… as Association to protest in front State House
In light of the total ban on used tyres, which takes effect from April 1, the members of the Guyana Used Tyres Association (GUTA) will picket State House on Tuesday, with the aim of getting the attention of the President.
At a press conference at Georgetown Club on Friday, the Association reminded that motorcars, minibuses and other vehicle operators will have to purchase new tyres, which will drive up transportation cost. As such, the Association has called for more consultations with Government.
“The Guyana Used Tyres Association is not seeking a confrontation with any authority but rather a consultation with the authorities,” GUTA Public Relations Coordinator Nazim Hussein stressed.
He, along with the organisation’s Vice President Mustaak Mohamed, and Treasurer Abdool Hamid met with the media on Friday.
Notably, the used trye industry provides jobs for around 5000 persons and contributes in excess of $100 million in revenue. Hussein also pointed out that new tyres generate around “50 per cent less” revenue on a yearly basis.
Highlighting the claim that used tyres cause more road accidents, Hussein challenged the authorities to provide the statistics cited that show such a correlation. According to his contention, more accidents are caused by speeding, alcohol consumption and inattentiveness, especially by use of mobile phones while driving.
The group challenged the Finance Minister’s legal framework for implementing the ban. “Presently, there is no minimum requirement for a tyre in law, in Guyana,” Hussein claimed.
It was further contended that the Bureau of Standards should employ technology to differentiate between “good used tyres” and “substandard new tyres”. The GUTA suggested that if the ban is instituted, there will be “significant increase of wear trye use” on the country’s roads, adding that the high cost of new tryes will force drivers to continue using their current tryes for longer periods. This, the group reasoned, will cause more road accidents.
President of the Minibus Association, Ian Andrews, feels that the rising costs will be passed on to passengers and suggested some persons may want to smuggle tyres.
“Guyanese are very innovative persons and if we are not careful and persons cannot afford to buy those tryes but they need it, you can have a smuggling culture that is going to develop whether through the borders or by boats,” he reasoned.
Andrews further noted that if the maintenance, along with its associated costs increase, some bus operators may be forced to discontinue their operations, rendering them jobless.
During the National Budget 2016 presentation, Finance Minister Winston Jordan announced Government’s intention to ban the importation of used tyres, in a noted effort to promote the “green economy” and protect the environment.
In April 2016, hundreds of concerned stakeholders had signed a petition to convince Government to rescind its decision to ban the importation of used tyres into the country but the measure was allowed to move forward.
Truck tryes and agriculture machinery tryes are exempt from the ban.
