Guns drawn in showdown between GRA and BaiShanLin
– as officials move to seize machinery, other assets over breached agreements
The rift between Government and BaiShan Lin over the company’s breached agreements escalated yesterday into an ugly showdown in which guns were reportedly drawn, as Guyana Revenue Authority officials swooped down on the Chinese firm’s Coomacka, Linden concessions to seize its assets.
Kaieteur News understands that the drama began early in the day when the GRA team visited the area to confiscate the company’s equipment.
A staffer at BaiShanLin contacted Kaieteur News by phone to claim that the GRA operatives had stormed their Linden operations and seized billions in duty-free equipment. The staffer also alleged that the officers also made off with laptops, cash and other personal items.
According to sources at Linden, both sides filed complaints at the Mackenzie Police Station. The BaiShan Lin officials allegedly stated that they were robbed, while the GRA officers said that they met with resistance while carrying out the operation.
The GRA officers, according to a source, also claimed that some of the Bai ShanLin employees were heavily armed, and that the weaponry on the site included sub-machine guns.
A senior police official also confirmed that both GRA and staffers from the Chinese logging firm had filed complaints at the Mackenzie Police Station.
Kaieteur News understands that GRA officials had visited the company’s Cacique Palace offices last Friday and had notified officials of its intention to visit Coomacka.
Sources within the GRA said that officers took possession of some building material, while refuting the claims that “billions in equipment” and other items were seized.
Yesterday’s clash came just five days after the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) announced that it was moving to repossess over 600,000 hectares from BaiShanLin International Forest Development Inc., which has been under fire for its operations here. The GFC statement, made on Tuesday, came hours after Cabinet met and gave it blessings to the commission for actions to be taken against BaiShanLin.
According to GFC, the decision was taken after the cash-strapped BaiShanLin failed to deliver on agreed actions to introduce investors to the commission and failing despite being given time to prove that it had an acceptable plan to clear an approximately $80M debt.
It owes the government of Guyana hundreds of millions of dollars for properties it bought, including the Cacique Banquet Hall behind Ramada Princess Casino, in Providence. It was taken to court by BK International, a local contractor for hundreds of millions of dollars owed for housing lands at Providence.
Exports Halted
Last year, Government halted log exports for the company after it became clear that a US$70M wood processing facility in Linden was not going to happen.
That plant was key to BaiShanLin being granted billions of dollars in duty free concessions from since 2006 when it first appeared on the Guyana scene.
GFC, in explaining its decision to repossess the 618,000 hectares which BaiShanLin has managed to snap up, some under questionable means, made it clear that it has been engaging the company since April 8, 2016 to provide an update on its plans to clear the $80M debts.
”During the meeting, representatives noted that the BIFDI had suffered financial constraints which affected the establishing of the wood processing facility and that the company was engaging a new partner that would contribute significantly to the investment in Guyana.”
GFC said its board was assured of the financial strength of the new partner who had committed to pay off the debt owed by BaiShanLin to GFC.
”The BIFDI was requested to submit information about its operations in Guyana, settle its arrears and submit a letter of commitment from the new partner.”
However, it seemed that even at the 11th hour, BaiShanLin was not willing to, or in position to comply with the orders of the regulators.
”To date, the BIFDI has failed to fulfill any of its commitments to the Government of Guyana; effectively failing on the obligations it made, which were accepted in good faith,” the statement explained. GFC said that in keeping with Forest Governance Practices, it will be formally repossessing the concessions owned by the company and accelerating efforts to recover the debt owed.
BIFDI was incorporated in September 2006 under the Guyana Companies Act 1991 with the main objective of timber harvesting and establishing downstream wood processing operations in Linden, GFC explained.
Troubled Presence
BaiShanLin’s presence in Guyana had been an extremely uncomfortable one for especially the last administration of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), under President Donald Ramotar, after it became known that the company was virtually given a blank cheque to carry out operations here.
It was allowed to bring in hundreds of Chinese workers without much attention paid by local authorities to ensure that they returned home after their contract ended.
The situation was so bad that British and German immigration authorities were convinced that BaiShanLin had stretched its tentacles to human trafficking.
The company even attempted to bring women in on flights from China but a number of them were detained, with immigration authorities saying they did not fit the profile of being logging workers. There are indications, too, from correspondence to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that certain officials of the Clement Rohee-led Ministry of Home Affairs may have been bribed to facilitate visas for BaiShanLin.
The Guyana Embassy in China had over time warned BaiShanLin that it was not complying with visa requirements which called for reports to be filed with the embassy when the workers returned to China.
In Guyana, BaiShanLin is the third largest holder of state forests behind Barama Company Limited, a Malaysian company, and the Indian-owned Vaitarna Holdings.
In 2011, it was granted 52,896 hectares up the Berbice River through a company named Haimorakabra Logging Company Inc.
Through a number of questionable transactions called joint ventures, the Chinese logger acquired Puruni Woods- 107,671 hectares; Kwebanna Wood Products Inc.-87,361 hectares; Sherwood Forest Inc.- 167,075 hectares; Woods Association Industries Co Limited- 26,076 hectares and other concessions- all totally over 600,000 hectares.
The concessions are located in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine and Ten.
But BaiShanLin was not only involved in logging and export. It had also branched off to gold mining, housing, river transportation, ship building and even property acquisition.
