Guyana’s first container scanner – a requirement of international shipping laws – has been installed and is ready to commence operation, even as Government, together with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), and the shipping agencies, look at ways to ensure smooth implementation of the system in the busy downtown area.
This announcement came from the Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Khurshid Sattaur, on Friday, at a press conference at the GRA Secretariat on Lamaha Street.
“We already have all the necessary infrastructure work done. The scanner arrived in the country about six months ago and it is soon to be commissioned for official use,” he said. The GRA will be in charge of the scanner and its operation, according to Sattaur.
“With that, I would want to feel that there will be greater transparency in the process of import as well as export, more efficiency in handling of these matters as well, so we hope we will be able to encourage more business in the country,” he said.
Sattaur said that since May, 2010, the Cabinet had tasked the GRA to be in charge of scrutinising containers for drugs, when they are being exported.
“We have risen to the challenge and we have put systems in place. The scanner will be an added boost to [our] efforts; and hopefully; would see greater results being achieved in the detection, if not in the prevention process,” the Commissioner-General said.
The scanner has been sourced from Texas in the United States and costs in excess of $200M as the purchase price, and $30M as installation costs. It would be manned by the GRA and be at a central location – the Guyana National Shipping Corporation wharf, in close proximity to the road, allowing for easy access. According to Sattaur, the scanner has the capability to scan containers at a rate of 10 per hour or six minutes to scan each container. He said that it will not be used to that extent because of the fact that Guyana simply does not have that amount of traffic.
“I know that it would create some amount of hurdles initially, to have all those containers scanned in that busy location…we are considering specific hours, like off-peak hours, when containers can go there,” he said. He said also that while there are in excess of 1,000 containers that leave every year, only 25 percent of this ends up in the United States.
The scanner will be for both import and export containers, but will focus more on the export containers, especially those destined  for the United States, Sattaur pointed out .
“It will be a requirement come first of January, 2011, under the international maritime law for all containers that end up in the US to be scanned in the country of origin and the image of the scan must accompany the container [on board the ship],” he said.
“Guyana is ready to comply with that,” he said, adding that the US company submitted a bid and was successful and they are doing the installation using international standards.
“I don’t have a fear that the US authorities may regard my scanning equipment as not compliant with international standards,” he said.
Sattaur said that while he is expecting the Government of Guyana to provide a budget for the administrative costs of operating the scanner – like maintenance, paying of the staff and the rental of the yard space for its operation – the GRA will put in place a cost recovery mechanism that will ensure that after the life of the piece of equipment is over, it would have been fully amortised. Each container will attract a fee to be passed through the scanner, Sattaur said, adding that the fee will not be an unreasonable one and is meant to be nominal, as the term ‘fee’ implies.