…GMRA happy with new arrangements
Scrap iron dealers say that they are committed to working among themselves and with Government to ensure that acts of vandalism  which have been giving the trade a bad name over the past five years are eliminated.
Mr. Michael Benjamin, Secretary of the Guyana Metal Recyclers Association (GMRA),which represents the dealers, gave the assurance less than 24 hours after Prime Minister Samuel Hinds announced that the  trade had been re-opened with effect from September 27.
The Prime Minister had disclosed by way of a media release that following a meeting between the GMRA with His Excellency President Bharat Jagdeo, and consequently a number of things having been put in place, the trade was re-opened.
“We are happy with the arrangements which have been put in place; and we; as the Executive, are fully supportive and will ensure that members are  equally supportive to rid the trade of any shady element,” he said.
The scrap metal trade had been closed since April last by Prime Minister Hinds  following numerous complaints in recent years which ranged from the theft  of metal from tombstones at the Le Repentir Cemetery to  thefts of the commodity from Government agencies and Public Utilities by thieves  intent on earning a fast dollar.
In their frenzy, metal thieves had attacked locations across the coastland, including the  National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) sites, the Lama Conservancy, and the pumping facilities of the Guyana Sugar Corporation, riding on the wave of heavy demand internationally.
The utility companies, particularly the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) and Guyana Power and Light (GPL), had been among the hardest hit by the scrap metal thieves.
The trade re-opened on Monday does not include copper, aluminum and other non-ferrous metals.
Recycling of these items remain prohibited.
Benjamin said yesterday that the Association was not unduly bothered by this closure.
“We are taking things one at a time. We want to ensure that we get a proper control of the re-opened trade in ferrous metals to the satisfaction of all stake-holders, then we will look at the trade in non-ferrous,” he said.
Among the arrangements put in place are the frequent inspections of scrap metal yards by Government Inspectors and Inspectors identified by the GMRA, the enforcement of requirement for permission to move scrap metal from one part of the country to another, and licensing of all dealers by the GMRA before they can become involved in the trade.