Unlike our Asian counterparts we don't export logs and only employ local labour

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article?id=56527930

Unlike our Asian counterparts we don't export logs and only employ
local labour
Stabroek News, Friday, August 31st 2007

Dear Editor ,

I refer to the letter by Ms Preamnarine Karan captioned "Ms Bulkan
should have clarified the position with Demerara Timbers Ltd"
(07.08.30)

I would like to ask Ms Karan two questions in turn: -

1. If Demerara Timbers only has a 'Technical Assist-ance Management
Agree-ment' with Bai Shan Lin, why did they erect a giant signboard at
the gate of their Mabura operations announcing "Bai Shan Lin/Demerara
Timbers? And why was the signboard taken down a few weeks later?

2. If DTL's 'Technical Assistance Management Agreement' with Bai Shan
Lin only "cover[s] the movement of shares within a specific company" as
stated by Ms Karan - in other words, a takeover, confirmed separately
by Bai Shan Lin's administrative manager and site manager (Demerara
Timbers to be taken over by Bai Shan Lin, Stabroek News, August 21,
2007), would this be similar to the recent buyout in which Danny Chan
of Jailin sold state forests belonging to all Guyanese to the same Bai
Shan Lin for over US$19 million. Yes US$19 million.

Ms Karan claims that 'she does not speak about her very close family
members who have been in the forest sector for decades and have
reinvested practically nothing into the sector'and also 'how serious
are the Bulkans'. Permit me, through your newspaper, to inform Ms Karan
of the contributions to the national economy by Bulkan Timber Works,
Preci-sion Woodworking Limited, and Superior Shingles & Wood Products
Inc, three companies in which thebrothers of Janette Bulkan are
employed.

In 2006 those three companies employed about 250 Guyanese, all on the
NIS roll; exported about $590 million and paid $79 million in taxes. No
logs exported. All value-added production. In 2007 our companies are
aiming to surpass all those numbers.

Furthermore in 2006 those same Bulkans joined with another local
company to start another company - Sus-tainable Forest Inc. SFI's
concession of 32,000 ha is less than 1 percent of the 4,911,000 ha of
state forests allocated for commercial use.

SFI is now in its first year of operation, and our company will inform
Ms Karan and all other Guyanese the sum total of royalties and area
fees paid per hectare at the end of our first year. We pledge to have
only Guy-anese workers, no logs will be exported. We would like to
issue a challenge to all other concession holders to publish their
comparable figures. In addition, our hard-working GFC and Go-Invest can
publish those figures in the national interest.

Finally I would like Ms Karan to further advise on the following -

Will our policy makers continue to allow Asian loggers to mine our
forests and export logs rather than ensuring that they process the logs
in Guyana? Does it not make sense for our natural resour-ces to be
processed here so all the spin off benefits accrue to Guyanese? When
you fell a tree that takes over 100 years to mature and export it in
log form, here is what Guyana gets - US $6 in export tax.

The calculation is as follows: The average log measures 3 cubic metres.
Declared value of US$300 at 2 % export levy equals US$6. Yes the
princely sum of US$6 for a prime timber species. And to boot one Asian
company is not even paying its fair share of this 2 % export tax. One
does not have to be a rocket scientist to question whether this is
acceptable in the 21st century. Where is the patriotism, Ms. Karan?

Will our policy makers continue to allow these Asian loggers to
continue willy nilly to import Asian workers thus depriving Guyanese of
these jobs.

And have these Asian loggers tell us that Asian workers are more
productive than Guyanese. When will Ms Karan or our policy makers join
up the dots?

Yours faithfully,

Howard Bulkan