Seeking information on purpleheart production
Guyana Chronicle, 16 October 2007
I note that Usha Pertab (letter captioned "The purple heart exported by
Bulkan Timber Works was either dressed or kiln dried" in SN 14.10.07)
has access to commercially confidential information supplied by the
private sector to the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) or Ministry of
Agriculture.
In view of the severe penalties for leaking information, specified in
Article 13 of the recently revised GFC Act (enacted July 2007), we must
suppose that Ms. Pertab has authority to place such
confidentially-supplied information into the public domain. As she has
access to information about the privately-owned Bulkan Timber Works,
could she also tell us, through your newspaper, what are the comparable
figures for purple heart timber from those logging companies which have
foreign direct investment arrangements with Guyana?
According to the GFC’s useful Forest Sector Information Report - year
2006 review, available on the GFC website - 49,000 cubic metres (m3) of
purple heart logs were produced, of which no less than 46,000 m3 were
exported unprocessed, leaving only 3,654 m3 (from the GFC's data) for
local milling. Using the log-to-lumber conversion (0.4) preferred by
the Forest Products Association for fixed mills, these locally sawn
logs would produce 1462 m3 of lumber.
In addition, 9,115 m3 of purpleheart was chain sawn from logs directly
in the forest. Adding together these two sources of purpleheart sawn
lumber gives 10,577 m3. The GFC review for 2006 says that 10,160 m3 of
rough sawn and dressed purpleheart lumber was exported in that year. By
subtraction, only 417 m3 were left for all local uses, which is the
equivalent of one quarter of a board foot per person - thus, a piece of
wood 12 inches long x 3 inches wide x 1 inch thick. In this same year
2006, 110 times as much purpleheart was exported unprocessed as logs.
Surely this is not what the PPP intended in its value addition in the
timber industry in its 2006 election manifesto?
So, through the Editor, I would ask Ms. Pertab to tell us, for each of
the four corporate companies Bai Shan Lin, Barama, DTL and JaLing in
2006:
a. the volume of purple heart they produced as logs?
b. the volume of purple heart they exported as logs?
c. the volume of purple heart they exported as sawn lumber?
d.the fiscal incentives (tax concessions) provided through the Guyana
Revenue Authority?
e. the total capital investments made in Guyana?
f. the average number of employees in each year?
g. the PAYE and NIS paid?
MAHADEO KOWLESSAR
Guyana Chronicle, 16 October 2007
I note that Usha Pertab (letter captioned "The purple heart exported by
Bulkan Timber Works was either dressed or kiln dried" in SN 14.10.07)
has access to commercially confidential information supplied by the
private sector to the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) or Ministry of
Agriculture.
In view of the severe penalties for leaking information, specified in
Article 13 of the recently revised GFC Act (enacted July 2007), we must
suppose that Ms. Pertab has authority to place such
confidentially-supplied information into the public domain. As she has
access to information about the privately-owned Bulkan Timber Works,
could she also tell us, through your newspaper, what are the comparable
figures for purple heart timber from those logging companies which have
foreign direct investment arrangements with Guyana?
According to the GFC’s useful Forest Sector Information Report - year
2006 review, available on the GFC website - 49,000 cubic metres (m3) of
purple heart logs were produced, of which no less than 46,000 m3 were
exported unprocessed, leaving only 3,654 m3 (from the GFC's data) for
local milling. Using the log-to-lumber conversion (0.4) preferred by
the Forest Products Association for fixed mills, these locally sawn
logs would produce 1462 m3 of lumber.
In addition, 9,115 m3 of purpleheart was chain sawn from logs directly
in the forest. Adding together these two sources of purpleheart sawn
lumber gives 10,577 m3. The GFC review for 2006 says that 10,160 m3 of
rough sawn and dressed purpleheart lumber was exported in that year. By
subtraction, only 417 m3 were left for all local uses, which is the
equivalent of one quarter of a board foot per person - thus, a piece of
wood 12 inches long x 3 inches wide x 1 inch thick. In this same year
2006, 110 times as much purpleheart was exported unprocessed as logs.
Surely this is not what the PPP intended in its value addition in the
timber industry in its 2006 election manifesto?
So, through the Editor, I would ask Ms. Pertab to tell us, for each of
the four corporate companies Bai Shan Lin, Barama, DTL and JaLing in
2006:
a. the volume of purple heart they produced as logs?
b. the volume of purple heart they exported as logs?
c. the volume of purple heart they exported as sawn lumber?
d.the fiscal incentives (tax concessions) provided through the Guyana
Revenue Authority?
e. the total capital investments made in Guyana?
f. the average number of employees in each year?
g. the PAYE and NIS paid?
MAHADEO KOWLESSAR
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