the province over the past 15 years, from a high of 80,000 hectares lost in 2004 to just under 23,000 hectares in 2012, the most recent date for which GFW data is available.
“A halt here (in Heilongjiang) means an end to the way China has been utilizing forestry resources since 1949, and creates an opportunity for China to move to an era of improved forestry management,” agrees Hou Yuanzhao, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Forestry, adding that Heilongjiang’s state-owned forests are the center of China’s forestry industry. (Kiana Wilburg)

 

April 25, 2016

BaiShanLin never had any good intentions for Guyana – Forensic Auditor

Given the actions of Chinese logging company, BaiShanLin over the years, Chartered Accountant, Anand Goolsarran said that the firm has clearly demonstrated that it never had any good intentions for Guyana.

During an interview, Goolsarran one of the Forensic Auditors contracted by the new coalition administration to audit several government agencies, said that the company has, according to records, called upon the nation’s leaders for leniency when it was not entitled to it and received premium benefits for which it did not qualify.
Goolsarran said that the Chinese company has with its right hand, dangled the idea of a wood processing facility while grabbing with its left hand, the riches to be had from Guyana’s Forestry Sector.
The Chartered Accountant said that it was clear to see from BaiShanLin’s actions over the years that it was only interested in filling its treasure chests and then shipping them to their home country.
“It appeared that they were only interested in filling their pockets regardless of the consequences to be had by the nation. They mercilessly robbed and tricked us,” he said.
To support his argument, Goolsarran referred to some of his findings during a forensic audit of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC).
He said that the report documents numerous irregularities which go as far back as 2006, when BaiShanLin International Forest Development Inc was incorporated.
Goolsarran noted that the main stated objective of the company, when it came in 2006, was to set up downstream wood processing operations in Linden and on the East Bank Demerara.
In his audit report, Goolsarran revealed that on November 4, 2011, the Guyana Forestry Commission granted a State Forest Exploratory Permit (SFEP ) to the Chinese company. This covered 104,783 hectares of State forest.
On the surface, everything seemed well with this arrangement. But what alarmed the Forensic Auditor was that BaiShanLin was blessed with the permit (SFEP) for which it failed to meet the necessary requirements.
The criteria the Chinese firm failed to meet included (a) the submission of audited financial statements for the last five years; (b) evidence of technical and financial qualifications; and (c) a history of compliance.
Goolsarran revealed that a key consideration for the grant of the permit was the reassurance BaiShanLin gave the government to build a state-of-art wood processing facility in Linden. It intended to do so since 2006.
The Forensic Auditor revealed that the company had leased 200 acres for this purpose and had given a commitment to complete the facility by the end of 2013, following which the Government of Guyana would make available a further 100 acres for additional value-added processing.
As a condition for the grant of the permit, the auditor discovered that the company was required to carry out an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) before any extraction could begin.

It was also required to prepare a business plan and do a forest inventory. However, at the time of the expiration of permit on November 4, 2014, the company had not honoured its obligations.
The auditor said that documents show that BaiShanLin contended that it faced a number of constraints including the need to repair and upgrade roads.
As a result, the Forensic Auditor found out that on October 1, 2014, BaiShanLin requested an extension of one year to fulfill these obligations under the permit and to set up the wood processing facility.
He emphasized however that Section 9 (9) of the Forests Act 2009 specifically prohibits any renewal of such a permit. He said that there is also no provision in the Act for an extension once the expiry date reaches.
In spite of this, the laws of the Forest Act were ignored and the Commission approved BaiShanLin’s request for an extension of the permit.
Goolsarran noted that BaiShanLin’s extended permit expired on November 4, 2015, but there was no board in place to address the issue. He said that Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman indicated that the company applied for a further extension of two years to set up the wood processing facility.
“The Ministry of the Presidency later clarified that the Government had not taken any decision and that it has requested information from the company about its proposed business plan and evidence of financing.
“Upon receipt of this information, BaiShanLin’s request would be reviewed and a decision taken,” Goolsarran noted.
Up to the time of reporting, Goolsarran said that the company was yet to provide the business plan and evidence of financing.
He said that if this second request for extension is approved, the company would have enjoyed the benefit of the grant of an exploratory permit covering a period of six consecutive years whereas the law allows for a maximum period of three years for such a permit.
Taking into consideration that the Chinese company has failed to fulfill its obligations to Guyana, and the fact that the Forests Act does not permit a renewal  of a SFEP at the end of three years, the contract with the company, Goolsarran said, should be terminated forthwith.
Goolsarran also recommended that State forest should be returned to the Commission for reallocation.
In addition to this, he said that the coalition administration should consider terminating the investment agreements with the company and recover the value of the fiscal concessions granted to it.

 

April 26, 2016

New Govt. still to protect Guyana from crookish foreign companies – Lewis

By Abena Rockcliffe – Campbell
Malcolm X’s policy, “If you do not stand for something you will fall for anything” was brought to the fore

last evening as President of the Guyana Trade Union Congress (GTUC), Lincoln Lewis stressed the need for Guyanese to stand together for the protection of the country’s patrimony.
Lewis told Kaieteur News that he is unimpressed by the APNU+AFC government’s handling of matters surrounding the operations of foreign companies in Guyana.
He said that like what was given during the reign of the PPP/C government, there is still to be a clear message to be sent out, that the loyalty of the Government of Guyana lies with the people of and not with foreign companies seeking to exploit the country’s resources.
The trade unionist said that he was very expectant that many wrongs would have been corrected under the wings of the change touted by the APNU+AFC administration.  He said though, that the “proof is yet to be seen.”
Lewis’s biggest problem seems to be the concessions granted to foreign companies.
Indeed, Guyana has been granting big concessions to foreign companies coming to operate here. The controversial logging company, BaiShanLin International Forest Development Inc has been given over a billion dollar in concessions.
The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) audit report highlighted that during the period 2012-2015, BaiShanLin brought in US$38 million worth of machinery, equipment and materials of which fiscal concessions amounting to G$1.8B.

The auditor, Anand Goolsarran, said that the investment agreement specifically states that if the machinery, equipment and materials for which fiscal concessions have been granted have not been used for the purpose(s) specified, the value of the concessions must be repaid to the Government.
BaiShanLin has not done so to date. Only two vehicles have been seized. Lewis said, yesterday, that the government is yet to fully address the concessions granted.
Lewis said that it is unacceptable to have ordinary workers bear the burden of subsidizing such concession. Workers are being made to pay for this through taxes while trying to survive on meager salaries, he said.
He added, “These tax concessions are taking away from the possibility of having improvements being made to the way of life of the masses. I am disappointed that the government has not taken a strident position on addressing this issue…This big set of concessions must be cut out.”
Lewis said that if government decides to collect the taxes that would be due in the absence of these concessions, there would be more money in the system to provide for basic health care for Guyanese.
“As a people, we simply cannot afford to continue subsidizing these companies.”
Lewis said that that he followed the news about the Chinese state-owned company that is coming to take over BaiShanLin. He shuddered at the thought that that company might receive another set of concessions.
The trade unionist said that negotiation should not be on going with the new company until BaiShanlin comes clean.
“No new negations, no concessions, nothing at all until this company comes clean to a nation that deserves at

least that much respect after all it endured.”
Lewis continued, “This is our national patrimony we are taking about. We are trading concessions for these companies to come and exploit our national patrimony.” He said that it is a win, win for the companies.
“Why should all these foreign companies be granted concessions, when the average Guyanese man who is surviving on an average salary and has a family of five has to pay high taxes.
“Let us say he wants to buy a car to ease the stress in taking his children to school, that man, a Guyanese by birth, has to pay duty on that car.”
Stressing that he does not subscribe to that amount of concessions granted to foreign companies, Lewis said, “And don’t bring that creation of jobs business to me. These companies do not come to create jobs they come to make money; they come to exploit Guyana; that is their aim. The government’s aim should be to secure the interest of its country and its people.”
The trade unionist told Kaieteur News that the few jobs that some foreign companies give to Guyanese do not conform to international standards with regard to payment.
Lewis is one of the few public officials whose publicized views on BaiShanLin have not changed despite the change of government.
During the reign of the PPP/C government, Lewis had told the media, “The people are on one side fighting to ensure the nation’s protection…and government officials on the other side seem aligned with foreign forces to plunder and rape our resources for personal enrichment.
He said that he is standing by that view until the APNU+AFC government proves otherwise.
Lewis had said that the concerns and alarm by local stakeholders over the management of Guyana’s forest and infrastructures, environmental impact, the exclusion of local workforce and the conditions of service for those employed, are not to be dismissed and treated as though it’s business as usual.
“The GTUC is not adverse to foreign investments. The GTUC is adverse to investments that disregard the rights of citizens, the laws of our land, and the sovereignty of this nation.
“These are concerns of every Guyanese regardless of race, class, creed and political persuasion. The President needs to understand this, desist from the political grandstanding, and address the people’s concerns with the seriousness they deserve.”

 

April 27, 2016

New Baishanlin owner will face int’l due diligence

“This will be the way forward for all companies entering the natural resources sector,”- Minister Trotman

Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman is adamant that all foreign companies entering the natural

resources sector will be subjected to a due diligence exercise. This refers to an investigation of a business or person prior to signing a contract, or an act with a certain standard of care.
Trotman told Kaieteur News yesterday that international support is available to assist with the due diligence exercises. China Longjiang Forest Industry (Group) will be no exception to this rule. This is the company that is to completely take over BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc. in Guyana. China Longjiang already has a 55 percent hold in BaiShanLin.
BaiShanLin, on numerous occasions, has been heavily criticized by the local authorities for its wanton abuse of Guyana’s forests.
Forensic auditor, Anand Goolsarran, in a recent interview with Kaieteur News said that this company has literally “fooled the nation” while enjoying millions of dollars worth in concessions and the grant of two exploratory permit without meeting the criteria. The company has also benefited from “premium” privileges under the guise that it would establish a state-of-the-art wood processing facility here. Ten years later and this promise is unfulfilled.
Taking into consideration that the entity has failed to fulfill its obligations to Guyana, Goolsarran, in his recent audit report of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) made several recommendations.
The fact that the Forests Act does not permit a renewal of a State Forest Exploratory Permit at the end of three years, the contract with the company, Goolsarran said, should be terminated forthwith. In addition to this, Goolsarran said that the coalition administration should consider terminating the investment agreements with the company and recover the value of the fiscal concessions granted to it.
Goolsarran also recommended that State forest currently controlled by BaiShanLin should be returned to the Commission for reallocation.
Kaieteur News understands that some action has already been taken in this regard by the GFC Board. According the GFC officials, 177,000 acres of land has been repossessed from BaiShanLin.
China Longjiang has since expressed to the Government of Guyana that it intends to breathe new life into BaiShanLin. But this very company has “skeletons in its closet.”
Several Forestry experts have found that China Longjiang, which is owned by the Government of China, has “a track record of unsustainable logging.”
The state-owned company operates in the Heilongjiang Province. That area holds some of China’s prime and lush temperate forests. But after noting the exploitation of the forests in that area by state firms, one of the most powerful being China LongJiang, the Government there was forced to halt commercial logging.
China’s forestry experts have hailed the ban as a major step forward, predicting it will enable timber supplies to recover and shift the industry’s focus towards improved forestry management.
Sheng Weitong, a forestry expert and former advisor to China’s cabinet-level State Council, told China Dialogue that some laid-off loggers “will become forest rangers and learn how to manage forests because the vast numbers of young and semi-mature trees in these districts need management. Workers here neglected forest management in the past.”
“Others will be encouraged to develop alternative industries such as tourism, growing blueberries, ginseng, edible mushrooms, and flowers, or raising chickens and frogs. Existing laws are thought sufficient to tackle illegal logging.”
The ban in Heilongjiang significantly affects China Longjiang Forest Industry and Daxing Anling Forestry Company (Anling Forestry), and signifies a shift towards forest conservation, rather than utilization, Sheng says.
The two state-owned companies manage 18.45 million hectares of forests, covering 39 percent of the entire province of Heilongjiang, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
The Heilongjiang province, close to the frozen river border with Siberia, had forests which were once so dense that the area was known as the Great Northern Wilderness.
But China’s forestry experts emphasized that more than 50 years of unsustainable logging by state-entities such as China Longjiang have led to disastrous deforestation. This has resulted in soil erosion and dust storms. And with fewer trees to retain water, Heilongjiang has suffered devastating floods.
From 2001 through 2012, Heilongjiang lost over 470,000 hectares of tree cover representing more than 2.5 percent of its forested area, according to data from Global Forest Watch (GFW).
The ban comes after years of declining tree cover loss in the province over the past 15 years, from a high of 80,000 hectares lost in 2004 to just under 23,000 hectares in 2012, the most recent date for which GFW data is available.
“A halt here (in Heilongjiang) means an end to the way China has been utilizing forestry resources since 1949, and creates an opportunity for China to move to an era of improved forestry management,” agrees Hou Yuanzhao, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Forestry, adding that Heilongjiang’s state-owned forests are the centre of China’s forestry industry.

 

April 27, 2016

BaiShanLin continues to operate through local logging companies

-even as its concessions are repossessed
While BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc is all out of State Forest Exploratory Permits (SFEP), it continues

to operate through its alliances with local companies.
The forensic audit report into the operation of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) prepared by Anand Goolsarran exposed that BaiShanLin grabbed five major Guyanese companies in the forestry sector. These companies are Sherwood Forrest Inc, Haimorakabra Logging Co., Wood Associated Industries Co. Ltd., Puruni Woods Inc. and Kwebanna Wood Products Inc.
With all of the SFEPs expired, the company is depending solely on the local joint venture entities.
BaiShanLin had two SFEPs (01/2011 and 01/2013) covering 104,768 and 73,015 hectares respectively. Both have been extended on various occasions.
And this is even in the face of the fact that BaiShanLin was not qualified, in the first place, to be issued an SFEP because it failed a number of requirements, including audited financial statements for five years.
Goolsarran said that the very extensions were against the Forestry Act. Those extensions were given under GFC’s previous board.
Goolsarran had also noted that one of BaiShanLin’s extended permits expired on  November  4, 2015, but there was no board in place to address the issue. The new Board subsequently decided against renewal.
The final SFEP that the company had in its possession came to an end on Monday. That, too, will not be renewed, according to an official.

A forestry official said, yesterday, that while the cease order that Government placed on BaiShanLin does not apply to the other companies under its control, no logs have been shipped out of the country over the past two months.
“According to our records, neither BaiShanLin nor the local partners under its control has shipped out logs within the past two months. We understand that there is logging going on (through the acquired companies) but nothing has been shipped out,” said the official.
The forensic Auditor, Goolsarran had recommended in his report that since the Forests Act prohibits the transfer of ownership/control of a forest concession without the specific approval of the Commission, then the five concessionaires that have transferred such ownership or control to the officials of BaiShanLin should be made to surrender their concessions to the Commission for reallocation to other potential concessionaires.

 

May 01, 2016

Ashni Singh should be sanctioned for ‘crass’ investment agreement with BaiShanLin  – Goolsarran

Forensic auditor, Anand Goolsarran, is convinced that former Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, did not have

Guyana’s best interest at heart when he signed various concession and investment agreements with controversial Chinese logging company, BaiShanLin.
Goolsarran said that during his audit of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), it was noted that BaiShanLin received an extreme amount of concessions on equipment and vehicles under the pretence that it was for the establishment of a state-of-the-art wood processing factory.
The Chartered Accountant said, too, that the excessive amount of concessions would, beyond the shadow of a doubt, indicate that the company was using the said materials and vehicles it brought in for its interests in the mining sector.
He said that the investment agreement between the former administration and the Chinese logging company should not only be made public but that Dr. Singh should be made to face some form of disciplining for “his negligence and literally signing Guyana’s resources away.”
Goolsarran said that BaiShanLin’s actions since its incorporation in 2006, clearly show that it never had any good intentions for Guyana.
“I believe that the former Finance Minister should be sanctioned for the premium concession packages he approved for BaiShanLin to receive because that company only abused the country’s laws and systems and failed on several occasions to live up to its obligations.
“It was a crass investment agreement and Dr. Singh cannot deny these findings. BaiShanLin promised since

2006 that it would have established a wood processing facility and to date, not a single effort has been made in this regard. BaiShanLin has been making lots of excuses while being able to benefit like a king in the forestry sector,” Goolsarran lamented.
“The concessions granted in 2006 should have been monitored carefully to ensure that the company was in compliance with the conditions under which they were granted in the first place. If they failed then the former Finance Minister had an obligation as an upright citizen, as a protector of the treasury, as a defender of the people against financial abuses, to end the investment agreement. But he did not do so. The wanton abuse was continued and the former administration literally gave BaiShanLin incentives or rewards in the form of concessions for doing so.”
The Chartered Accountant recalled that his report had data which were provided by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The data show that during the period 2012 to 2015, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic administration granted BaiShanLin fiscal concessions on a variety of machinery, equipment and construction materials. These items carried a value of $7.5 billion (US$37.3 million).
The total value of concessions granted amounted to $1.827 billion. The report noted that GRA indicated that it was unable to provide information relating to the earlier years because of computer problems.
The report clearly says that the concessions for the equipment and other machinery was based on investment agreements entered into between the former Government of Guyana and BaiShanLin for the construction of a wood processing facility in Region Ten.
Goolsarran said, “A review of the list of items of machinery, equipment and construction materials for which fiscal concessions were granted indicates that many of the items were either unrelated to, or were significantly in excess of the requirements for the construction of wood processing facility.”
The forensic auditor said that indeed, the evidence suggests that the fiscal concessions granted were substantially in relation to BaiShanLin’s ownership and or control of five logging companies which had Timber Sales Agreements (TSAs) as well as its proposed investment at Providence, East Bank Demerara.
The Chartered Accountant noted that up to the time of reporting, BaiShanLin had not fulfilled its obligations under the investment agreements.  Instead, it was requesting an additional two years to construct the long awaited wood-processing facility. The APNU+AFC administration is yet to say whether it will grant the Chinese company a two- year extension.
Goolsarran said it is important for one to remember that the company in a letter to the former Prime Minister, Sam Hinds, promised that the wood processing facility would have been completed since 2007. A further assurance was given in July 2012 in a letter to the former Minister of Trade, Industry and Commerce that the facility would be ready by the end of 2013.
The forensic auditor said that the investment agreements specifically provide for termination where there has been a failure to undertake the business proposal without providing a reasonable explanation.
He said that when this happens, BaiShanLin is required to repay the value of all fiscal concessions granted.
Goolsarran said that despite the persistent failure by the Chinese company to honour its obligations under these agreements, and without reasonable explanations, no action has been taken to terminate the agreements under the previous regime.
In addition to this, the Chartered Accountant said that the Guyana Revenue Authority and/or Go-Invest was/were required to visit the business premises and inspect assets that benefitted from the fiscal concessions. However, there was no evidence that this was done.

 

May 04, 2016

GFC officials off the hook…Directors were in a helpless situation under PPP–Forensic auditor

…But Ram maintains that they must be hauled before the courts

By Kiana Wilburg
In spite of blatant violations of the laws by some companies in the forestry sector, there was no

recommendation for the directors of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) to face disciplinary action. It has left many questioning how those who were entrusted to police the sector could escape any sanction for their negligence.
Forensic Auditor, Anand Goolsarran explained that during his audit of GFC, he did detect a whiff of corruption at the level of the board. He noted however that it was not enough to propose charges or disciplinary action of any kind.
Goolsarran said that under the previous administration, GFC’s professionals were “in a very helpless situation”.
He said this was observed in a number of instances. In this regard, he recalled the interactions between controversial Chinese logging company, BaiShanLin and the GFC Board. Goolsarran stressed that in a number of cases BaiShanLin bypassed the board on certain decisions and contacted the hierarchy of the PPP in order to get its way.
He said, “Of course some might say that the GFC officials condoned some of the acts of corruption in the sector as they turned a blind eye, but what could they have done when BaiShanLin was going to the top people? BaiShanLin had no respect for them so what could the officials do?
“Yes, one can say that there is a whiff of corruption as they turned a blind eye to what was going on, but there is no concrete evidence to tie them to it and so it makes it difficult to actually slap them with charges of corruption or make suggestions for disciplinary action”.
When reminded of the millions of dollars GFC illegally transferred to NICIL’s accounts, Goolsarran reiterated that it would be hard to charge the board in this regard. He was then reminded that in a previous interview with Kaieteur News, in 2014, he had recommended that the said officials at GFC be charged for breaking the Forest laws in this regard.

In an interview yesterday, Goolsarran said, “It is a very hard situation. Indeed the transfer of millions of dollars to NICIL was not permissible and it was against the law. Any transfer from the GFC should be to the Consolidated Fund. But it was not a case where GFC officials misappropriated monies. It was hard for them, they were given directives from above and they had to listen,” the forensic auditor explained.
While Goolsarran holds this view, Chartered Accountant Chris Ram believes that the GFC officials breached the laws and should be made to face the court. Ram insisted that the officials had a fiduciary responsibility to uphold the law. He made it clear that there is simply no excuse for doing otherwise.
Upon doing a detailed analysis of the Annual reports of the GFC for the years, 2005-2012, all of which were laid in the National Assembly in November 2013, Ram and other financial minds found several alarming deficiencies and irregularities.
The reports reveal that for several years, the Commission has been transferring millions to the National Industrial & Commercial Investments Ltd and the Environmental Protection Agency, which is against the law.
Ram contended in 2014 and maintains today, that for the $600 million that the GFC allowed to be paid over to NICIL, all its directors should be hauled before the courts. He said that the combination of NICIL/GFC is not only an insult to the intelligence of Guyanese, but a challenge and an affront to decency.
There was also a published series on the said shortcomings of the Commission’s reports done by Janette Bulkan and John Palmer. The duo also pointed to the NICIL/GFC fiasco. In their detailed analysis, they too pointed to the fact that large amounts of monies, and large variations from year to year between line items in the Commission’s annual reports  appear to have been unquestioned by the Auditor General.
Bulkan and Palmer said that no explanation was offered as to why the GFC should be holding over US$4 million in cash each year, and why transfers are made to the Environmental Protection Agency and NICIL, but none to the Consolidated Fund.
They said too that an explanation is still to be given by the GFC as to why it is acquiring and disposing of fixed assets and why it has current tax liabilities of up to US$10 million in a year – dwarfing other line items. They stressed that there is a legal requirement for the GFC to make transfers to the Consolidated Fund (Section 16 (2) in the GFC Act 2007), but no requirement to send money to the EPA or NICIL.
Moreover, Ram had also stated that the GFC is just another example of the perpetuation of former president Bharrat Jagdeo’s legacy of financial lawlessness, a situation that is as wide as it is deep.
He said that the state of financial lawlessness created by the former President, surely allowed for the GFC’s “incomplete and deceptive” reports to be tabled and accepted by the National Assembly without any questions being asked or challenges posed.
Ram asserted that the chaos created is one in which the national accounting body, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Guyana, remained silent even as basic rules of accounting were violated with impunity.

 

May 08, 2016

BaiShanLin’s iron grip on Guyana…Company has tentacles in almost all sectors

-has 19 companies registered

-businesses include mining, housing, logging, transportation, hardware, etc

Over two years ago, its activities in Guyana came under the spotlight raising concerns about the extent of its presence here.
In Region Ten, along the Upper Berbice River, a huge log storage area was discovered, signaling heavy activities in the area.
It was later revealed that BaiShanLin, a Chinese company, had managed to take control of over 700,000 hectares of forest lands.
The investor, much to the shock of other industry stakeholders, was also given a blank cheque, to the tune of billions of dollars, on tax breaks and duty free concessions. It was also helped by the various government agencies in its acquisitions of several properties throughout the country, some of it on credit and others through questionable means, including joint ventures.
Today, facing public backlash and pressure to reform the country’s systems on how foreign investors are dealt with, the David Granger administration has placed a halt on BaiShanLin’s wood exports. The company has exported hundreds of containers of raw logs over the last decade.
A number of forestry concessions were recently repossessed by the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC). The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), a few weeks ago, seized two vehicles, including a Lexus SUV and van, for outstanding taxes.
The company has failed to honour its commitments in developing a wood processing facility in Region Ten, in keeping with an investment agreement.
This was despite collecting US$70M in a loan from a Chinese bank to conduct its logging activities and expand operations.
$1.8B IN CONCESSIONS
A recently released forensic audit revealed that during the period 2012 to 2015, the previous administration granted BaiShanLin fiscal concessions on a variety of machinery, equipment and construction materials. These items carried a value of $7.5B, equivalent to US$37.3 million. The total value of concessions granted amounted to $1.827B.
A few weeks ago, it was revealed that the company and its principals had travelled to China to seek financing to complete a number of ventures in which it had become involved.
Government has since announced that another Chinese company, Long Jiang Forest Industries Group, has acquired 55 percent of the shares in BaiShanLin and intends to fully take it over this year.

SO WHAT EXACTLY HAS BAISHANLIN BEEN DOING IN GUYANA?
The company apparently came here in the mid-2000’s, becoming initially involved in logging.
As a matter of fact, according to official records, the investor in 2006 registered two companies- BaiShanLin International Wood Group Inc. and BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc.
Since then, the principals of the company have registered at least 17 others. It appears that the companies were intent on a range of activities.
The companies include BaiShanLin Housing and Construction Inc.; BaiShanLin Mining Development Inc.; BaiShanLin International Shipbuilding and Heavy Industry Inc.; Heilongjiang Forest Engineering and Processing Development Inc.; C-G Economic and Trade Cooperation Park Inc.; New Life International Inc.; BaiShanLin International Investment Group Inc.; BaiShanLin China Shareholding Group Inc.; H7P International Inc.; Quick Auto Service Centre Inc.; Yongli Investment Inc.; BaiSheng International Investment Inc.; New East International Inc.; East International (South Americ) Inc.; H&P Quarry Inc. and Fun Time Family Park Inc.
In addition to the lands in the Berbice River area, BaiShanLin was granted a waterfront piece in the Linden area for ship building activities and another one not far away for the construction of its wood processing factory.
At Providence, BaiShanLin was able to acquire an unfinished hotel, Cacique Palace and Banquet Hall. The Government had held onto it after the initial developer ran into trouble.
The Chinese investor only paid US$1.5M of the US$4.5M. It appears the previous Government, under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), made little efforts to collect the outstanding US$3M ($600M).
That property is used as a base of operations for the investor, with not much improvement made on it since it was handed over between 2012-2013.
Right at Providence, BaiShanLin also managed to acquire two more pieces of land. One of them was to build a mall that would have showcased products from China. That mall remains half-finished.
The Chinese investor also was interested in housing. In early 2014, it purchased 100 acres of housing lands from Sunset Lakes, a company owned by businessman Brian Tiwarie. The company paid US$4M of the US$8M asking price. Tiwarie has since taken BaiShanLin to court for the outstanding US$4M. Tiwarie wants back his lands as well as the outstanding monies.
Long Tentacles
But the tentacles of BaiShanLin and its local principal, Chu HongBo, in the country’s business sectors does not stop there.
Through Chu Hongbo, H&P International Inc., New East International Inc. and New Life International Inc, at least 220 gold mining concessions have been acquired.
Indeed, Chu Hongbo has even acquired a Guyanese passport.
One of the companies associated with BaiShanLin…H&P Quarry… appears to be involved in the stone business too.
BaiShanLin has been using its trucks and equipment it received via duty free concessions to compete with local businesses. These include its trucks at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport expansion.
The trucks were brought in for logging purposes and by using it at the airport, it breached the investment agreement that it would have signed.
It has been using its barges to fetch stones for businesses along the East Bank Demerara, also competing with local operators.
BaiShanLin has also been using its vehicles and trucks in its mining operations.
Locals have been forced to pay taxes on their trucks and other equipments. They are not given that many breaks.
It is unclear where the investor has been selling its gold that it has mined as there are no official records at the beginning of the year of any being declared.
BaiShanLin has also been allowed, using loopholes in its tax concessions to bring in containers of hardware, including steel. Some of the steel has reportedly been making it to local worksites.
It even established it own cement mixing plant at Providence where the unfinished mall stands.
Scores of work permits for Chinese nationals have been issued overtime.
It is unclear what exactly BaiShanLin, during the last decade, contributed to the economy as not only were its taxes waived and it failed to build the wood processing facility, but it was allowed with its equipment to compete unfairly against locals.
It remains unclear how many local workers are employed. The company has now announced new owners from this year.

 

May 18, 2016

BaiShanLin asks UN boss to “remind” Guyana of treaty obligations

– demands GRA return its vehicles in seven days
– wants diplomatic solution
– claims actions have implications for all investors
The seizure of two high-end vehicles last month from a Chinese company for outstanding taxes by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) is threatening to become a diplomatic issue.
This week, law firm, Satram and Satram, representing BaiShanLin International Forest Development Inc., wrote the Commissioner-General of GRA demanding that the two vehicles, a Lexus SUV and Nissan van, be released within seven days.
The lawyer insisted that the seizures triggered a dispute between the company and the Government of Guyana and is contrary to the agreement between China and Guyana, signed on the 27th day of March 2003, that dealt with the promotion and protection of investments between the two countries.
Also written to over the seizures are Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge, and Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon.
BaiShanLin, which came here a decade ago, concentrating at first on logging, has spread its branches into various sectors, with its activities ranging from gold mining, housing development, ship building, transportation, and commerce.
It was granted almost $2B in duty free concessions and other waivers, on the condition that it invests in a wood processing plant in Linden, among other things. However, the company has failed to do that, with its housing and other developments, including a mall, at a standstill. It still owes the Government hundreds of millions of dollars for at least one property, an unfinished hotel at Providence, it has purchased. Several staffers were reportedly laid off last week, with the company claiming that negative publicity exacerbated the situation.
The company, which has registered around 20 subsidiaries, says it has run out of money with its majority shareholder, China Long Jiang Forest Industry Group, announced to take control of local operations this year.
Since entering office last year, the David Granger-led administration has been examining a number of investments that had been signed, to ensure that the foreign companies have been holding their end of the agreements.
BaiShanLin’s concessions had raised eyebrows, not only because it appeared to be extravagant, but there seemed to be no monitoring to ensure compliance with conditions.
The seizure of the two vehicles in early April was in an efffort to collect outstanding taxes.
According to Satram and Satram on Monday in its letter to GRA, the authority’s action is in disregard of the international obligations of Guyana under the agreement with China.
The lawyers made it clear that GRA should release and return all property which has been seized.
“The investment agreement under which concessions were granted has not expired as you alleged in your letters. It was renewed in January 2015 for a further period of three years.”
The lawyers said that it has already called upon the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Ambassador of China to commence diplomatic consultations to resolve all disputes between the company and the Government of Guyana, acting through its several agencies, as the agreement requires.
The letter was copied to Minister Greenidge and the Chinese Ambassador to Guyana.

A DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION
In a separate letter to Minister Greenidge, the legal firm said that subsequent to the execution of the agreement, BaiShanLin started to invest “enormous sums of money” in Guyana in the development of forest products.
“The new administration has embarked upon a course of activities designed to cause a forfeiture of the company investment and to cripple its business in Guyana,” the letter charged.
The lawyers noted that the Government actions seek to dismantle the concessionary structure granted to the company.
“In pursuance of its tax liability, which the company claims to be unlawful, the government through its Revenue Authority has embarked upon seizures to enforce the tax liability which is denied and is strongly contested.”
As a matter of fact, the investment agreement under which the concessions were granted has not expired.
The lawyers also have issues with moves by Government to take back forestry concessions of BaiShanLin. Lawful procedures under the domestic law were not been followed and would be subjected to the 2003 agreement between Guyana and China, which has been filed with the United Nations.
“The intent of the agreement is that disputes, if any, when they arise, are to be settled by diplomatic efforts, and if no resolution is reached within six months, the dispute can be referred to arbitration. The Revenue Authority in complete disregard of the agreement has commenced to seize the Company’s property and to cripple its business.”
The law firm said that this is a matter of concern not only to the company, but to all investors who wish to undertake investment in Guyana.
BaiShanLin is particularly concerned, as it says it has invested heavily in Guyana on reliance on the agreement, which in the absence of diplomatic resolution, allows the disputes to be settled by an arbitral tribunal.
The Chinese company now wants the diplomatic channels to be opened to allow for consultation, in the hope that a resolution of the dispute between Guyana and the company may be resolved within six months.
The letter was also copied to President Granger.

RELATIONS THREATENED
In the third letter to the United Nations Secretary-General, the company complained that in breach of the agreement with China, the Government of Guyana has commenced operations, beginning with the seizure of property and the threatened loss to forfeit the company’s investments, and to cripple its business in Guyana.
“Under the agreement, disputes are to be settled after consultations through diplomatic channels and in the event of failure by arbitration. The company was established as a Chinese investment with funds from China.”
BaiShanLin wants the United Nations to “remind” the government of Guyana and China of their obligations in this regard.
“The matter is causing severe losses to the company I represent, but it may extend to create impediments to foreign investment in Guyana to the prejudice of the national interest when it becomes known that treaty obligations are not honoured here. The company represents Chinese investments in Guyana and Guyana’s relationship with China is threatened by these events.”

 

May 19, 2016

Govt. can terminate BaiShanLin’s contract—says Investment Agreement

Despite evidence that a major investor was in deep financial trouble and had failed to meet deadlines, the Donald

Ramotar administration still went ahead months before the May 2015 elections and signed an updated agreement allowing that company to continue its operations.

That same agreement gave the company billions of dollars in concessions.
The investment agreement signed last year between the Ramotar administration and BaiShanLin International Forest Development Inc. has now come to light. According to the conditions set forth in the agreement, it is clear that the Government of Guyana has the right to terminate the arrangements for breaches.
According to a copy of the agreement that Kaieteur News has managed to acquire, BaiShanLin agreed that failure to build a wood processing facility at Conception, Soesdyke-Linden Highway, in keeping with its business proposal, could see the agreement being terminated and all exemptions cancelled or revoked without liability to the Government of Guyana.
BaiShanLin also agreed that the arrangements could be terminated if the items, including vehicles and other concessions, are not used for their intended purposes.
BaiShanLin International Forest Development Incorporated, the agreement said, is a company incorporated and registered in accordance with the Laws of Guyana with its offices in Providence.
The company is facing fire in Guyana for its activities here.
Unveiling ambitious plans over five years ago to invest millions of dollars in the country in various sectors, ranging from forestry, housing to shipbuilding, the company is reporting that it is now facing financial troubles,

with several of its projects stalled, including its wood processing plant.
In the meantime, the company has drawn down on its duty free concessions, importing scores of vehicles, equipment and building materials to the tune of billions of dollars.
In fact, between 2012 and 2015, over $1.8B in tax waivers were granted by the Guyana Revenue Authority. It is unclear, today, how much was granted before 2012. BaiShanLin started up in Guyana in 2006.
According to the investment agreement signed between Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, and BaiShanLin’s General Manager, Chu Hongbo, on January 28, 2015, the arrangement could be terminated if the items for which tax exemptions are granted are sold or disposed of without prior approval of the Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
“Should the company wish to sell or dispose of an asset which was granted tax exemptions, then permission must be sought from the Guyana Revenue Authority, and at the time an assessment would be made in regards to the duties and taxes owing on the items and that money will become payable to the Guyana Revenue Authority before their disposal.”
BaiShanLin also agreed that it would breach the investment agreement if it fails any of its promises without an adequate explanation and if these are not corrected within 30 days of the breach.
The agreement could also be terminated if the company is declared or becomes insolvent.
It appears from the clauses of the investment agreement, that BaiShanLin breached a number of areas.
It has been using its equipment in mining and has even been caught using its trucks and other equipment on the Timehri airport expansion project. It has been competing in the local transportation sector.

In its commitments to the Government of Guyana, BaiShanLin in that updated investment agreement signed last year January, promised to undertake the developments in keeping with the particulars of the business proposal submitted to the Guyana Office for Investments (GO-Invest).
BaiShanLin has also offered to find financing of over US$130M within a three-year period and create 150 jobs, focusing on residents of Region Ten.
The investor also promised to comply with all laws of GRA and take steps not to breach environmental laws.
It also agreed for officials from GO-Invest and GRA to visit the business operations and inspect assets that would have been imported under tax waivers concessions.
With regard to its finances, as far back as 2011, BaiShanLin was in deep trouble, with its financial statements for that year showing a $313M loss with the company owing its shareholders $1.1B.
A local auditor hired to prepare the audit figures of 2011 warned that the continuation of the company as a “going concern” is dependent on the ability of the company to make profits in the future and to obtain sustained financing.
Despite this, the former Finance Minister, still went ahead and agreed last year January for BaiShanLin to be granted even more duty free concessions and other waivers, in addition to the billions of dollars more that it had been given previously.
Just recently, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, travelled to China to negotiate with the new owners of BaiShanLin.
Meanwhile, this week, BaiShanLin through its lawyers, wrote GRA, demanding the vehicles be returned in seven days. It has also written the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations complaining that the seizures conflicts with a 2003 agreement on investments signed between Guyana and China.
Local companies have been complaining bitterly that they have not been benefitting from those levels of tax breaks and concessions.
Recently, President David Granger said that his administration was concerned about the levels of tax concessions being granted. He signaled an intent to reduce the levels and place tighter controls to ensure the country benefits more.
But the company has managed to ship out thousands and thousands of containers of raw logs.

 

May 20, 2016

Baishanlin UN request…Diplomatic relations cannot trump the law

– Foreign Affairs Minister

By Kiana A. Wilburg
When foreign companies breach Guyana’s laws, justice must take its course. And attempts to circumvent this process by hiding under the shield of diplomatic relations just won’t cut it.

This was the general view of Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge, as he reflected on the recent move by Chinese company, BaiShanLin International Forest Development Inc, to request that the United Nations (UN) intervene in a tax matter that the establishment is caught in.
The matter involved the seizure of two high-end vehicles last month by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) from BaiShanLin due to outstanding taxes.
Law firm, Satram and Satram, representing BaiShanLin, wrote the Commissioner-General of GRA demanding that the two vehicles, a Lexus SUV and Nissan van, be released within seven days.
The lawyers insisted that the seizures triggered a dispute between the company and the Government of Guyana, and are contrary to the agreement between China and Guyana, signed on the 27th day of March 2003, that dealt with the promotion and protection of investments between the two countries.
Also written to over the seizures were Minister Greenidge and Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon.
The lawyers said in the letter to GRA, “The investment agreement under which concessions were granted has

not expired as you alleged in your letters. It was renewed in January 2015 for a further period of three years.”
In the letter to the United Nations Secretary-General, the company complained that in breach of the agreement with China, the Government of Guyana has commenced operations, beginning with the seizure of property and the threatened loss to forfeit the company’s investments, and to cripple its business in Guyana.
“Under the agreement, disputes are to be settled after consultations through diplomatic channels and in the event of failure by arbitration. The company was established as a Chinese investment with funds from China.”
BaiShanLin wants the United Nations to “remind” the government of Guyana and China of their obligations in this regard.
The lawyers said, “The matter is causing severe losses to the company I represent, but it may extend to create impediments to foreign investment in Guyana to the prejudice of the national interest when it becomes known that treaty obligations are not honoured here. The company represents Chinese investments in Guyana and Guyana’s relationship with China is threatened by these events.”
In an interview with Kaieteur News yesterday, Greenidge expressed that he is not aware that either in Guyana or any of the jurisdictions that he is familiar with, that authorities enshrined with executing the law, meaning customs or the police, can be restrained from implementing the law because of diplomatic relations.
“In other words, if the police feel that a foreigner or a local is breaking the law, they don’t have to go and seek the permission or the approval of your uncle or the British Embassy, they prosecute you. If you feel that what they are doing is wrong, then you have recourse to instruments provided under the Constitution, namely, you take a lawyer and plead your case in court,” the Foreign Affairs Minister asserted.
He added, “But once the authorities are satisfied that they are acting properly, then foreign firms do not have any basis for demanding that otherwise be done and I am not aware that Guyana and BaiShanLin have any agreement that can be mediated by the United Nations.”
The Foreign Affairs Minister said that when it comes to investors in a country, the Investment Agreement specifically says in the event of disputes, how they will be handled – as you have the International Centre for the Settlement of Disputes, for example.
He said too that matters can also be settled in the local courts.
“I don’t want the public to think that there is any extra-territorial body that can say they got a complaint from an investor and without looking at what happened or how the law was broken, can say ‘restore their vehicles’ as in this case with BaiShanLin,’ Greenidge explained.
The Foreign Affairs Minister emphasized that Guyana’s law is paramount. He said that “foreign companies cannot hide under the shield of diplomatic relations when the law is broken and diplomatic ties cannot be used or brought up when it’s time to defend BaiShanLin”.
He insisted that “Diplomatic considerations cannot and must not trump the law.” BaiShanLin, which came here a decade ago concentrating at first on logging, has spread its branches into various sectors, with its activities ranging from gold mining to housing development, ship building, transportation, and commerce.
It was granted almost $2B in duty free concessions and other waivers, on the condition that it invests in a wood processing plant in Linden, among other things. Ten years later, and the company is still to fulfill its obligations to Guyana.
It still owes the Government hundreds of millions of dollars for at least one property, an unfinished hotel at Providence, it has purchased. Several staffers were reportedly laid off last week, with the company claiming that negative publicity exacerbated the situation.
The company, which has registered around 20 subsidiaries, says it has run out of money, with its majority shareholder, China Long Jiang Forest Industry Group, announced to take control of local operations this year.

 

May 22, 2016

BaiShanLin enjoys duty free galore

-1 bln tons of cement, 2 bln pails of paint, cars, trucks, etc

-secret documents reveal coziness with previous Govt.

*100,000 solar street lights
*1 bln meters of electrical wire
*100,000 boxes tile
*10,000 security doors
*100,000 vehicle spare parts
Official documents, including agreements signed by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, have come to light.
It is revealing how the previous administrations doled out duty free concessions to certain foreign companies.
One company, BaiShanLin specifically, was scandalously given almost unlimited permission to import vehicles and equipment, including in one case an extraordinary request for one billion tons of cement and two billion pails of paint.
Guyana uses 300,000 tons of cement annually. It would use one billion tons of cement in 333 years.
Another item that jumped out was a request for two billion pails of paint. No description was offered of the size of the pail but this amount according to a hardware giant in the city could paint the entire Guyana and its forests 100 times over.
From indications, very little monitoring took place to assess progress and to conduct compliance to ensure commitments were adhered to with the projects.
In recent days, Kaieteur News has managed to acquire a number of documents, including

those for BaiShanLin International Forest Development Inc.
That company failed to build a wood processing plant, a key commitment it agreed to when Guyana waived billions of dollars in taxes and other concessions.
The company said it was experiencing financial problems as far back as 2011 but the PPP/C government still went ahead and approved billions of dollars more in tax concessions, as recent as last year.
Several of its ambitious projects, from housing to shipbuilding, are at a standstill and the company owes hundreds of millions of dollars to the Government of Guyana and to private businesses.
But despite its problems, the previous Government continued persevering to keep the company around, without any clear indications of what exactly Guyana benefitted. |
The company has gobbled up over 700,000 hectares of forest lands, most of it questionable and has entered the logging, transportation, mining, housing, shipbuilding and hardware markets. It has almost 20 companies registered in Guyana.
There have been accusations of corruption in the transactions by critics.
The new administration says that BaiShanLin is leaving Guyana. However, there has not been any word of an assessment of the company which came here in 2006 to do logging.
From 2006 to 2012 the company exported thousands of containers of prime species of logs to China. It is not known how many concessions the company enjoyed between 2006 and 2012.
But they did because hundreds of trucks, excavators and heavy duty machinery bearing the BaiShanLin logo were seen throughout Guyana.
In July 2012, the company wrote former Minister of Trade, Industry and Commerce, Irfaan Ali, asking for more concessions.
That same letter to Ali was copied to former President Donald Ramotar; Prime Minister Sam Hinds; the Finance Minister; Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment,

Robert Persaud; the Housing Minister; Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Juan Edghill and Desmond Mohamed of the Guyana Office for Investment.
Promises
The company also said it plans to build an industrial park to accommodate a wood processing facility, a fishery complex, an equipment processing factory, an industrial school and a medical centre.
In all, the company was planning to employ over 20,000 workers there, expecting it to be completed in five years. It wanted 1,200 acres in the Eccles/Providence area to develop the project.
It also wanted to construct a Commodity Mall to display its products and also make available rental spaces to the Guyanese community.
The company was to complete the mall at Providence by September 2013.It was to employ over 500 persons.
BaiShanLin also told Irfaan Ali, who was charged with housing developments, that the company wanted to build a gated community that will cater for up to 300 homes.
The western and eastern design homes would use solar power and act as a model for future housing developments, the company promised.
The company disclosed that the equipment it had on hand from previous concessions brought in duty-free were unsuitable for the forestry terrain and could only be sold as scrap.
The company submitted a request for 100 items for duty free concessions, saying it had gone ahead and placed an order for some machinery which was on its way.
Among other things, the company was requesting one billion meters of electric wires and other items. That amount of cable can wrap Guyana equal 100 times.
At the time of the letter in July 2012, BaiShanLin claimed that it had received advanced financing for the Commodity Mall and wood processing facility with US$14M disbursed by China and another US$100M expected in another six months.
The company wanted Ali to engage them for a new investment agreement.
According to the list of items for tax exemptions, there were seven categories of exemptions BaiShanLin wanted.
These included for motor vehicles, wood processing equipment, shipbuilding equipment, shipping equipment, construction equipment and material, power generation equipment and fuel for generating and production.
Through the Roof
With regard to vehicles, BaiShanLin was vague in some areas. For example, it wanted exemptions 100,000 units of spare parts…there was no description of what kind. The company just happens to have registered a spare parts business in Guyana.
It wanted 20 cars, 20 pickups, 20 “jeeps”, 10 of the 30-seater buses and 50 dump trucks, among other things. In all, there were 235 trucks of varying kinds from low-bed to containers trucks that BaiShanLin wanted the Minister to approve.
Under ship-building, the company wanted 20,000 tons of steel plates; 10 tug-boats, 20 barges, five wharf cranes and four jet boats.
Perhaps the biggest demands that raised eyebrows were under the category, Construction Equipment and Materials.
While the requests for 20 cranes and 100 mixers seemed reasonable, under this category, BaiShanLin asked for tax exemptions for 100,000 tons of steel frame and plant steel and 10,000 tons of aluminium plates.
There were also requests for 100,000 solar street lights, 10,000 security doors, 100,000 meters of high and low voltage cable,
100,000 tubes of sealant and a similar amount of wall fence.
It wanted 100,000 boxes of tiles and 100 welding machines.
That 2012 list also asked for 200,000 gallons per year of diesel for power production along with 20 diesel generator sets and 100 small generators.
It appears that BaiShanLin wanted all the materials to build homes at a 100 acres plot of land it had at Providence, competing unfairly with local companies and to enter the hardware business.

MORE CONCESSIONS IN 2015
In 2015, shortly before the General Elections in May, former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, approved a list for some 87 items for “exclusive” use in the delayed wood processing factory.
These included for 24 generators, 20 more low-bed trucks, some 8,000 tons of cement and almost 800,000 tons of steel. (see photos of complete list approved last year by the former Finance Minister).
The granting of concessions was largely a secret with not much known of the extent until now.
The waiving of taxes has implications on tax revenues for the country.
In 2014, the PPP/C reportedly incurred almost $60B in waived taxes to investors, public servants and others, significant as the total budget of the country was only $220B.

 

May 25, 2016

Guyana benefits nothing from BaiShanLin agreements – Former Auditor General

“How has my country benefitted?” questioned former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran, as he

referenced the various investment agreements signed between BaiShanLin and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government.

Goolsarran conducted the forensic audit into the affairs of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC). Therefore, he knows all too well how BaiShanLin operated and he knows about the benefits the company reaped though the various one-sided agreements.
Kaieteur News recently highlighted some of these agreements signed by BaiShanLin and the PPP/C Government. The newspaper showed the magnitude of concessions requested by BaiShanLin and granted by the PPP/C government.
These were extreme when matched against the proposed projects, or any project for that matter.
Among the concessions sought by BaiShanLin were requests for one billion tons of cement, one for 300-plus trucks, and another for two billion pails of paint. Those items were included in a list of 100 items that BaiShanLin submitted to former Trade Minister, Irfaan Ali, for concessions.
While many of the requested waivers have been approved, this publication is yet to confirm if the PPP/C granted them all. However, the waivers on the cement and paint alone would amount to just about US$60B in lost taxes.
Irfaan Ali has since said that he knew nothing about any concession and that he never granted any. Former President Donald Ramotar later concluded that Irfaan Ali did not have the authority to grant any concession.
But BaiShanLin has set up and is operating a cement plant at Providence, East Bank Demerara.

AGREEMENTS ONLY BENEFITTED BAISHANLIN
During a recent interview with Kaieteur News, Goolsarran said that the agreements made between BaiShanLin and the previous government only benefitted BaiShanLin.

Goolsarran pointed out that fiscal concessions are usually granted to foreign companies to import much-needed capital equipment for business ventures.
The hope is that there will be job creation; contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth; increased foreign exchange earnings and contribution to the Treasury by way of taxes from both employees and the employers as a result of business activities, among others.
The former Auditor General noted that it is imperative that the extent of the fiscal concessions be weighed against the benefits to be derived. However, it does not seem that this was the case with BaiShanLin.
Goolsarran said that BaiShanLin was granted “generous” concessions with the objective of setting up downstream wood processing operations. However, after nine years, the company is yet to deliver. Instead, BaiShanLin has been exporting logs through a number of local logging companies in which it has controlling interest.
In addition, Goolsarran pointed out that BaiShanLin is involved in other activities that are outside the scope of the investment agreement it has signed on to.
He noted that there is no evidence to suggest that BaiShanLin’s revenues are returning to Guyana. In this regard, Goolsarran emphasised that BaiShanLin’s audited financial statements for 2007-2011 show that the company was in a state of bankruptcy.
“The economy has not benefited in any significant measure compared with the fiscal concessions granted. One might argue that those responsible for approving fiscal concessions for activities that are clearly unrelated to the setting up of the wood processing, should be held liable for such a reckless act and should be sanctioned.”

TIME TO LET GO
Goolsarran is of the opinion that there is enough evidence available for the government to do what’s best for the nation and pull the plug on BaiShanLin.
He explained that the investment agreement signed between the PPP/C government and BaiShanLin specifically states that the agreement can be terminated and all fiscal concessions become repayable, if BaiShanLin persistently fails to honour its commitment and obligation without reasonable explanation.
Goolsarran said that the fact that BaiShanLin is yet to set up the downstream wood processing facility as promised is enough grounds to pull the plug. He noted that the company has been given extra time to do this and is indeed yet to offer “a reasonable explanation” as to why it has not yet set up the facility.
BaiShanLin committed numerous other transgressions that violate the laws of Guyana. The government can also use these as grounds for the termination of agreements.

 

May 27, 2016

BaiShanLin may have deterred other investors with genuine intentions – Goolsarran

By Abena Rockcliffe- Campbell

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government granted a host of concessions to a company

that did no good for Guyana—BaiShanLin.
The logging company was allowed to spread its tentacles reaching into most, if not all, of Guyana’s business sectors.
While BaiShanLin was busy having its way, exploiting Guyana and the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) was busy doing nothing about it, other companies that possibly had genuine intentions for business in Guyana—of mutual benefit—might have been deterred by BaiShanLin’s grip on Guyana.
That possibility was highlighted by former Auditor General and anti-corruption advocate, Anand Goolsarran. He recently spoke to Kaieteur News about various aspects of unfair play that Guyana endured with BaiShanLin.
This newspaper had presented the facts to prove that BaiShanLin’s profits go to China and stay there.
Goolsarran recently zeroed in on that fact, as he referenced the “ridiculous” agreements that the PPP/C signed with BaiShanLin.
Some of these agreements were also made public in this newspaper, and highlighted the magnitude of concessions requested by BaiShanLin and granted by the PPP/C government.
These were extreme when matched against the proposed projects, or any project for that matter.
Among the concessions sought by BaiShanLin were requests for one billion tons of cement, one for 300-plus

trucks, and another for two billion pails of paint. The waivers on the cement and paint alone would amount to just about US$60B in lost taxes, a sum equivalent to 40 years of Guyana’s national budget.
The former Auditor General said that BaiShanLin’s presence in Guyana and the concessions it was granted, “would have likely crowded out other potential investors who may be genuinely committed to the economic activities agreed upon with the Government.”
“Let us say that another logging company wanted to come to Guyana, where would that company have operated?”
Goolsarran explained that different parts of the forest have different species of wood. He explained, “Parts (of the forest) that have quality species like Greenheart, Wamara and Purple Heart would have already been given out.” Indeed, BaiShanLin, through its joint ventures, is in control of over 627,000 hectares of Guyana’s forest.
Goolsarran acknowledged the fact that Guyana is badly in need of foreign investments for economic growth and social development.
He said, however, that the choice of BaiShanLin “was not a good one, and the investor was not properly screened.”
Goolsarran’s comments are eye-opening when matched against what the country learned from the Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman earlier this year.
Trotman said that the PPP/C government distributed all of Guyana’s productive forest, and that there is

literally nothing left. He told the National Assembly that there has to be a revision of National Forest Policy as there have been many changes since the existing policy was crafted.
To give reason about the importance of the change, Trotman told the House that much to the “horror” of the new administration upon the assumption of office, “we were met with an alarming situation where we discovered that 100% or all of our productive forest was allocated by the past Government.”
Trotman added, “This is what a former head of state would have referred to as ‘confounded nonsense”.
The Minister questioned, “How could a responsible government preside over the allocation of all, not some, but all of its productive forest?”
He said that this must have been done without any regard for future generations.
“Understandably, in the national interest we will have to do something about it.”
Nothing has been done thus far.

 

May 29, 2016

BaiShanLin still does not qualify for joint ventures—says Goolsarran 

By Abena Rockcliffe- Campbell
Chartered Accountant, Anand Goolsarran has presented yet another reason why the controversial

logging company, BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc, should not be allowed to hold on to its joint ventures with local logging companies.
“It is plain illegal,” said Goolsarran, recently.
In his report of the forensic audit he conducted into the affairs of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), Goolsarran noted that BaiShanLin has over the years been able to gain control of five major companies in the forestry sector. These companies are Sherwood Forrest Inc, Haimorakabra Logging Co., Wood Associated Industries Co. Ltd., Puruni Woods Inc. and Kwebanna Wood Products Inc.
The Forests Act prohibits the transfer of ownership/control of a forest concession without the specific approval of GFC. Nevertheless, the forensic auditor found no evidence that the specific approval of the GFC was granted in relation to the change of ownership/control of these companies.
He argued that in the circumstances, the holders of the Timber Sales Agreements (TSAs) should have surrendered their authorizations to the Commission for reallocation to other potential concessionaires.
GFC said that it had indeed given BaiShanLin permission to enter into its joint ventures.
However, Goolsarran maintains that the logging companies for which shareholders/directors of BaiShanLin acquired controlling interest should still be made to surrender their permits.
He again cited that there was no evidence of approval and went further to note, “the argument that BaiShanLin is involved in joint ventures with these logging companies as previously approved by the Commission is not valid because joint ventures can only be entered into with holders of concessions.”

BaiShanLin was never the holder of a concession. It was the holder of two State Forest Exploratory Permits (SFEPs).
The two State Forest Exploratory Permits, which were illegally granted in the first place, are however no longer in the company’s procession. All State lands that were in BaiShanLin’s name have since been reverted to the state. However, the company continues to operate through its joint ventures.
At present, the joint ventures, are the only known logging operations of BaiShanLin.
In July 2007, Sherwood Forrest Inc. was granted a permit covering 167,066 hectares. In May 2010, Chu Hongbo of BaiShan Lin acquired 100 percent ownership of the shares in the company and became the Managing Director.
The other Directors were Chu Wenze and Zhang Li Na. The State Forest Exploratory Permit (SFEP) of the company was converted into a Timber Sales Agreement (TSA) on May 8, 2015 while the Environmental Permit was granted on the same day. This was the last business day before the May 2015 National and Regional Elections.
Goolsarran also noted that the Guyana Forest Commission granted Woods Association Industries Co. Ltd a TSA in January 2000 covering an area of 26,085 hectares.
In April 2009, Mr. Chu Wenze, bought over the shares in the company. With effect from April 3, 2012, the new Directors were Zhang Li Na, Chu Wenze and Chu Hongbo.

In August 2004, Puruni Woods was granted a SFEP covering an area of 110,253 hectares. The Commission converted the SFEP into a TSA in July 2007.
In August 2013, Heilongjiang Forest Engineering and Processing Development Inc. bought 90 per cent of the shares in the company, and Mr. Chu Hongbo became Director/Secretary as well as the Managing Director.
Goolsarran also documented in his report that in April 2009, the Forestry Commission granted Kwebanna Wood Products Inc. a TSA covering 87,361 hectares. The original company was A. Mazaharally and Sons but the new company was incorporated in January 2008.
In October 2010, there was a change in directorship of the company, with Mr. Chu Hongbo becoming the Managing Director while the other directors were Chu Wenze, and Chu Tongwei.
These companies hold TSAs covering a total of 441,119 hectares. These coupled with the SFEPs that BaiShanLin had given the company access to a total of 627,072 hectares of State forest.

 

June 18, 2016

Too many ‘confidentiality clauses’ led Marriott Hotel deal into avenue of corruption-NICIL Chairman

…Insists contract should be released to public
In the interest of transparency and accountability, Chairman of the National Industrial and Commercial

Investments Limited (NICIL), Dr. Maurice Odle believes that the contract for the controversial Marriott Hotel should be made public.
Odle remarked that too often, the citizenry hears of agreements being made between the Government and private parties and when there is a call for scrutiny to take place, “The infamous confidentiality clause is invoked.”
The NICIL Chairman added, “And where there is too much confidentiality clause it leads to corruption as in the case of the Marriott Hotel. For the Marriott, too many confidentiality clauses led it into the avenue of corruption. All those different confidentiality clauses they were invoking led to a set of actions which cannot be substantiated.”
Odle emphasized that the more the nature of such agreements are known to the electors and the taxpayers on whose behalf the Government is acting, then the better it will be for the accomplishment of good governance in Guyana.
Asked to say if he will provide a copy of the Marriott Hotel contract to the media, he remarked, “I am Chairman of NICIL and not Atlantic Holdings Inc. (AHI) which is the Board overseeing the operations of Marriott. Beverly Harper is in charge of the AHI and they should have a copy of the Marriott Hotel contract at hand and it should be released to the public. There may be a copy of the contract buried somewhere at NICIL but AHI has easier access to it.”
The NICIL Chairman said that he is all for transparency and accountability and insists that such agreements should not be treated as a “state secrets.” He said that the Marriot Hotel contract should be in the public domain for all upright and concerned citizens to peruse.

 

June 19, 2016

BaiShanLin proposes settlement with GRA

It appears, for the time being, that controversial logging company, BaiShanLin Forest Development

Inc. is seeking to iron out some of the kinks in its relationship with Guyana by seeking to settle its debt with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) which has been accumulated through what financial experts deemed a wonton distribution of tax concessions.
BaiShanLin has been granted $1.8B in fiscal concessions over the years.
BaiShanLin has persistently defaulted on the investment agreement it has signed with the Government to establish a wood processing plant at Linden. A promise to set up the wooed procession plant is what got BaiShanLin the chance to secure the concessions.
The investment agreement specifically states that if the machinery, equipment and materials for which fiscal concessions have been granted have not been used for the purpose(s) specified, the value of the concessions must be repaid to the Government.
During the period 2012-2015, Baishanlin brought in US$38 million worth of machinery, equipment and materials of which fiscal concessions amounting to G$1.8 billion were granted.
A few months ago, GRA seized two of BaiShanLin’s vehicles as part of the process to recover the outstand sum.
During a recent telephone interview with Kaieteur News, Chairman of the GRA Board, Rawle Lucas confirmed that the company is looking to pay off its debt to avoid further seizures.
He said that discussions are continuing and the Authority is yet to decide a way forward. “None of the company’s proposals have been concretized as yet but indeed, BaiShanLin seems to be open to making the necessary payments.”
Lucas said that the Authority’s discussions are covering all issues relating to duty free concessions. Lucas said that further seizures will depend on the outcome of the discussions

In the mean time, GRA is doing some investigations of its own. Lucas said that the Authority is looking to make sure that the amount quoted in the Audit report on the Guyana Forestry Commission represents BaiShanLin’s accurate debt amount.
He said that GRA wants to make sure that it is not being short changed in any way. “We need to make sure we know exactly how much this company has to compensate for. I am awaiting an update in this t regard.”
Further, Auditor, Anand Goolsarran has reported that some of his work was stymied due to the absence of documents he requested from GRA. Goolsarran reported that GRA told him that there was some sort of system malfunction that led to the Authority not being able to produce the requested documents.
Lucas told Kaieteur News that he is also looking to solve that problem. He said that he was quite concerned that important documents could not be located. He said that he has asked that the documents be retrieved as there can be no proper excuse for improper record keeping at such an institution.
Goolsarran had told Kaieteur News that GRA has every right to seize all of BaiShanLin’s materials, equipment and vehicles until it has recovered the full $1.8B in fiscal concessions that have been granted.
He said that as he commented on the fact that GRA had finally been allowed to seize two of the company’s vehicles, Goolsarran said that it should not end there, since the Chinese company is in high debt because of its violation on agreements.
He said that instead of setting up the wood processing plant BaiShanLin bought five logging companies and has been involved in the wholesale exportation of logs with impunity at a time when most tropical timber producing countries have either banned log exports or have severely restricted their exportation.
Goolsarran said that it is a situation of “an unadulterated raping of our forests and destroying the lungs of the earth”.
In his audit report, Goolsarran said that “according to information provided by the Guyana Revenue Authority, during the period 2012-2015, the Government granted Baishanlin fiscal concessions on a variety of machinery, equipment and construction materials with a CIF value of $7.464 billion, equivalent to US$37.320 million.
This was based on investment agreements entered into between the Government of Guyana (represented by the Minister of Finance) and Baishanlin for the construction of a wood processing facility in Region 10. The total value of concessions granted amounted to $1.827 billion.GRA indicated that it was unable to provide information relating to the earlier years because of computer problems.”
He added that a review of the list of items of machinery, equipment and construction materials for which fiscal concessions were granted indicated that many of the items were either unrelated to, or were significantly in excess of, the requirements for the construction of wood processing facility.
“Indeed, the evidence suggests that the fiscal concessions granted were substantially in relation to BaiShanLin’s ownership/control of the five logging companies having TSAs as well as its proposed investment at Providence, East Bank Demerara. This is notwithstanding that the investment agreements were exclusive to the wood processing facility in Linden,” said Goolsarran.

 

August 23, 2016

Bai Shan Lin still to settle billion-dollar account with GRA 

Controversial logging company Baishanlin Forest Development Inc is still to settle its account with the

Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). The company owes GRA over one billion dollars.
This is according to a reliable source within the GRA.
Kaieteur News understands that, of late, there has been little communication between the Authority and Baishanlin even though the two were supposed to be in consultations for settlement.
About two months ago, Chairman of the GRA Board of Directors, Rawle Lucas told Kaieteur News that Baishanlin was seeking to iron out some of the kinks in its relationship with Guyana.
He said that the company was seeking to settle its debt with GRA which has been accumulated through what financial experts deemed, a wonton distribution of tax concessions.
Lucas had confirmed that the company is looking to pay off its debt to avoid further seizures.
He had said that discussions were continuing and the Authority was yet to decide on a way forward. “None of the company’s proposals have been concretized as yet but indeed, Baishanlin seems to be open to making the necessary payments.”
Lucas had said that the Authority’s discussions are covering all issues related to duty free concessions. Lucas also said that further seizures would depend on the outcome of the discussions
Kaieteur News recently contacted Lucas for a further update on the matter. However, he directed the newspaper to GRA’s new Commissioner-General, Godfrey Statia, for information on the matter. The Chairman said, “The Commissioner-General will be able to answer your questions.”
When contacted, Statia said that he is not in the habit of “giving out tax information.” He also said that

“nothing much has changed” since the media was last updated on the matter.
Sources say that Statia is yet to even meet with Baishanlin which is one of the companies that is most highly indebted to GRA.
Reports are, the negotiations with the company about its outstanding debt are basically at a standstill.
Baishanlin has been granted $1.8B in fiscal concessions over the years.
The company has persistently defaulted on the investment agreement it signed with the Government to establish a wood processing plant at Linden. A promise to set up the said plant is what afforded Baishanlin the opportunity to secure the concessions.
The investment agreement specifically states that if the machinery, equipment and materials for which fiscal concessions have been granted have not been used for the purpose(s) specified, the value of the concessions must be repaid to the Government.
During the period 2012-2015, Baishanlin brought in US$38 million worth of machinery, equipment and materials of which fiscal concessions amounting to G$1.8 billion were granted.
A few months ago, GRA seized two of Baishanlin’s vehicles as part of the process to recover the outstanding sum.
And auditor Anand Goolsarran reported that some of his work was stymied due to the absence of documents he requested from GRA. Goolsarran said that GRA told him that there was some sort of system

malfunction that led to the Authority not being able to produce the requested documents.
Lucas had told Kaieteur News that he was looking to solve that problem. He said that he was quite concerned that important documents could not be located. He said that he has asked that the documents be retrieved, as there can be no proper excuse for improper recordkeeping at such an institution.
Goolsarran had told Kaieteur News that the GRA has every right to seize all of Baishanlin’s materials, equipment and vehicles until it has recovered the full $1.8B in fiscal concessions that have been granted.

 

September 04, 2016

Leaked embassy documents…Britain and Germany had raised concerns over huge number of Guyana visas to Baishanlin

– human trafficking suspicion cited

There is evidence that as far back as 2013, concerns were raised by British and German immigration officials over the huge number of Chinese workers that were brought into Guyana by Baishanlin International Forest Development.
According to correspondence between former Government ministers and Guyana’s Embassy in China, seen by Kaieteur News, as far back as 2013, the manner in which the Chinese company was requesting visas for Chinese workers left much to be desired.
The embassy in October 2013 wrote the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, complaining that Baishanlin was warned not to book tickets for Chinese workers it wanted to bring to Guyana until visas are issued.
The Chinese company has built up a heavy presence in Guyana, but several of its promised multimillion-dollar projects have stalled as the company is facing financial problems. It owes the Government and local companies millions of dollars for properties it has acquired.
Government last year halted logging exports for a number of Baishanlin’s operations.
The company had brought in several Chinese workers to work on one of its projects, a US$70M wood processing plant in Region 10. That plant, like so many others of its projects, is stalled.
According to the embassy correspondence to the former minister, in October 2013, the embassy in China granted Baishanlin over 20 visas.
The company requested five more shortly after.
But the embassy appeared to be irritated. The email to the former minister made it clear that Baishanlin was warned several times, verbally and in writing, that it must not book air tickets for Chinese workers unless the visas are ready – this normally takes 10-15 working days.
The minister was told that Baishanlin was suspected of human trafficking and this had even been conveyed to former Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee.
In 2013 alone, up to October, Baishanlin had applied for 290 visas.
It appears from the emails that the Rohee-led Ministry of Home Affairs had approved a huge batch of visas.
The embassy complained that Baishanlin failed to provide details whether persons issued business visas to come to Guyana ever returned to China.
The activities of Baishanlin appeared to have also come under the radar of both the British and the German immigration authorities. They alerted the Guyana Embassy in China to their “suspicions that Baishanlin is engaged in people-trafficking”.
The correspondence claimed that Baishanlin even offered ‘gifts’ to the staffers of the embassy, but were rebuffed. The attempted bribery was reported to the Ambassador, Professor David Dabydeen.
Baishanlin’s Chief Executive Officer, even turned up the embassy and asked for the aforementioned five additional to be issued.
According to the correspondence to the minister, the company official threatened to call former President Donald Ramotar to complain.

 

September 06, 2016

Leaked embassy documents…BaiShanLin refused to provide evidence workers returned to China

In the last five years or so, Chinese logging company, BaiShanLin International Forest Developments Inc., applied for visas for hundreds of workers from China.

In 2013 alone, up to October, the company was approved up to 290 visas by the Government of Guyana, some of them business visas. And the company wanted more.
When the British and German immigration authorities detained a number of Chinese workers destined for Guyana on a number of flights, they were convinced that it could be a case of human trafficking.
The Guyana embassy in China was warned of the suspicions after a number of female workers who did not fit the profile of forestry workers were held just as they were about to board flights.
According to leaked embassy correspondence seen by Kaieteur News, BaiShanLin was written about the need to provide timely updates that the workers were returning to China when their contract period was up in Guyana.
The correspondence, which came to light last week, would indicate how little attention the authorities of Guyana, under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) paid to the logging company and those workers.
BaiShanLin was written to in November 2014 by the Guyana Embassy in China warning that they needed to be more forthcoming with information and that immigration officials in Europe were paying keen attention to workers who were leaving China for BaiShanLin’s local operations.
The correspondence made it clear that BaiShanLin’s local head, Chu Hongbo, was apprised of the scrutiny.
The embassy threatened the logging company to establish a system whereby there would be spot checks on Baishanlin to make sure that the workers given visas are still in Guyana rather than trafficked to Suriname and Brazil, as was being alleged.
The leaked correspondence said that the embassy started to pressure BaiShanLin to submit evidence that business visa holders had returned to China. This “evidence” was a photocopy of their Chinese entry stamp.
However, BaiShanLin was unmoved by the threats of the Guyana embassy.
As a matter of fact, the embassy threatened to stop issuing BaiShanLin any business visas and instead referred any application the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The embassy in October 2013 had written the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, complaining that BaiShanLin was warned not to book tickets for Chinese workers it wanted to bring to Guyana until visas were issued.
The Chinese company has built up a heavy presence in Guyana, but several of its promised multimillion-dollar projects have stalled due to the entity having financial problems. It owes the Government and local companies millions of dollars for properties it has acquired.
Government last year halted logging exports for a number of BaiShanLin’s operations.
The embassy correspondence has claimed that Baishanlin even offered ‘gifts’ to the staffers of the embassy, but were rebuffed. The attempted bribery was reported to the then Ambassador, Professor David Dabydeen.

 

September 07, 2016

In light of breached agreements…Gov’t moves to seize all BaiShanLin’s forest concessions

In its first major strike to stamp out lawlessness and regain control of the forestry sector, the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) yesterday announced that it is moving to repossess over 600,000 hectares from BaiShanLin International Forest Development Inc., a Chinese logging company that has been under fire for its operations here.
The news of the concession seizures will come as the commission continues to assess the operations of a number of large concession holders to ensure that they are in keeping with regulations and that commitments made in agreements are being honored.
The GFC statement yesterday came hours after Cabinet met and gave it blessings to the commission for actions to be taken against BaiShanLin.
According to GFC, the decision was taken after the cash-strapped BaiShanLin failed to deliver on agreed actions to introduce investors to the commission and failing despite being given time to prove that it had an acceptable plan to clear an approximately $80M debt.
A new Guyana Forestry Commission, headed by experienced furniture manufacturer, Jocelyn Dow, was announced last year by the new David Granger administration with a mandate to bring back confidence into a sector that was struggling to keeps its head above water.
It was announced earlier this year that BaiShanLin’s partner, Long Jiang Forest Industries Group, was set to take over management of the company in Guyana after it became clear that monies had dried up for the company that had over-extended itself in too many sectors.
The announcement came after Minister of State Joseph Harmon had returned from an extended visit to China and meeting with officials of Long Jiang Forest Industries Group.
The company has been heavily pushed by the Chinese government with tax and other concessions granted to it in China.
BaiShanLin was not only involved in logging and export. It had also branched off to gold mining, housing, river transportation, ship building and even property acquisition.
Several of the ventures, including its unfinished luxury homes and a mall, would tell a stark tale of an investment that went all too wrong…all too quickly.
The company was even accused of burning down a large swath of forest up the Berbice River and never reporting it.
It owes the government of Guyana hundreds of millions of dollars for properties it bought, including the Cacique Banquet Hall behind Ramada Princess Casino, in Providence. It was taken to court by BK International, a local contractor for hundreds of millions of dollars owed for housing lands at Providence.
Exports Halted
Last year, Government halted log exports for the company after it became clear that a US$70M wood processing facility in Linden was not going to happen. That plant was key to BaiShanLin being granted billions of dollars in duty free concessions from since 2006 when it first appeared on the Guyana scene.
GFC, in explaining its decision to repossess the 618,000 hectares which BaiShanLin has managed to snap up, some under questionable means, made it clear that it has been engaging the company since April 8, 2016 to provide an update on its plans to clear the $80M debts.
“During the meeting, representatives noted that the BIFDI had suffered financial constraints which affected the establishing of the wood processing facility and that the company was engaging a new partner that would contribute significantly to the investment in Guyana.”
GFC said its board was assured of the financial strength of the new partner who had committed to pay off the debt owed by BaiShanLin to GFC.
“The BIFDI was requested to submit information about its operations in Guyana, settle its arrears and submit a letter of commitment from the new partner.”
However, it seemed that even at the 11th hour, BaiShanLin was not willing to, or in position to comply with the orders of the regulators.
“To date, the BIFDI has failed to fulfill any of its commitments to the Government of Guyana; effectively failing on the obligations it made, which were accepted in good faith,” the statement explained.
GFC said that in keeping with Forest Governance Practices, it will be formally repossessing the concessions owned by the company and accelerating efforts to recover the debt owed.
BIFDI was incorporated in September 2006 under the Guyana Companies Act 1991 with the main objective of timber harvesting and establishing downstream wood processing operations in Linden, GFC explained.
Troubled Presence
BaiShanLin’s presence in Guyana had been an extremely uncomfortable one for especially the last administration of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), under President Donald Ramotar, after it became known that the company was virtually given a blank cheque to carry out operations here.
It was allowed to bring in hundreds of Chinese workers without much attention paid by local authorities to ensure that they returned home after their contract ended.
The situation was so bad that British and German immigration authorities were convinced that BaiShanLin had stretched its tentacles to human trafficking. The company even attempted to bring women in on flights from China but a number of them were detained, with immigration authorities saying they did not fit the profile of being logging workers.
There are indications, too, from correspondence to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that certain officials of the Clement Rohee-led Ministry of Home Affairs may have been bribed to facilitate visas for BaiShanLin.
The Guyana Embassy in China had over time warned BaiShanLin that it was not complying with visa requirements which called for reports to be filed with the embassy when the workers returned to China.
In Guyana, BaiShanLin is the third largest holder of state forests behind Barama Company Limited, a Malaysian company, and the Indian-owned Vaitarna Holdings.
In 2011, it was granted 52,896 hectares up the Berbice River through a company named Haimorakabra Logging Company Inc.
Through a number of questionable transactions called joint ventures, the Chinese logger acquired Puruni Woods- 107,671 hectares; Kwebanna Wood Products Inc.-87,361 hectares; Sherwood Forest Inc.- 167,075 hectares; Woods Association Industries Co Limited- 26,076 hectares and other concessions- all totally over 600,000 hectares.
The concessions are located in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine and Ten.

 

September 08, 2016

BaiShanLin: A track record of wrongdoing

One day after Government announced that it was seizing the forest concessions of BaiShanLin International

Forest Development Inc. for failing to honor commitments, there is news that the Chinese company has racked up hundreds of millions in debts across the country.
The Chinese company reportedly owes small loggers and others in the Kwakwani area, Region Ten, millions of dollars for some time now.
The situation appears to be the same in other area, including Regions Seven, Eight and Nine.
It seemed that the company knew it had over-extended itself and was in a cash crunch since 2014 when it forked out millions of dollars to buy a prime plot of 100 acres of land, at Providence, East Bank Demerara.
By the time the Providence housing land, 100 acres of it, was purchased from BK International for US$8M that year, a massive nearby mall being built by BaiShanLin that would have showcased Chinese products had stalled, signaling that monies had run out.
BK International claims that BaiShanLin owes US$4M and has taken the logging company to court for its money and the return of the land. But BK had secured the very plot for US$4 million.
At Linden, a US$70M wood processing plant never materialized. Instead, BaiShanLin invested millions of dollars in dredges for gold mining and other activities.
The company also bought up the Cacique Banquet Hall, located behind the Ramada Princess Hotel and Casino, Providence, East Bank Demerara. It still owes Government over $600M for that property which currently houses workers and offices.
According to Government officials yesterday, the company has been under pressure from its creditors to pay its debts for some time now.
To raise cash, BaiShanLin reportedly started selling out the steel that it had imported under its duty free concessions and even use its logging trucks to illegally compete in the transportation sector. Its barges were also competing in the river transportation business.
But for all the hundreds of millions of dollars it owed, the straw that broke the camel’s back was a mere $80M accumulated payment to the Guyana Forestry Commission representing payments for logging related activities.
The Government regulator said it had been trying since April to collect the monies and even to get BaiShanLin to bring in its majority Chinese partner that it had announced earlier this year.
That partner, China Longjiang Forest Industry (Group), did not appear in Guyana to meet GFC. It was supposed to bring billions of dollars in to the country as the major partner in BaiShanLin.
But BaiShanLin’s public track record along appeared to cause China Longjiang Forest Industry (Group) to change its mind.
On Tuesday, the GFC’s Board of Directors recommended that over 600,000 hectares of lands that BaiShanLin controlled be confiscated.
In effect, the repossession of the lands would end all the company’s logging activities in the country. Last year, the David Granger administration, upon assuming office, halted all log exports by the company.
Earlier this year, the Guyana Revenue Authority moved in and seized two vehicles, including a Lexus SUV, from BaiShanLin for unpaid import taxes.

BaiShanLin appeared to been using its contacts in Government to not only questionably buy up forest lands, but also mining concessions.
At the labour level, hundreds of Chinese workers were brought in from China under the guise that they were destined to work on the Linden processing plant.
However, there is no evidence that any of them went back and BaiShanLin is refusing to provide the Guyana Embassy in China with any details.
When that embassy threatened to stop issuing business visas, BaiShanLin reportedly turned to the Clement Rohee-led Ministry of Home Affairs, under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, and received permission for workers to enter the country through a back door — visas on arrival.
Europe’s immigration authorities warned that BaiShanLin is likely involved in human trafficking and may have had connections with the Chinese underworld.
The company even appeared to have come under the spotlight with Suriname where authorities refused to grant any visas applied for by BaiShanLin.
GFC this year started investigating after it was found that the company allegedly covered up the burning of a huge swath of forest land in Berbice.
BaiShanLin’s chequered history in Guyana would also be a big embarrassment to the Chinese Government which had granted billions of dollars in concessions to the company to help spur its business in Guyana.
Between 2012 and 2015, BaiShanLin benefitted from over $1.8B in local duty free concessions. Throughout it all, it is unclear how much Guyana benefitted from the concessions it granted.
What is known is that tens of millions of US dollars in prime species logs were exported to China with Guyana receiving a mere pittance.
There is no indication that any gold has been officially declared despite the company being actively involved in mining.
BIFDI was incorporated in September 2006 under the Guyana Companies Act 1991 with the main objective of timber harvesting and establishing downstream wood processing operations in Linden, GFC explained.
BaiShanLin’s presence in Guyana had been an extremely uncomfortable one for especially the last administration of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), under President Donald Ramotar, after it became known that the company was virtually given a blank cheque to carry out operations here.
In Guyana, BaiShanLin was the third largest holder of state forests behind Barama Company Limited, a Malaysian company, and the Indian-owned Vaitarna Holdings.

 

September 12, 2016

Guns drawn in showdown  between GRA and BaiShanLin

– as officials move to seize machinery, other assets over breached agreements

The rift between Government and BaiShan Lin over the company’s breached agreements escalated yesterday into an ugly showdown in which guns were reportedly drawn, as Guyana Revenue Authority officials swooped down on the Chinese firm’s Coomacka, Linden concessions to seize its assets.
Kaieteur News understands that the drama began early in the day when the GRA team visited the area to confiscate the company’s equipment.
A staffer at BaiShanLin contacted Kaieteur News by phone to claim that the GRA operatives had stormed their Linden operations and seized billions in duty-free equipment. The staffer also alleged that the officers also made off with laptops, cash and other personal items.
According to sources at Linden, both sides filed complaints at the Mackenzie Police Station. The BaiShan Lin officials allegedly stated that they were robbed, while the GRA officers said that they met with resistance while carrying out the operation.
The GRA officers, according to a source, also claimed that some of the Bai ShanLin employees were heavily armed, and that the weaponry on the site included sub-machine guns.
A senior police official also confirmed that both GRA and staffers from the Chinese logging firm had filed complaints at the Mackenzie Police Station.
Kaieteur News understands that GRA officials had visited the company’s Cacique Palace offices last Friday and had notified officials of its intention to visit Coomacka.
Sources within the GRA said that officers took possession of some building material, while refuting the claims that “billions in equipment” and other items were seized.
Yesterday’s clash came just five days after the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) announced that it was moving to repossess over 600,000 hectares from BaiShanLin International Forest Development Inc., which has been under fire for its operations here. The GFC statement, made on Tuesday, came hours after Cabinet met and gave it blessings to the commission for actions to be taken against BaiShanLin.
According to GFC, the decision was taken after the cash-strapped BaiShanLin failed to deliver on agreed actions to introduce investors to the commission and failing despite being given time to prove that it had an acceptable plan to clear an approximately $80M debt.
It owes the government of Guyana hundreds of millions of dollars for properties it bought, including the Cacique Banquet Hall behind Ramada Princess Casino, in Providence. It was taken to court by BK International, a local contractor for hundreds of millions of dollars owed for housing lands at Providence.
Exports Halted
Last year, Government halted log exports for the company after it became clear that a US$70M wood processing facility in Linden was not going to happen.
That plant was key to BaiShanLin being granted billions of dollars in duty free concessions from since 2006 when it first appeared on the Guyana scene.
GFC, in explaining its decision to repossess the 618,000 hectares which BaiShanLin has managed to snap up, some under questionable means, made it clear that it has been engaging the company since April 8, 2016 to provide an update on its plans to clear the $80M debts.
”During the meeting, representatives noted that the BIFDI had suffered financial constraints which affected the establishing of the wood processing facility and that the company was engaging a new partner that would contribute significantly to the investment in Guyana.”
GFC said its board was assured of the financial strength of the new partner who had committed to pay off the debt owed by BaiShanLin to GFC.
”The BIFDI was requested to submit information about its operations in Guyana, settle its arrears and submit a letter of commitment from the new partner.”
However, it seemed that even at the 11th hour, BaiShanLin was not willing to, or in position to comply with the orders of the regulators.
”To date, the BIFDI has failed to fulfill any of its commitments to the Government of Guyana; effectively failing on the obligations it made, which were accepted in good faith,” the statement explained. GFC said that in keeping with Forest Governance Practices, it will be formally repossessing the concessions owned by the company and accelerating efforts to recover the debt owed.
BIFDI was incorporated in September 2006 under the Guyana Companies Act 1991 with the main objective of timber harvesting and establishing downstream wood processing operations in Linden, GFC explained.
Troubled Presence
BaiShanLin’s presence in Guyana had been an extremely uncomfortable one for especially the last administration of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), under President Donald Ramotar, after it became known that the company was virtually given a blank cheque to carry out operations here.
It was allowed to bring in hundreds of Chinese workers without much attention paid by local authorities to ensure that they returned home after their contract ended.
The situation was so bad that British and German immigration authorities were convinced that BaiShanLin had stretched its tentacles to human trafficking.
The company even attempted to bring women in on flights from China but a number of them were detained, with immigration authorities saying they did not fit the profile of being logging workers. There are indications, too, from correspondence to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that certain officials of the Clement Rohee-led Ministry of Home Affairs may have been bribed to facilitate visas for BaiShanLin.
The Guyana Embassy in China had over time warned BaiShanLin that it was not complying with visa requirements which called for reports to be filed with the embassy when the workers returned to China.
In Guyana, BaiShanLin is the third largest holder of state forests behind Barama Company Limited, a Malaysian company, and the Indian-owned Vaitarna Holdings.
In 2011, it was granted 52,896 hectares up the Berbice River through a company named Haimorakabra Logging Company Inc.
Through a number of questionable transactions called joint ventures, the Chinese logger acquired Puruni Woods- 107,671 hectares; Kwebanna Wood Products Inc.-87,361 hectares; Sherwood Forest Inc.- 167,075 hectares; Woods Association Industries Co Limited- 26,076 hectares and other concessions- all totally over 600,000 hectares.
The concessions are located in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine and Ten.
But BaiShanLin was not only involved in logging and export. It had also branched off to gold mining, housing, river transportation, ship building and even property acquisition.

 

September 13, 2016

Where is BaiShanLin’s millions?…Chinese bank says no evidence BaiShanLin diverted monies

The Government of China had gone out its way to assist BaiShanLin International Forest Developments Inc. in its expansion throughout Guyana.
According to a report of the China Development Bank (CDB) prepared in November 2014 and shared with the Government of Guyana, the Chinese government had granted the BaiShanlin’s wood processing plant project a 10% sea freight subsidy and a loan discount.
The company also benefitted from export tax rebate for its materials to Guyana.
In turn, the Government of Guyana implemented duty-free concessions for the imported equipment.
The report would signal how high an interest that Chinese had in the operations of BaiShanLin.
The logging company is turning out to be a major embarrassment to both China and Guyana as it owes CDB US$67M in loans it took for the wood processing plant. That plant was crucial to BaiShanLin receiving billions of dollars in duty free concession from the Government of Guyana.
However, there is no wood processing plant and there are no signs of the money that BaiShanLin took from the Chinese bank.
With China promising to be major funding source for projects in Guyana, the BaiShanLin’s episodes have taken significance.
Last week, the Guyana Forestry Commission with blessings from the Cabinet, sent BaiShanLin letters of its intent to repossess all forest concessions-over 600,000 hectares of it– that is controlled by the company and its subsidiaries.

Seized!
On Sunday, officials of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) descended on BaiShanLin’s Coomacka, Linden operations, to seize steel and other items.
There were reportedly a square off between GRA officials and the heavily armed security at the Coomacka compound.
Yesterday, GRA officials were seen busy off-loading a large quantity of steel at the entity’s Eccles bond.
GRA wants to collect millions of dollars in outstanding taxes it is owed.
Earlier this year, the authority seized two of BaiShanlin’s vehicles, including a Lexus SUV that is used by the company’s local General Manager and part owner, Chu Hongbo.
There are unconfirmed reports that GRA on Friday also took possession of at least five vehicles from BaiShanLin’s headquarters at the Cacique Palace and Banquet Hall, an unfinished hotel that had been sold to that company. BaiShanLin still owes almost $600M for it.
The CDB report made it clear that BaiShanLin’s total investment for the wood processing plant was for US$85.88M while the loan applied for was US$66.9M. The monies were to finance logging, construction of the wood processing plant and other auxiliary buildings.
“As a result, the company decided to focus on timber production, transportation and sales to generate cash flow,” the CDB report said.
As a result of the GFC’s warnings about production, BaiShanLin in October 2014 decided to suspend the construction of the office building- the Exhibition Centre, the main building frame and brick works has been finished already- and concentrate on its Linden Wood Processing Plant.

Local Market
The CDB report said that the plant was mainly to process timber cut the previous year and are easy to sell in Guyana.
“Meanwhile, the company also decided to finish the construction of the dock of the Wood Process Plant within two months. As for now, the major civil works of the dock has been completed, and other projects are put on hold.”
CDB said that in late 2014, in the middle of intense media scrutiny, BaiShanLin started focusing on the sale of wood.
CDB said it found no evidence the loan funds was invested into stock market, housing market and other areas.
“None of the loan funds was found to be misappropriated to projects that CDB did not commit for.”
As a matter of fact, CDB said, according to communication with BaiShanLin Company and desktop review by the bank’s overseas working group, all the payment application documents provided by the borrower appear to be valid and complete.
“No other misappropriation use of the loan funds has been found up to date,” CDB insisted in that November 2014 report.

GFC’s Decision
GFC had said last week that the decision was taken after the cash-strapped BaiShanLin failed to deliver on agreed actions to introduce investors to the commission, and failing despite being given time to prove that it had an acceptable plan to clear an approximately $80M debt.
It owes the government of Guyana hundreds of millions of dollars for properties it bought, including the Cacique Banquet Hall behind Ramada Princess Casino, in Providence. It was taken to court by BK International, a local contractor for hundreds of millions of dollars owed for housing lands at Providence.
Last year, Government halted log exports for the company.
GFC, in explaining its decision to repossess the 618,000 hectares which BaiShanLin has managed to snap up, made it clear that it has been engaging the company since April 8, 2016 to provide an update on its plans to clear the $80M debts.
”To date, the BIFDI has failed to fulfill any of its commitments to the Government of Guyana; effectively failing on the obligations it made, which were accepted in good faith,” the statement explained.
In addition to housing and real estate, BaiShanLin had misused its trucks and equipment granted under duty free concessions to compete against local operators.
Its river vessels also competed to fetch stones for local hardware operations.
Chu Hongbo himself had managed to acquire a Guyana passport through citizenship and has bought up several plots of gold mining lands.
BaiShanLin’s presence in Guyana had been an extremely uncomfortable one for especially the last administration of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), under President Donald Ramotar, after it became known that the company was virtually given a blank cheque to carry out operations here.
It was allowed to bring in hundreds of Chinese workers without much attention paid by local authorities to ensure that they returned home after their contract ended.
The situation was so bad that British and German immigration authorities were convinced that BaiShanLin had stretched its tentacles to human trafficking. The company even attempted to bring women in on flights from China but a number of them were detained, with immigration authorities saying they did not fit the profile of being logging workers.
There are indications, too, from correspondence to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that certain officials of the Clement Rohee-led Ministry of Home Affairs may have been bribed to facilitate visas for BaiShanLin.
The Guyana Embassy in China had over time warned BaiShanLin that it was not complying with visa requirements which called for reports to be filed with the embassy when the workers returned to China.
In Guyana, BaiShanLin is the third largest holder of state forests behind Barama Company Limited, a Malaysian company, and the Indian-owned Vaitarna Holdings.

 

September 19, 2016

Govt. shuts door on new BaiShanLin investors – Trotman  

The Government of Guyana is no longer looking out for those investors who had acquired 55 percent of the controversial logging company—BaiShanLin International Forest Development Inc—and were to sign new investment agreements here.
Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman said that the Government has been more than lenient. He said that the administration gave the investors enough time to come to Guyana and take the necessary actions.
Despite being “given a long rope”, Trotman said that the investors’ interest did not materialize.
“No reason has been given why they did not come and the government and the GFC (Guyana Forestry Commission) felt that it was important to proceed with the necessary actions,” said Trotman.
The Minister made reference to a letter which he received in July indicating that the investors in China were having difficulties obtaining visas to travel to Guyana.
He said that he intervened and spoke to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge as well as the Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix asking the both of them to clear any problems that might have existed.
Trotman said that he was given all assurances that should persons present themselves as investors in the forest sector, they would be facilitated as a matter of national interest.
“I knew of no other impediments to the investors coming.”
Trotman said that there was correspondence from the investors indicating that they would have been in Guyana by August the latest.

“So we put August 31 as the deadline and having not received any word I believe the GFC was in its right to proceed.”
The fact that BaiShanLin investors pulled a no show is what caused the GFC to move to repossess concessions held by BaiShanLin.
The Chinese company was in control of a major portion of Guyana’s forest which has been acquired through what has been described as the illegal acquisition of concessions held by other local companies.
The GFC said that its decision came after the company failed to deliver on agreed steps to introduce investors to the Commission and having been given time to prove that it had an acceptable plan to clear an approximately $80M debt to the GFC. The commission said that representatives of the BaiShanLin were invited to a meeting in April to provide an update on its plans to clear the debts.
During the meeting, representatives cited financial constraints which affected the establishing of the wood processing facility and said that the company was engaging a new partner that would contribute significantly to their investment in Guyana.
The GFC Board was assured of the financial strength of the new partner who had committed to pay off the debt owed by the company to GFC.
Having established a presence here in 2006, BaiShanLin has been accused of making big promises to add value to forestry but failing to do so. Instead, it kept on gathering forests and increasing the export of logs all the while gaining huge fiscal concessions under the former PPP/C government.
During 2012-2015, the PPP/C government granted BaiShanLin concessions amounting to $1.8 billion despite its failure to fulfill obligations under its investment agreements.
Forensic auditor Anand Goolsarran who made the finding recommended that the Government of Guyana consider terminating the investment agreements with the company and recover the value of the fiscal concessions granted to it.
Many of the items for which tax waivers were granted were either unrelated to, or significantly more than the requirements for the company’s project.
Baishanlin became a source of embarrassment for the current APNU+AFC government when Minister of State Joseph Harmon interfered with the Guyana Revenue Authority’s seizure of its assets in settlement of a tax liability. Shortly after, Harmon proceeded on a mystery trip to China where he was photographed with Baishanlin officials. Amid the controversy that swirled over his trip, Harmon would later say that another Chinese company, the China-owned Longjiang had acquired 55% of Baishanlin and would be taking over the company’s operations here. Lonjiang never showed.

 

October 05, 2016

Govt. repossesses BaiShanLin land at Providence

BaiShanLin International Forest Development is losing more of the assets it was able to lay its hands on in Guyana.
The Commissioner of Lands and Surveys has gazetted a proposal for the cancellation and repossession of government lands held by BaiShanLin.
The Official Gazette of October 1, states, “Notice is hereby given by the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys that it is proposed to cancel Government land lease no. 2650, issued in respect of 5.17 acres of Government land situate at and being tract ‘SA’ of Block 2 (Cricket Stadium) Providence, East Bank Demerara, held by BaiShanLin International Forest Development Inc.”
It was stated that the cancellation was due to a breach of condition one of the lease agreement.

Lands and Surveys also stated that “such cancellation would allow for the repossession of the said land for reallocation.”
The notice said that “all persons having any rights, interest or claim in and to the above mentioned tract of land or who may have just grounds to oppose the cancellation are hereby requested to do so at the office of the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys Commission, Lot 22 Upper Hadfield Street, D’Urban backlands in the city of Georgetown during office hours, within seven  days from the date of the third publication setting forth his/her or their reasons for opposition in writing and duly signed.”
BaiShanLin’s presence in Guyana is becoming less pronounced. First, the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) refused to renew the company’s expired State Forest Exploratory Permits (SFEPs) that allowed it access to vast lands.
The company then got some of its assets seized by the Guyana Revenue Authority because of taxes owed. Later, the joint ventures that BaiShanLin has with other companies were deemed illegal and canceled. Those ventures were all that the company had to allow it to still engage in logging activities in Guyana. And recently, GRA seized more of BaiShanLin’s assets.
The company was quoted in other sections of the media that it still has operations in gold and that the housing scheme project is still on stream.
BaiShanLin does not have a good track record in Guyana. The company has been accused of exploiting Guyana. It has not lived up to the investment agreements it signed with the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic government and has reportedly treated the few Guyanese with little respect.

 

October 16, 2016

BaiShanLin Managing Director linked to company seeking lands in Region Seven

-Natural Resources Minister not convinced by application made
The Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman has confirmed that Managing Director of BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc, Chu Hongbo, has close ties to a new company that has made an application to have access to prime lands in Batavia , Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).
Trotman made this disclosure during a press conference on Friday last. There, the Natural Resources Minister said that the company’s application has not been granted as he is of the belief that it does not meet the necessary requirements.
Trotman said, “When I became minister, I met it there (the company’s application) and I was asked to grant it on the basis of national need. I am still to be satisfied that there is national need for such a thing.”
He added, “The Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs is involved in the process and I have asked that if there are negotiations that they be transparent, above board and in the interest of the people there. I would not say that the company is being held up but I don’t believe that it meets the requirements.”
Chu Hongbo has been sitting at the helm of the controversial Chinese logging company, BaiShanLin.
Since its ten years of being in Guyana, the company has been accused of raping the nation of its forest wealth while benefitting from billions of dollars worth in concessions. It has also been accused of being involved in various cases of tax evasion.

 

October 16, 2016

BaiShanLin trying to re-enter through the back door …Chu Hongbo link to companies seeking lands in Region Seven

-Natural Resources Minister not convinced by application made
The Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman has confirmed that Managing Director of BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc, Chu Hongbo, has close ties to a new company that has made an application to have access to prime lands in Batavia , Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).
Trotman made this disclosure during a press conference on Friday last. There, the Natural Resources Minister said that the company’s application has not been granted as he is of the belief that it does not meet the necessary requirements.
Trotman said, “When I became minister, I met it there (the company’s application) and I was asked to grant it on the basis of national need. I am still to be satisfied that there is national need for such a thing.”
He added, “The Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs is involved in the process and I have asked that if there are negotiations that they be transparent, above board and in the interest of the people there. I would not say that the company is being held up but I don’t believe that it meets the requirements.”
Chu Hongbo has been sitting at the helm of the controversial Chinese logging company, BaiShanLin.
Since its ten years of being in Guyana, the company has been accused of raping the nation of its forest wealth while benefitting from billions of dollars worth in concessions. It has also been accused of being involved in various cases of tax evasion.

 

October 17, 2016

Following fall out between Guyana and BaiShanLin…Vaitarna makes swift moves to put its house in order

– Natural Resources Minister

After witnessing the many ways in which the controversial BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc. paid for its mistakes in the forestry sector, it appears as though Indian logging company, Vaitarna Holdings Private Inc. is making swift moves to put its house in order.
This is according to Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman.
At his most recent press conference, Trotman indicated that Vaitarna is making moves to honour its commitment to value added production when it comes to Guyana’s logs.
“Value added” refers to the enhancement of a raw material thereby increasing its worth.
“They have brought some mills and I think they got the message and they are working towards value added. The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) is monitoring them and we are in talks. The expectation is that we can strengthen our relationship,” Trotman said.
Over the years, Vaitarna Holdings was granted fiscal concessions on machinery and equipment with a value of $1.142 billion, equivalent to US$5.712 million. This was based on an investment agreement it had entered into with the Government of Guyana. The company also has access to 737,835 hectares of State forest.

Last year, the entity said that it had started some amount of value added production. Vaitarna even claimed that it fulfilled its commitment to Guyana to add value to their operations by installing three WoodMizer Sawmills – one of which was as a “portable” sawmill – at its Wineperu location, Essequibo River. It also stated that a saw-doctoring unit facility has also been established to add value.
However, several anti-corruption advocates and forestry experts challenged those remarks by the company, saying that those types of mills can be deemed appropriate in adding value to small and medium scale operations. They stressed that the equipment does not apply to Vaitarna which has control over the second largest forest concession in the state.
Officials had said that installing those mills instead of erecting a “full-out” wood processing facility is a sign of frustration deriving from the mounting of pressure over the years from competitors and the media to have the company keep its promise made to Guyana and its people.
Vaitarna currently has the capacity to produce approximately 350,000BM (825 m3) of lumber per month on an eight-hour shift.
The company has in the past come under scrutiny after several reports began to surface that it was exporting raw lumber.
The exportation of logs rather than processing the timber locally has long been a concern since numerous promises have been made by the previous administration and foreign investors about value-added operations.
The promise of value-added has been seen as a “sugar coating” to enable the export of large quantities of logs, particularly to China and India, even though there is little job creation in Guyana or value enhancement in this sector.

 

December 06, 2016

BaiShanLin moves to sell property while owing NICIL

BaiShanLin Forest Developers Inc is looking to sell the Cacique Palace and Banquet Hall. However,

while top officials of the National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL) continue to dodge the media, Kaieteur News has been able to confirm that BaiShanLin still owes NICIL for the property.
How then can the logging company be able to sell is the question Kaieteur News is seeking to get answered.
The Cacique Palace is located aback the Princess Hotel, East Bank Demerara. This newspaper understands that while BaiShanLin employees occupied the building for over one year, the company still owes around $600M for it.
The Cacique Palace and Banquet Hall was started by a group of private developers, for the 2007 Cricket World Cup to cater for several matches scheduled to be played at the nearby Providence National Stadium. However, the US$3.5M ($700M) project was not completed despite a $30M cash injection by the then Government. Work on the hotel began in late January 2006, and was to have been completed by the end of the same year.
At the time of the construction, the government facilitated $30M from the Consolidated Fund. That money was turned over on the agreement that it was an advance payment for rooms, but with no business conducted, Government had stepped in.
To recover its monies, the previous administration had established a team comprising the developers and Keith Burrowes, a senior official.
BaiShanLin, which was rapidly expanding its tentacles in the logging and other sectors, expressed an interest and a deal was reportedly reached for US$4.5M, down from the original asking price

of US$5M.
However, BaiShanLin between 2012 and 2013 only paid US$1.5M. There was difficulty to collect the remaining US$3M.
The Cacique Palace and Banquet Hall had been on the market for about four years, with numerous persons and businesses expressing interests, before the deal was sealed with BaiShanLin around 2013.

 

February 06, 2017

Keith Burrowes deceived nation about Go-Invest’s role in BaiShanLin Investment Agreements

By: Kiana Wilburg

Keith Burrowes’ words have come back to haunt him.
In May 2015, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) told Kaieteur News that the entity was kept in the dark about some Investment Agreements, especially as it relates to BaiShanLin International Forest Development Inc.
He had said that most foreign investments in Guyana’s natural resources went through the Ministry of Natural Resources, which was headed by Robert Persaud. He had emphasized on several occasions that companies like “BaiShanLin did not come through us (Go-Invest).”
But a forensic audit report that was prepared by Nigel Hinds Financial Services   (NHFS) indicates that Go-Invest was very much informed about BaiShanLin’s Investment Agreement.
The report says after the initial Investment Agreement in 2007, there were three renewals and six supplemental agreements signed between BaiShanLin and Go-Invest based on file information.
It also said that Supplementary Agreements in 2012 and 2013 included a proposal for additional construction equipment and recommendations were made and granted.
The forensic auditors said that there seems to be another Initial Investment Agreement for BaiShanLin related to Real Estate among other sectors. The auditors stated that discussions with an Investment Officer at Go-Invest suggest that this agreement was inconsistent with Go-Invest’s policies.
The auditors also pointed out that during the period 2007 to 2012, BaiShanLin was cutting and exporting raw lumber without processing it or creating value added products. This was a clear violation of its Investment Agreement which said that BaiShanLin’s main objective is to use the nation’s forest resources to produce from its processing plant, a wide range of finished products.

The auditors suggested that this should have been picked up by Go-Invest, since it was their responsibility to go through Investment Agreements on an annual basis. The auditors also highlighted the fact that even though there was a breach of contract which continued for years, Go-Invest imposed not a single sanction against the defaulting company.
It is not clear why Burrowes told a completely different tale in 2015. But Kaieteur News confronted him with the findings yesterday.
This newspaper asked him if he recalled stating that Go-Invest was kept in the dark as it relates to some Investment Agreements, especially as it relates to BaiShanLin.
The former CEO of Go-Invest agreed that he indeed told the newspaper that companies like “BaiShanLin did not come through us (Go-Invest).”
He was then told of the forensic audit and the fact that shows that Go-Invest was aware of BaiShanLin’s Investment Agreements.
In his defence he said: “I can’t confirm what those forensic auditors are saying. I have to see the forensic audit report first. I have not seen it! And I have to see their evidence. I have to see it! I signed hundreds of Investment Agreements during my time so you can’t expect me to remember everything. You can’t expect me to remember that BaiShanLin agreement came through Go-Invest.”
But later on he said, “… I am not disputing what you are saying. Indeed I do recall that I said BaiShanLin’s Investment Agreements did not come through us. I don’t want you to paint me as a liar but girl, it is now that you are telling me this, I now remember that BaiShanLin did come in one time and there was an Investment Agreement with us…”
“All I wish to say now is that the forensic audit report is a good report. But you cannot expect me to remember all these things…Listen, I am not well. In fact I just came back from the hospital…”
The former CEO of Go-Invest said that he is not prepared to give any further comments based on advice he received.

 

May 30, 2017

BaiShanLin vehicles released on “rigid” agreement

– Equipment remains in custody

BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc. has been able to negotiate the release of its two Sport Utility Vehicles that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) had taken possession of; this is according to reliable sources.

GRA’s Commissioner-General, Godfrey Statia said that he was not in a position to speak on the issue. However, Kaieteur News was told that the vehicles were released based on a “rigid” agreement made between BaiShanLin and GRA.
Part of that agreement stipulates that within six months, BaiShanLin would renegotiate an investment plan with the coalition government. This makes sense when coupled with the Ministry of Natural Resources’ announcement that the Chinese Development Bank (CDB) had asked Guyana to not give out lands once held by BaiShanLin.
The source said that as per agreement, when the six-month period comes to an end, BaiShanLin will have to produce all taxes and duties payable to the Authority – that would include money not only owed for the vehicles that were released, but also for the equipment and machinery that remain in GRA’s custody.
Early last year, the GRA seized the two luxury vehicles from BaiShanLin.
BaiShanLin had persistently defaulted on the investment agreement it had signed with the PPP/C Government to establish a wood processing plant at Linden. Instead, it has bought five logging companies and has been involved in the wholesale exportation of logs with impunity at a time when most tropical timber producing countries have either banned log exports or have severely restricted their exportation.
The investment agreement specifically states that if the machinery, equipment and materials for which fiscal concessions have been granted have not been used for the purpose(s) specified, the value of the concessions must be repaid to the Government.
During the period 2012-2015, Baishanlin brought in US$38 million worth of machinery, equipment and materials, of which fiscal concessions amounting to G$1.8 billion were granted.
This was based on investment agreements entered into between the Government of Guyana and Baishanlin for the construction of a wood processing facility in Region 10. The total value of concessions granted amounted to $1.827 billion. GRA indicated that it was unable to provide information relating to the earlier years because of computer problems.
A review of the list of items of machinery, equipment and construction materials for which fiscal concessions were granted indicated that many of the items were either unrelated to, or were significantly in excess of, the requirements for the construction of wood processing facility.

 

Thursday June 08, 2017

BaiShanLin imports ended up in Regent St. Stores

• GRA Boss says 18 sister companies also benefitted

By Kiana Wilburg

Kaieteur News was the first to expose how some Chinese firms were manipulating the tax concessions system so as to ensure that their network of “sister” or “related” companies was given a distinct advantage over other local entities.

The scheme was one that saw these Chinese firms receiving millions of dollars worth in equipment and machinery for the mining and logging sectors. But instead of using these for the approved purpose, many of these items ended up on the shelves of stores within the established network.

In a recent interview Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Godfrey Statia, confirmed that this newspaper was “right on the money” with its reports.

In fact, Statia revealed that the imports of BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc. often ended up in Regent Street stores. He said, too, that 18 sister companies for BaiShanLin enjoyed part of the pie.

The GRA boss explained that the Authority has taken steps to ensure that several forms of abuse where tax concessions are concerned are addressed. In this regard, he pointed out that the revenue authority has pulled in Vaitarna Holdings Private Inc, “because as far as we are concerned they were not adhering to the terms of the contract.”

Statia said that the GRA is even engaged in court matters related to companies which received tax concessions for equipment and machinery but failed to use same for the purpose for which it was granted.

BaiShanLin apparently came here in the mid-2000’s, becoming initially involved in logging.

According to official records, the investor in 2006 registered two companies- BaiShanLin International Wood Group Inc. and BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc.

Since then, the principals of the company have registered more than 15 others. They include BaiShanLin Housing and Construction Inc.; BaiShanLin Mining Development Inc.; BaiShanLin International Shipbuilding and Heavy Industry Inc.; Heilongjiang Forest Engineering and Processing Development Inc.; C-G Economic and Trade Cooperation Park Inc.; New Life International Inc.; BaiShanLin International Investment Group Inc.; BaiShanLin China Shareholding Group Inc.; H7P International Inc.; Quick Auto Service Centre Inc.; Yongli Investment Inc.; BaiSheng International Investment Inc.; New East International Inc.; East International (South America) Inc.; H&P Quarry Inc. and Fun Time Family Park Inc.

Since the birth of these companies, BaiShanLin has been venturing into all kinds of business outside the original logging operations it came here to do. These including ready-mix cement, barge operations, trucking, gold and diamonds mining, logging, housing, fuel, road maintenance, ship building, among other things.

Further, Kaieteur News even caught the company offloading steel at a construction site in North Road back in January last year.

When questioned, a Chinese official on the truck had said that he was selling steel on behalf of BaiShanLin. Asked where the hardware store was located, he said the steel rods came from the company’s unfinished showroom at Providence, EDB. He was willing to supply, with free delivery, once an order was given to him

Furthermore, the BaiShanLin brand has been under scrutiny for the billions of dollars in waivers and concessions that they received.

In fact, forensic auditors noted that according to its business plan, BaiShanLin’s main objective was the commercial utilization of the forest resources of Guyana to produce from its processing plant a wide range of finished products.

After the Initial Investment Agreement in 2007, it was found that there were three renewals and six supplemental agreements between BaiShanLin and Go-Invest based on file information.

Forensic auditors of Nigel Hinds Financial Services said that the Supplementary Agreements in 2012 and 2013 included a proposal for additional construction equipment and recommendations were made and granted.

The auditors said that there seems to be another Initial Investment Agreement for BaiShanLin related to Real Estate among other sectors. The forensic auditors stated that discussions with an Investment Officer at Go-Invest suggest that the second agreement was inconsistent with the policies of Go-Invest.

The forensic audit report said that during the period 2007 to 2012, Bai Shan Lin was cutting and exporting raw lumber without processing it or creating value added products. This was a complete contradiction of its Investment Agreement. The forensic auditors said that it is evident that BaiShanLin’s real objective was to export raw lumber. Nevertheless, Bai Shan Lin still benefited from concessions totaling $1.8 Billion during the period under review —2011-2015.

An examination of the files of four Investors, Bai Shan Lin International Forest Development Inc included, shows that Guyana did not benefit from concessions granted to these Investors. The concessions were worth over $2 billion.

BaiShanLin was in breach of its Agreements for years without any a single sanction being instituted.

 

July 29, 2017

BaiShanLin owes $$millions for leased Linden properties – NICIL Head

BaiShanLin Forest Development Inc. currently owes the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) millions of dollars in rental fees for two plots of land in Region Ten.

Those lands were leased to the company with the understanding that it would have used it to develop a state-of-the-art wood processing facility. After 10 years, this never materialized.
This is according to NICIL’s Head, Horace James.
In an exclusive interview with Kaieteur News yesterday, James explained that the company owes $25M in rental fees for two properties; one in Kumaka and another in Conception.
James said, “We had meetings with them since last year and they were to pay off but up to now they haven’t. They received lawyer’s letter since December 2016 to remove and they are still there.”
BaiShanLin is the very company that Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, had said, mimics the behaviour of a bacterium called spirogyra. He had said during the 2015 election season that this “bacterium” gobbles what it wants and keeps splitting and spreading. That is exactly what BaiShanLin was doing.
He had said, “With the rate at which this spirogyra (BaiShanLin) was going, when you get to my age, BaiShanLin would have gobbled up everything… But let it be known that once the laws of the country are breached by foreign or local companies, we will speak about it and we will take action.
“The level of examination and action to follow will surly arrest this wanton destruction of our forests.”
Bai Shan Lin had given conflicting reasons in the past to justify the delay of establishing this wood-processing facility. In fact, officials at the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) had revealed that the company was going through some “financial difficulties.”
GFC officials maintained that BaiShanLin promised that once the “financial difficulties” were over, it will also submit the revised programme on the facility to the Commission. But this too did not occur.
Presidential Advisor on Sustainable Development, Dr. Clive Thomas, had said that the behaviour of the logging companies such as BaiShanLin that have benefitted significantly from Guyana’s forest resources, is absolutely “unacceptable”.
“Guyana cannot continue to be giving out hundreds of millions of dollars worth in these tax breaks or concessions and we aren’t benefitting from value added operations.
“If companies make a commitment to do so then the ethical thing to do is to deliver what was promised. If not, their concessions should be taken away,” the economist had said.
He continued, “This is obviously not part of how one promotes the suitability of an economy and an industry. We cannot continue to go this route. Allowing this sort of behaviour to continue sends a dangerous message to other potential investors and local companies. What has the Guyana Forestry Commission done regarding such infractions? Is this not important?
“We really need to change the landscape of the way business is done in the logging industry and eliminate this kind of slackness we allow these companies to get away with. This is not about whether you are foreign or not. At the end of the day it is what is right for the development of the country.”
In 2014, BaiShan Lin blamed the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) for delaying its application for its wood processing factory. In one of its advertisements, the company stated that in 2008, it applied to the “Government of Guyana, through the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) and other agencies, to lease lands to set up a factory to process logs and engage in value-added production, such as the making of furniture, craft and hardwood flooring.”
It had said then that it was experiencing delays.
Kaieteur News later reported that GO-Invest had had no such application. BaiShanLin had nothing to say when this was revealed. This caused many, including the then opposition, to challenge the previous government to make public the investment agreement it signed onto with the Chinese logging company. This was never done.
Amidst harsh criticisms of its operations during 2014, BaiShanLin insisted that it has consistently remained well within the law/regulations governing the forestry sector.

 

August 15, 2017

CHPA takes legal action against Baishanlin for over 100 acres of land

By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell

Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) Lelon Saul

yesterday revealed that the Authority is looking to reclaim over 100 acres of land that is currently in the hands of Baishanlin.

It seems that Baishanlin is the first of many companies that the CH&PA plans to go after.

The land in question is located at Providence. Saul told the media that the Authority is already in the process of taking legal action.

At a press conference hosted at the CH&PA’s Brickdam location, Saul assured the media that the Authority will not allow the matter to rest until those lands are reclaimed.

“We are presently pursuing legal action…You know our judicial system is kind of slothful.”

Saul stressed, “We are moving forward, but it will take some time.”

The CEO said that Baishanlin and its associates have not lived up to the terms and conditions of the agreement of sale, which includes development of the land. He said that the more than 100 acres of land was sold to Sunset Lakes. Sunset Lakes was owned by Brian Tiwarie.

Saul said that the company now has new directors, as it was sold to Baishanlin.

The land was not supposed to be sold. The CH&PA agreement is very specific about what a developer can and cannot do with it.

Earlier this year, CH&PA warned that it will soon repossess lands from those private developers and house lot beneficiaries who have breached their agreements. It said that that was a move to pave the way for the development of more low and middle-income housing solutions for Guyanese.

Saul said that the authority is set to go after those developers, who acquired vast tracts of lands under the previous administration, but have since failed to develop them.

He pointed out that many of these private developers still owe CH&PA money and this would make it easier for the authority to repossess the lands.

In the high-demand Demerara area, there are little lands available for building new housing schemes. There are more than 20,000 applications for turn-key homes and house lots currently on CH&PA’s database.

The administration, while on the campaign trail to the May 2015 general elections, had vowed to repossess the lands on the East Bank after it was discovered that many of the developers have failed in the conditions to build.

It was found that under the previous administration, a significant portion of the front part of the former cane fields, stretching from Eccles to Diamond, has ended up mainly in the hands of close friends of the national leaders and party officials.

According to documents in possession of this newspaper, 11 private developers have been given hundreds of acres of lands stretching from behind Peter’s Hall to Providence as early as 2011. Two more were allowed swaths of land in the Diamond and Golden Grove areas.
Still another 11 companies, as of July 2014, were set to receive lands from CH&PA for especially areas in the Little Diamond and Great Diamond areas. It is unclear what had been allocated.
One company, Luxury Reality Inc., which has lands in Providence, has listed as its Director/Secretary, Roopnarine Ramcharitar, a right hand man for Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop. Ramroop is the owner of New GPC, a company that was investigated by the Opposition for a number of questionable deals. He is the best friend of former President Bharrat Jagdeo.
Two other companies that received lands were Hi Tech Construction Inc. and Sunset Lakes Inc. Both companies are under the control of the Chinese.

The other companies that were allocated lands between Eccles and Mocha were Queensway Dax Contracting Service, Nabi Construction Incorporated, Buddy’s Housing Development, Cumberland Developers Inc., Vikab Engineering Consultants, Kishan Bacchus Construction,

Caricom General Insurance, Navigant Builders and Windsor Gardens.

Queensway has been allowed several acres in Golden Grove.

As of July 2014, those that had applications at CH&PA for lands were Buddy Housing Development, Queensville Housing Development, A&R Jiwanram Printery, Raydan Housing Enterprise, Lakeview Executive Homes, Gentle P. Elias and Brian Chase, Chung’s Global Enterprise, Prembury Consultants T&T Limited and Romell Jagroop Construction.
The Chinese owned Hi Tech Construction has also applied for lands in the Little Diamond/Great Diamond area.

Former Housing Minister under the administration of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, Irfaan Ali, had defended the mainly front lands that were placed in the hands on private developers, saying that it is not true that these were prime lands. He said that a planned highway at the back of the housing schemes from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and other interlinking roads have made the backlands almost as valuable.

 

August 31, 2017

Govt. faces major hurdles in repossessing BK/BaiShanLin lands -bank appoints receiver; 100 acres up for sale at Providence

A move by the administration to repossess prime lands at Providence, East Bank Demerara, that were in the control of Chinese-owned BaiShanLin, is now in jeopardy, facing even more delays.
This is because the 100-acres property, owned by Sunset Lakes Inc., located behind the Providence stadium, is now in receivership and is being advertised for sale.
The land had been sold in 2014 by Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) to businessman/contractor Brian Tiwarie for development into a gated community.
However, eight weeks after securing the lands from CH&PA for US$2.2M (approximately $440M), Tiwarie, who owned Sunset Lakes, turned around and flipped the company to BaiShanLin for US$8M ($1.6B).
BaiShanLin is a Chinese investor that ran into trouble over its operations here and had its forest lands taken away by the Coalition Government.
BaiShanLin, now facing financial problems, was unable to pay Tiwarie the US$8M it promised and early last year, the businessman took BaiShanLin to court, asking for his balance of US$4M. Tiwarie also demanded back his company Sunset Lakes and wanted the court to forfeit the US$4M that BaiShanLin had advanced him.
On the lands currently, BaiShanLin had started to build a number of luxury homes, announcing prices upwards of $50M.
However, all that remains now is the fence and ghostly, unfinished properties. There has been little works in the last two years.
BaiShanLin and its principal, Chu Hongbo, now a Guyanese citizen, is now reportedly concentrating on gold mining.
Yesterday, in a full page advertisement in Kaieteur News, the Receiver/Manager, accountant Nigel Hinds, announced that he was inviting tenders for local and foreign parties interested in purchasing the 100 acres, either entirely or less.
Hinds was reportedly appointed Receiver/Manager after BaiShanLin defaulted in loans it took from a local bank.
It was stated that the land is ideal for residential purposes and located less than a mile from the Providence stadium.
Hinds said that while tenders are to be evaluated primarily on price, additional consideration will be paid to the development plans submitted, as well as the capacity of the developer.
This latest development would continue to anger persons who have applied for house lots and homes from CH&PA, but are being told there are no lands.
There are more than 20,000 applications pending at the CH&PA, with Government announcing plans to build duplexes and apartments for low income families in the short term.
Large swaths of lands behind Republic Park and Providence have been sold under questionable circumstance to several private developers who were looking to cash in on the booming housing drive between 2010 and 2014.
Many of those parcels have not been developed as the housing market stagnated. Many of the developers, some of them businessmen close to the previous administration, were left in financial difficulties.
There is evidence that a number of the developers may have illegally sold the lands they have committed to develop, for millions.
The evidence that is emerging now speaks of some developers breaching their conditions of sale, by illegally selling off to overseas investors and others.
There is no word whether the applicable profit taxes were ever remitted to the Guyana Revenue Authority.
Most of the land deals at Providence were birthed in the final days of the last term of former President Bharrat Jagdeo.
CH&PA has been promising to go after the private developers for breaching their conditions, including the building of infrastructure like drains and roads.
However, more than two years after taking office, there appears to be very little progress made.
In the meantime, at CH&PA, there is little movement also in quickly reducing the number of applications for houselots and homes that are in the system.

 

September 07, 2017

Govt., commercial bank battle over BK/BaiShanLin housing lands

In a clear move that its patience is running thin, Government has filed court actions to take back land in Providence, East Bank Demerara, which was sold in 2014 to businessman, Brian Tiwarie, but flipped shortly after to a Chinese investor.

The lands were recently advertised for sale by Receiver/Manager, Nigel Hinds, who was appointed by a commercial bank after Sunset Lakes, which controlled the 100-acres, was unable to make its loan payments.

Sunset Lakes was formed by Tiwarie weeks after he acquired the land. He turned around and sold it to the local owner of BaiShanLin, a Chinese company which had spread its tentacles into a number of business sectors but ended up in financial troubles.

Tiwarie was one of several businessmen who received large swaths of land on the East Bank under questionable circumstances.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Communities, under  which the Department of Housing falls, made it clear that it has the right to go after the lands and after Sunset Lakes, now controlled by BaiShanLin’s local principal, Chu Hongbo.

However, the government will have to contend with the bank which wants back its money from Sunset Lakes. The bank is claiming first lien on the lands.

Yesterday, the ministry said that the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) has commenced court proceedings in an effort to repossess the plot of land, which was recently advertised for sale by Sunset Lakes.

In a paid advertisement in at least two daily newspapers, dated August 30, 2017, it was stated “The Receiver-Manager of Sunset Lakes Inc., invites tenders for local and foreign parties interested in purchasing 100 acres of land en bloc or less, located in Providence…”

However, the ministry disclosed that since July 20, 2017, CH&PA through an external attorney, Robert Ramcharran, attached to the law firm Luckhoo and Luckhoo, initiated legal action in the High Court of the Supreme Court of Judicature against Sunset Lakes Inc. as it relates to property situate at Parcel 130 Plantation Providence, East Bank Demerara.

Among other things, the legal action is seeking declaration that CH&PA is entitled to rescind the Agreement of Sale and Purchase made and entered into at Georgetown, Guyana between the authority and the defendant on February 7, 2014.

CH&PA is also seeking an order rescinding the Agreement of Sale and Purchase made as well as an order that the claimant (CH&PA) has the right to refund to Sunset Lakes the sum of $458,180,000, representing the value of the land. The court is also being asked to allow for CH&PA to collect 10% of the sum paid as a penalty for breach of the terms and conditions of the agreement– about $45,818,000.

CH&PA is also asking orders directing the Registrar of Lands to recall and cancel the Certificate of Title regarding the land and to have it re-registered as belonging to the authority.

An application was also made for the court to order that the land be handed over to the possession of CH&PA.
The land was sold in 2014 by CH&PA to Tiwarie, a contractor, for development into a gated community.
However, eight weeks after securing the lands from CH&PA for US$2.2M (approximately $440M), Tiwarie, who owned Sunset Lakes, turned around and flipped the company to BaiShanLin for US$8M ($1.6B).
BaiShanLin was unable to pay Tiwarie the US$8M it promised and early last year, the businessman took BaiShanLin to court, asking for his balance of US$4M. Tiwarie also demanded back his company Sunset Lakes and wanted the court to forfeit the US$4M that BaiShanLin had advanced him.
On the lands currently, BaiShanLin had started to build a number of luxury homes, announcing prices upwards of $50M.
However, all that remains now is the fence and ghostly, unfinished properties. There has been little work in the last two years.
BaiShanLin and its principal, Chu Hongbo, now a Guyanese citizen, are now reportedly concentrating on gold mining.
There are more than 20,000 applications pending at the CH&PA, with Government announcing plans to build duplexes and apartments for low income families in the short term.
Large swaths of lands behind Republic Park and Providence have been sold under questionable circumstance to several private developers who were looking to cash in on the booming housing drive between 2010 and 2014.
Many of those parcels have not been developed as the housing market stagnated. Many of the developers, some of them businessmen close to the previous administration, were left in financial difficulties.
There is evidence that a number of the developers may have illegally sold the lands they have committed to develop, for millions.
The evidence that is emerging now speaks of some developers breaching their conditions of sale, by illegally selling off to overseas investors and others.
There is no word whether the applicable profit taxes were ever remitted to the Guyana Revenue Authority.

IRFAAN responds

There is another transaction similar to Sunset Lakes.

In August 2014, Luxury Realty, owned by Roopnarine ‘Ravie’ Ramcharitar, a top deputy of Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, bought and sold a plot– 28.8 acres all in the same day to a foreign buyer.

Ramcharitar paid $173M to CH&PA. That same day, in the presence of CH&PA, he sold it to the overseas businessman for over $570M (US$2.8M).

Heading the ministry then was former Housing Minister, Irfaan Ali.

Yesterday, he issued a statement on the matter which has been making the news recently.

“I wish to respond to the distasteful, mischievous and dishonest articles of Kaieteur News in relation to the Providence, East Bank Demerara lands. I continue to read with shock the continuous misrepresentation of facts by the Kaieteur News. These facts have been in the public domain on many occasions for years now.

Why is it that the newspaper continues to ignore the fact that the names of all private developers were made public on many occasions? This is not a new discovery.

Secondly, the list was requested in the National Assembly and submitted, there was no secret or hidden agenda. All these proposals by developers and investors were responses from expression of interest notices publicly advertised.

Further, the terms and conditions of all the contracts are the same. All the developers are bounded by the same conditions. It is a total misrepresentation to suggest otherwise and at some point basic decency and honesty must be adhered to in reporting. There was no preferential treatment for any of the developers.

The only motive of the Ministry of Housing was to facilitate private investment and capital in expediting and expanding the housing and construction sector to the benefit of the economy.

 I remain proud of the expansive development, investment and benefit that the East Bank Development has brought to thousands of Guyanese.

In relation to how companies are owned and operated; the Ministry did not involve itself in the operations of the developers. The conditions of sale are listed in the agreement with the developers and any Government can act based on the agreement.”

 

 

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