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GRA seizes all duty-free equipment
Illegal Ruimveldt Concrete Factory…
GRA Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia.
Kaieteur News – Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Godfrey Statia, has confirmed with Kaieteur News that all duty-free equipment brought in by Superior Concrete Inc., the foreign controlled company that was setting up an illegal concrete batching facility at Houston Estates, has been seized. Statia said too that there is an ongoing assessment of the said case to understand the extent to which the nation’s tax laws have been broken by the company.
This newspaper was also able to ascertain from other GRA officials that the losses to the State regarding the said equipment total more than $40M.
Following Kaieteur News’ reporting on the matter, two Superior Concrete Inc. officials, Ian Charles Jones and Richard Austin Shamlin, were told to leave these shores after it was found that they were working in Guyana on expired work permits. Both individuals were also highly disrespectful to Government officials who tried on three occasions to bring an end to the rogue operations.
The illegal operation that was being led by the foreign controlled company was taking place on land adjacent to South Ruimveldt. Kaieteur News was able to obtain a copy of the transport for the plot in use and observed that it is partly owned by Michael Vieira, who is the Chairman of Houston Estates. KN had reported that Vieira had no part of the illegal operation but only leased the lands to Andrew Mekdeci.
In a statement to the press on May 11, 2021, Mekdeci denied having any involvement in this illegal operation, stating that, “I will not flout the laws of Guyana.” He admitted however that his company was contracted to provide equipment and construction materials to the foreign controlled company while adding – it was observed by this publication during a site visit that machinery operating on the site is branded MMC, a company owned and controlled by Andrew and Marise Mekdeci.
In light of this declaration, Kaieteur News sent an email on May 11, asking Andrew Mekdeci to answer questions related to the licensing of the company and other issues. So far, no response was provided to these questions, which were emailed to Ajay Baksh of Perception Inc., a Public Relations and Advertising firm that sent the statement on Mekdeci’s behalf.
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