Latest update November 21st, 2024 1:00 AM
Problems with container scanners…Guyana risks US maritime export ban
By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell
After spending millions of US dollars to procure “state of the art” scanners, Guyana is still susceptible to a ban from the United States on all shipments leaving by boat.
The mobile scanner
A Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) source told Kaieteur News, “The US is being lenient with us for now, but if only one major bad shipment of drugs slips through and arrives at a US port they will surely enforce the ban.”
In May 2010, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration acquired an electronic container scanner for US$1M for the purpose of 100 percent container scanning.
In his 2015 report, the Auditor General, Deodat Sharma, said that the scanner was placed into operation in May 2011, one year after it was procured. However the multi-million-dollar piece of equipment collapsed and became inoperable by October 2014. Sharma reported that this was due to a loss of power to the electrical cabinet.
He said that another scanner was acquired in November 2013 for US$5.3M and placed into operation on January 4, 2014. This became inoperable on June 18, 2016.
Sharma said that at the time of reporting in September, the scanner remained inoperable.
GRA admitted that the first scanner is unserviceable and repairs are not cost-effective. The mobile scanner malfunctioned because of its constant exposure to weather conditions. The scanner was repaired. Currently the Authority is in the process of identifying a permanent location for the scanner.
Sharma has since recommended that GRA continue its efforts to identify a suitable location for the scanner that would protect it from the rigors of nature.
Yesterday a GRA source confirmed that the Authority is still looking for a permanent station for the scanner.
The source said that for almost a year, the scanner was operating from the tarmac of the National Park. “That is where the exposure to the weather came from.” The source added that in addition to the damage caused to the equipment, the foundation of the National Park also became damaged due to the operations there.
“The container trucks and the machine itself damaged the tarmac; remember the radiation from this machine is great.”
“At the moment we are trying to find a location to operate the machine but the machine is working perfectly.”
When the last scanner was commissioned, the then Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, said that the piece of equipment was necessary so that Guyana could be compliant with international laws.
Singh said that some of the major trading capitals of the world and nations such as the United States now require universal scanning of incoming containers, “the scanner now enables us to be in compliance with those international obligations.”
In fact, the US was getting ready to ban all maritime shipments from Guyana from arriving at any of its shores. The scanners are supposed to ensure the accuracy of declarations with respect to imports and exports, along with the integrity of trade and enhancement of revenue collection efforts.
While Guyana saved itself then, the risk has arrived again with the one scanner inoperable and the other waiting for a location to operate from. Yesterday, the GRA source said, “The Americans have not imposed the restrictions as yet, Guyana is still asking for more time. The restrictions were supposed to be respected as condition for maritime trade not only in Guyana but across the Caribbean.”
The source said that other Caribbean jurisdictions have been asking for more time as well. The source said that some jurisdictions are still to procure their equipment, “We already have a scanner; we just have to find a suitable place to work it from. The set up is that the scanner stays stationary and the truck moves.
“So we need a location with ample space and where the radiation would not be a problem.”
The source continued, “The first scanner, (the one bought in 2010 for US$1M) was long past its useful economic life, it should be scrapped.”
The GRA source said that there is a baggage scanner at the airport, “So we have no problem there, maritime is the problem for now.”
Back in 2013, the then Chairman of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) Clinton Williams highlighted the importance of Guyana’s ability to meet its obligations in terms of complying with a host of regulations governing port security through internationally sanctioned treaties and regulations.
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