GEA Inspector caught on tape soliciting fuel deal for ‘friend’
…was lobbying for business without requisite licence
Kaieteur News – A senior fuel inspector attached to the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) has been caught on a taped recording directing a client looking to purchase a large quantity of fuel to not use his preferred choice. Instead, the inspector lobbied for the fuel to be purchased from another dealer. The dealer that was being recommended by the GEA Inspector, according to sources close to the transaction, does not have a licence to import fuel nor resell.
One of the locations without storage facilities that was issued a licence.
GEA, which has jurisdiction over the issuance of the different classes of fuel licences used in Guyana such as Import, Transport and Sales, has been recently embroiled in controversy over the issuance of fuel licences to companies not meeting the legal requirements.
In the recording, the inspector (name provided) could be heard telling the potential client not to use the dealer he was negotiating with but rather to use another dealer he would recommend instead.
In the recording, the GEA Inspector could be heard telling the client, “what you were doing all the time is purchasing fuel from a company who is not licenced by the GEA, I know you would not be aware of that.”
To this end, the client sought clarity, since he was doing business with two other companies based on recommendations.
He queried of the inspector, “just for informational purposes, I got two other individuals that I use in the same capacity that I do business with (name of company withheld), somebody put me on to them I just have a number that I call.”
To this, the GEA Inspector told the client that the dealer (name withheld) is licenced to sell fuel.
Kaietuer News has since been informed that this is not the case, since the person in question only has a licence to transport fuel and not sell.
In recommending another company, he insisted that the company that the client initially wanted to do business with was not licenced to sell fuel. The client then confessed, “I don’t know per say who is licenced and who is not,” to which the inspector repeated the names of two companies he claimed were licenced to sell fuel by the GEA.
As the client sought further information, the inspector responded, “I got a guy who normally deals with fuel in that area so I will call him and I will give you a call.”
According to the client, “I would really appreciate that,” at which point he was reassured by the inspector, “yes, I will do that, you don’t worry.”
This publication recently reported that the GEA had issued fuel import licences to at least two companies that have no demonstrable storage capacity or other mandatory requirements.
Those companies were identified as Global Commercial Import and Transport that is located in Parika, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), and the other is Global Petroleum Inc., a company located at Wales, West Bank Demerara.
Neither of the companies is presently in possession of a fuel storage depot for fuel imports—a requirement that has to be met before any such licence is issued.
According to the application requirements for receiving such a licence, applicants, in addition to having a storage depot that meets the required specifications, are also expected to have completed an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
Companies requiring an import licence are also required to provide a Petroleum Licence from the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) in the case of wholesale and importing wholesale application.
This publication understands that none of the companies named have met any of the outlined requirements but would have been given import licences.
Kaieteur News has since been told that the granting of the licences was done prior to the first meeting of the entity’s new Chairman of the Board, attorney-at-law, Jerome Khan. Undoubtedly, the two companies mentioned have not shown that they are capable of meeting the criteria to obtain fuel legally nor to acquire a licence.
According to the GEA’s website, as at December 31, 2017, GEA had issued 13 Import and Importing Wholesale Licences for importation of “fuels,” i.e., diesel, gasoline, kerosene and aviation fuel.
This is in addition to 22 Import and Importing Wholesale Licences issued for the importation of either lubricants and/or LPG only. The entity revealed too that one export licence had been issued in addition to 14 Wholesale Licences, 113 Retail Licences: Petrol Filling Stations, 464 Retail Licences: Others: LPG, Kerosene, Lubricants, etcetera, 230 Consumer Installation Licences and 630 Bulk Transportation Carrier Licences.
In 2017, GEA’s Inspectors visited 12,882 sites and collected 33,891 samples, which resulted in 29 discoveries of illegal fuel and the seizure of over 11,000 gallons of illegal gasoline and diesel.
For 2018, the inspectors are said to have visited 3,191 sites and collected 8,339 fuel samples in the first quarter of the year.