The Guyana Used Tyres Association (GUTA) took to Main Street, Georgetown on Tuesday to express its disagreement with the decision to ban used tyres across the country.
A group of more than 20 stakeholders gathered in front of the State House, Georgetown, requesting that the Government revisit its decision.
This is the first of a newly-initiated protest to join in the many recent demonstrations in the past months. The protest is in light of the pending ban on the importation and utilisation of used tyres which is scheduled to take effect throughout Guyana, come April 1. The Government had proposed this ban for over a year, but it has only recently materialised. As such, stakeholders were awakened in the call for the retraction of this ban, highlighting the many effects it would have, especially on the common man.
Leading the protest on Tuesday was GUTA Public Relations Consultant Nazim Hussain, who noted that it was a matter of choice and affordability. “The Guyana Used Tyres Association is humbly asking the authorities to revisit the ban, because it is going to affect the livelihood of not only the 5000 employed, but it has a wide domino effect; everyone in Guyana will be affected,” Hussain told reporters.
He went on to say while there were persons who may be able to afford the cost of new tyres, this ban would see an increase in prices of many products on the market given that the ordinary man, who was both vendor and consumer, would be negatively affected.
Hussain also highlighted that having a choice between used and new tyres was necessary for the maintenance of democracy, allowing citizens to select between the two options based on their financial standing. He said that taking this choice away would be dangerous, robbing persons of the basic right to choose.
GUTA Vice President Mustaak Mohamed also relayed his concern to this newspaper, stating that “who can afford a new (tyre), buy a new (tyre) and who can afford a used (tyre), buy a used (tyre)”. He alluded to the fact that public transportation operators were not sufficiently rewarded to afford the cost of new tyres.
However, Mohamed, as a tyre salesman, attested that used tyres from Europe were of better quality than the new ones imported from China. He, therefore, pointed out that the product many would now be forced to buy was of inferior quality than that which the Government was moving to replace.
During the protest, other concerns were brought to the forefront relating to the other effects of a used tyres ban. The demonstrators highlighted that while some 5000 persons would lose their jobs, others would now be encouraged to smuggle tyres into the country and even worse, vehicle owners would prolong the use of their worn-out tyres to avoid the cost of replacements. This would mean that the very intention of the Government to reduce road accidents caused by used tyres would be negated by the use of worn-out tyres.
Previous moves to prohibit used tyres in Guyana were scrapped by stakeholders following the signing of petitions, forcing the Government to rescind its decision. The GUTA pledged to continue its outcry until adequate action was taken.
This protest against the banning of used tyres came just one day after the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) spoke out against the move. The Party echoed many concerns similar to those of the protesters on Tuesday.
