New US$4.3M mobile scanner to be operational today

The new vehicular mobile scanner which was granted to the government of Guyana by the Chinese government was unveiled yesterday on the tarmac of the National Park, Thomas Lands.

The new mobile scanner during a demonstration exercise yesterday.

Among those attending the simple ceremony were Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh, the Chinese Ambassador to Guyana, Mr. Zhang Lamin, and Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Mr. Khurshid Sattaur. Also present was the Chairman of the Guyana Manufacturers and Services Association (GMSA), Mr. Clinton Williams. The Chairman also serves as the local representative of the Chinese firm NUTECH. The Chinese firm is the sole manufacturer of the state-of-the-art scanner which is worth US$4.3M.  It is the most modern scanner available on the market since it uses the latest technology in x-ray imaging. During his presentation, Mr. Williams expressed that the new scanner comes at a most opportune time, since there have been several complaints as to how long the other scanners would take to scan containers. But the time frame would now be significantly reduced, as the scanner can scan several containers within one hour. The mobile scanner is the third edition to the GRA’s arsenal of technological equipment. He said as well that transportation costs of containers which would have to be moved from one place to another do incur a lot of expenses, and as such, the mobile scanners will assist in reducing greatly this inconvenience. He added that since there have been several American Coast Guard officials only recently on the shores of Guyana to ensure compliance with international maritime regulations, the new scanner will assist in ensuring that Guyana continues to conform to these laws. Ambassador Zhang expressed that he is quite pleased to be associated with the presentation of the new scanner and though China itself is facing challenges, it will always be willing to contribute to the economic development of countries. The envoy had presented the acceptance certificate for the vehicular mobile scanner to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) in December 2013.

Special invitees proceeding to examine the image in the cabin

In his remarks, Finance Minister Dr. Singh expressed that he was also extremely pleased to be a part of the occasion. “There are in fact two distinct perspectives of which I derive my satisfaction. Firstly, the special scanner represents a most valuable addition to the hardware of the government, and for the GRA, it helps in ensuring compliance with tax and trade laws and protection of our revenues. “It brings Guyana into compliance with international standards as some of the major metropolises of the world, including the USA, now require universal scanning of incoming containers. So the scanner enables us to be in compliance with those obligations.” “This scanner represents an important part of our artillery in order to protect goods and the integrity of trade in Guyana and ensuring the accuracy in completeness of declaration and enhancing revenue collection efforts. Therefore it represents a very important part of the strengthening of the GRA’s ability to discharge its responsibilities effectively. At the same time, the acquisition of this scanner which has the value of US$4.3M represents the latest manifestation of the highly valued relationship between Guyana and the Republic of China.” The Minister also took the time to call on the Private Sector partners to remind them of their obligations to bring themselves constantly in compliance with the laws of the country, in particular with the trade and tax laws. “Oftentimes one hears how long it takes for a particular transaction to process, but this often results because there is not completeness in the declaration in information to the GRA, and so I would like to urge for this to be improved.” Just last year, Commissioner-General Sattaur had said that the high quality scanning images and powerful software tools of the scanner, would be able to detect contraband concealed in containers and the scanner can also inspect a container in approximately one minute. At yesterday’s proceedings those in attendance were afforded the opportunity of seeing how the scanner operates. They were also invited into the cabin of the mobile facility to view the image produced by the scanner after it scanned a container which was on site. A representative of the Chinese firm explained to this publication that the new scanner when scanning a container, projects an image on to one of the computers in the cabin. This image is reflected with a colour scheme. The varying colours, he said, represent the density of certain objects. With that identified, one can be able to recognize what the objects are.