TCL’s contempt of court matter…
Attorney General Charles Ramson yesterday stressed that there has never been a disregard for the law within government, responding to TCL’s application to the CCJ charging Guyana with contempt of court for failing to implement the CET on cement from non-CARICOM sources as ordered by the court.
Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) and subsidiary TCL Guyana Inc. (TGI) on Monday filed an application in the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) against the Guyana government requesting the CCJ to hold this country in contempt of court.
The TCL Group had stated that this failure to abide by and implement the ruling of the CCJ was “a flagrant departure from the rule of law, (and) “it also negatively impacts upon the public’s confidence and respect for the court.”
In a statement to the Government Information Agency (GINA) yesterday, the AG explained that government had willingly admitted that it was in breach of the rule requiring the imposition of the tariff on cement before the court, GINA reported. Ramson also noted that there were extenuating circumstances as regional cement supplies, including the plaintiff, could not meet the needs of Guyana’s booming construction industry.
He said that it has been estimated that the country, over the coming year, requires 432,000 metric tonnes of cement to meet its demand, or 36,000 metric tonnes per month.
This demand, Ramson contended, cannot be easily met by the regional producers. And he noted that the entire cement industry in Barbados could only supply 18,000 metric tonnes of cement per month, which is only 50% of Guyana’s demand.
According to Ramson, government has always tried to remain within the confines of the law and had filed on June 30, before the court’s earlier ruling, an application with the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED), the body that rules on intra-regional trade matters, seeking a waiver of the CET on imports of cement from non-CARICOM countries.
However, he said that Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, which have cement-producing companies, have objected to the granting of the waiver.
Meanwhile, the AG stated that Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and International Cooperation, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, will be attending a COTED meeting in Barbados today where this matter will be on the agenda.
Ramson also said that Guyana had filed an application with the CCJ seeking an extension until December 31 of this year to follow the ruling of the court and a video conference on that application is expected to be held on October 14.
Asked whether this new application by TCL would have any effect on Guyana’s efforts to secure an extension, the AG explained that such an action is merely a tactic that seeks to unbalance an opponent in a legal battle (in this case, Guyana represented by its Attorney General).
He reiterated that Guyana is only seeking to satisfy the cement needs of its booming construction industry, and is in no way trying to undermine the public’s confidence in the court as a press release from TCL claims. Further, should Minister Rodrigues-Birkett be successful in lobbying COTED for a waiver of the CET, the matter would become moot, GINA concluded.
