Jagdeo warns Barama…Comply with forestry sector standards or leave

Jagdeo warns Barama…
Comply with forestry sector standards
or leave
Kaieteur News, 27 October 2007
Barama Company Limited will be sent packing if it cannot comply with
the standards of Guyana 's Forestry sector, according to President
Bharrat Jagdeo.

President Jagdeo yesterday said that the company, as a guest in the
country, will have to comply with the country's standards or pack up
and leave.

The President made the comment yesterday while delivering the feature
address at the launching of the Wai Wais' Community-owned Conservation
Area (COCA) at the Umana Yana.

The Head of State declared that ‘no foreign group will come and tell us
how to manage our forest.'

He said, ‘We will manage our forest in a sustainable manner…If they
cannot comply with our standards, they do not have a choice but to
leave.'

According to the President, ‘We are not going to have anyone come here
and cut down our forest indiscriminately, so all the public relations
and the protest will not work…They have to follow our practices.'

The President's comments came days after the company was fined $96M by
the Ministry of Agriculture.

On Thursday, Minister of Agriculture with responsibility for forestry,
Robert Persaud, said that Government would not be blackmailed.

He noted that his Ministry would be sticking to its decision, which was
rooted in concrete evidence.

Barama had stated that employees' job security would be threatened by
the large fine that was levied against the company.

“Threats of protests or other unbecoming stance will not change the
government's position on this matter,” the Agriculture Minister said.

He also invited any independent body to scrutinise the evidence on
which the decision was made.

Despite the Minister's claimed evidence, Barama is still maintaining
its innocence.

Chairman of the company, Girwar Lalaram, on Thursday defended his
company saying that there was no intention to defraud the government of
anything but noted that with a company of such magnitude, procedural as
well as human error would occur.

When the news of the collusion to defraud the state of royalties was
made public, Lalaram had disclosed that “such a sudden suspension means
there will be workers without jobs immediately.”

In a release to the media on Wednesday, Lalaram said, “Barama is deeply
concerned that the penalties will have a detrimental impact on Barama's
continued investment in the country.”

According to Lalaram, the company was only confronted with the
allegations and not the findings.

He added that the fine of $96M was questionable.

He also accused the GFC of acting unconstitutionally, saying that it
had no right to impose a fine and that only the police were entrusted
with that power.