…says delays in implementation will not stop US bound cargo
Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority Khurshid Sattaur says the container scanner located at the Guyana National Shipping Corporation complex has developed electrical compatibility problems, but personnel from the manufacturer is on the ground addressing it.
Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle yesterday, Sattaur said that the machinery, said to cost US$1M, had issues because of conditions on the ground. He said that persons from Rapidscan are presently working to get the problem rectified.
“It developed some electrical problems because of the high voltage requirements,” said Sattaur.  Because of the conditions in Guyana, the scanner is experiencing the teething problems and these are not entirely unexpected, he explained.
“It is going to malfunction until we get it right, but we have done exceedingly well in [securing this equipment],” he said.
The GRA Commissioner General said that contrary to what is being said in other sections of the media, the machinery is a brand new piece of equipment that had to be ordered and then constructed.
He said that some parts are due in the country very soon and once they come, the technicians on the ground would be able to get the piece of machinery up and running in a short time.
According to Sattaur, the company from which the scanner was procured is a reputable one and has been installing similar pieces of equipment all over the world.
He said it is important to note that containers that leave Guyana for the United States will not be turned back because of the non-functionality of the scanner. Part of the reason for this, he said, is the fact that the company that supplied the scanner, and is now trying to install it, is an American one.
The scanner was to have been put into operation early last month, with notices being placed in the print media. The aim was to have all outward-bound containers, especially those bound for the U.S., scanned before being loaded onto ships. All of the containers that required scanning must be taken to the GNSC wharf to be scanned.