Lincoln Lewis’s criticism of Rusal was unjustified

May 08, 2018 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Please allow me to reply to Lincoln Lewis’s column ‘Eye on Guyana’ that appeared in the Kaieteur News on the 6th May, 2018. Lincoln Lewis was quick to criticize.
In his eagerness to criticize Rusal and former President Jagdeo for slights real and imagined, Mr. Lewis attempts to twist facts to suit his dubious agenda and in so doing, does himself and our nation’s investment climate a disservice.
Mr. Lewis begins with the sale of 4.7 acres of land for $150 Million to Mr. Deripaska, whom Lewis connects with money laundering in his first paragraph. Mr. Deripaska is under sanction by the US government as “consequence for Russia’s actions”, not money laundering.
(https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/06/us-sanctions-russians-including-oligarch-linked-to-former-trump-campaign-chief-paul-manafort.html).
Lewis then states that the land sale deprives Guyanese awaiting house lots. This is despite Lewis’s claim the land was sold under fair market value, at the sale price a 5000sq ft house lot would cost $4million. That figure would rise to $9 million if the Rodrigues & Associates valuation were utilized; all this before bridge, road, water and electricity are installed.
These prices are beyond the realm of those who applied to Housing for subsidized house lots. Interestingly, the Re-migrant Scheme at Providence which offered high income house lots at $7 Million were woefully under-subscribed and remain largely empty. The actual price people are willing to pay is much lower than the fantasies entertained and I would have expected a more honest appraisal from one as experienced in the real estate world as Mr. Lewis.
Editor, Mr. Lewis disparages the Rusal investment in Guyana as “incestuous” and omits facts well known. The Rusal US$150 Million Foreign Direct Investment to get the bauxite industry revitalized, including opening new mines; that Rusal has expended over US$100 Million since to purchase Goods and Services locally.
Rusal has 500 plus local employees. Rusal’s sub-contractors, Olendorff Carrier’s has 190 employees; Rusal hires Rod and Nielsen for continuous dredging operations in the Berbice River for the benefit of all who utilize the port.
A perusal of the Audited accounts of Rusal’s local subsidiary BCGI shows it has been operating at a loss for well over a decade. (Nazim Ali & Company). Rusal has stayed the course to keep the bauxite industry alive locally and with hopes of eventual recovery of its investment.
Rusal did not pack up and leave after the 2015 elections in Guyana, to accuse the company of being aligned with the previous Government in disingenuous as the company continues to engage with the present collation government directly to seek solutions for the challenges facing the company and industry locally.
Among the reasons for BCGI’s unprofitability are the high stripping ratio and the absence of a railroad. A comparison to Rusal’s operation in Guinea where the ore lies on the surface and where a 100-mile dedicated railway exists shows that Guyana is indeed fortunate that the company continues to operate locally.
It is of note that Bosai, the other bauxite operator in Guyana has shifted its focus dramatically to Manganese in Matthews Ridge, North West. Instead of attempting to cast aspersions of improper conduct on President Jagdeo and his Privatization team for enticing Rusal to invest locally, Mr. Lewis should express appreciation for the workers he now represents.
Mr. Lewis should use the power of his pen and Union to attract Foreign Direct Investment instead of a tool of intimidation against those who have seen fit to invest in our Nation’s growth.
Mr. Lewis has been after Rusal for many years to comply with local laws and ‘unionize’. In 2009 he organized wildcat strikes that caused disruptions to the company’s operation and led to the dismissal of 57 workers.
Rusal insists that Mr. Lewis is to blame for this fiasco as they presented him with three options at the time. Mr. Lewis and his Union never paid any of the dismissed workers any compensation, (How many Rusal workers does Mr. Lewis’s represent?), nor would they be in any position to help the current 500 workers employed by Rusal, should the company cease operations in Guyana.
A Job is an important part of a person’s psyche, it gives self-worth, and it allows one to plan for the future. In the words of the American President who introduced the New Deal “True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made”: Franklin D Roosevelt.
Sincerely
Robin Singh

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