Region 10 Chairman Sharma Solomon says government ought to make the terms of Bai Shan Lin’s logging agreement public so members of the community can assess how well the company has been honouring its commitments.
Solomon’s call on Thursday comes on the heels of numerous complaints that he, as well as other Region 10 residents have levelled against the company. According to Solomon, Bai Shan Lin continues to benefit from the extraction of the area’s natural resources while doing damage to areas in the community.
He also charged that the community is getting very little benefit from the company’s operations.
Having access to the agreement which authorizes Bai Shan Lin to operate, he says, will clarify the company’s standing with regard to the above-mentioned obligations. This will also allow members of the community to know if the company should be able to export the volume of logs it currently does, or if it should be exporting logs at all, despite its failure so far to set up processing operations.
Controversial mining
Solomon recalled the loam pit which Bai Shan Lin was controversially mining last year. Arthur Reynolds, Chairman of Moblissa’s Community Develop-ment Committee had said that Bai Shan Lin began mining the location in December of 2012.
He had said that the loam was being used to build up the swampy area on which the company had signalled intentions to build a wood processing plant. Laterite was also being mined, he added, to facilitate the construction of a five-mile roadway at the opposite side of the highway that would allow the foreign company to access the Demerara River.
On Thursday, Solomon said that while Bai Shan Lin has ceased its controversial mining of the old pit, it has started mining an area adjacent to the old location. Thousands of tons of loam, he told this newspaper, have already been removed and he says he has no idea if the mining being engaged in by Bai Shan Lin is allowed by its agreement.
Solomon says that the Region has consulted with environmentalists who say that the pits pose dangers to the area’s ground water supply, on which community members depend substantially.
Insufficient repairs to damaged roads
Residents of Region 10 remain concerned also at the damage the company has done to roads in the area. They are also disappointed that commitments the company made to improve some roads are still to be completely acted on. Reynolds had said that heavy trucks used by the company have damaged three miles of the seven-mile road used by Moblissa farmers to access their farm lands.
Solomon said on Thursday that the company made a commitment to fix the stretch of road from its entrance at the Linden Highway to the Moblissa Creek but is yet to follow through on the commitment. Last May, Ground Structures Engineering, a consulting company took soil samples from the area Bai Shan Lin was controversially mining at Moblissa to see if the material could be used to make the soil mixture needed to adequately repair the access road which enables Moblissa famers to take their produce to the market.
Solomon says Bai Shan Lin also promised to install road signs and markings to denote the presence of heavy-duty trucks in the areas and for other purposes. These are still outstanding, he lamented
Environmental Impact Assessments
Whether Bai Shan Lin carried out Environmental Impact Assessments (EAIs) and/or whether it was required to carry out such exercises before commencing operations is also something to be tested by the details of the company’s agreement.
Solomon doubts an EIA was conducted prior to Bai Shan Lin’s operations as he believes such an exercise would have predicted and avoided the damage that has been done to the Moblissa market access road as well as other environmental complications that have occurred. Reynolds had said last May that because of the damage done to the road, land slippage during the rainy season could make the road impassable.
Employment
Solomon says that much of the concessions granted to Bai Shan Lin were based on the understanding that a significant number of residents from the community would be availed jobs, but that residents are now reaping minimal benefits even in this regard.
He said that during a meeting in Coomacka, the Linden Econo-mic Advancement Programme, the Region 10 Programme for Forest Management, as well as other groups in collaboration with residents agreed that the company should receive additional concessions provided that residents of Coomacka gained significant employment opportunities.
Solomon lamented that the ratio of Guyanese employees to foreign workers with the company is three to seven. Many of the persons employed by the company, he added, work as guards and/or in other such positions and are paid as little as $500 a day.
“What is the agreement between government and the company? This will allow us to determine if we are getting the benefits that we are supposed to be getting in exchange for the extraction of our natural, non-renewable resources,” said Solomon.
In one of a series of statements it issued last week, Bai Shan Lin responded to these charges.
It said that for the interior, most of the Guyanese salaries are based on performance.
“… in other words, the more you have worked, the more you will earn. Such as, truck drivers, the more trips a driver make a higher salary will be earned. For inventory staff, the higher amounts of inventory of blocks, a higher salary will be earned. For heavy machinery operators, the more cubic meters of logs skidded; a higher salary will be earned. However, most of Bai Shan Lin salaries for interior staff are more than 60,000 Guyana dollars per month.”
It said that for office/clerical workers, Bai Shan Lin has different categories: cleaner, supervisor, manager, deputy general manager, finance controller, managing director etc “but the minimum salary for the above mentioned position(s) is at least 60,000 Guyana dollars per month.”
It added that those who are working for the contractors, the contractor is mostly responsible for their salary and that this also will be more than 60,000 Guyana dollars per month.
Bai Shan Lin also provided figures to show that it had hired 151 Guyanese compared to 51 non-Guyanese. Of the 51 non-Guyanese, 14 were for the driving of dump trucks and 10 as skidder operators.
In another statement, Bai Shan Lin assured that on the completion of its long-promised wood processing plant the company will provide employment for approximately 300-500 Guyanese workers from the Linden community.
It said that the company will provide these employees with extensive training.
“The company will continue to work in the best interest of the communities and administration of Region Ten. Bai Shan Lin remains committed to sustainable forest activities in compliance with the Forest Laws and Regulations for the benefit of all Guyanese”, the statement added.
