Dealers implore Govt to rescind decision on used tyres

Tyre importers and drivers continue to appeal to the Government of Guyana to look into their plight as low income earners and rescind the decision to completely ban the importation of used tyres into Guyana.

Guyana Times International spoke with a number of distressed importers and drivers on Monday, who all explained how unprepared they were to face additional “struggles” if the Government did not rescind what they described as a “one-sided” decision.

Owner of the Bulla Tyre Depot, Abdool Hamid related to this publication that he had only decided to open a business in Guyana after Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo at a meeting in the United States of America urged Guyanese to return home and invest in order to promote growth and development.

“I came back here and started investing in my business. Now everything I built in one year is going to shut down,” Hamid said.

According to Hamid, he has observed during his one year of service to Guyana in the importing business that approximately 98 per cent of Guyanese are incapable of purchasing new tyres since they are sold at high prices. He said since the decision by Government was announced, he had not sold one of his recently imported 50 tyres.

Additionally, he explained that he had just recently paid for five containers of used tyres, which are expectedly shortly.

“What’s going to happen now to me? I’m losing sleep over this,” Hamid lamented.

The Government has justified its decision by stating that a major cause of accidents was used tyres. This, however, did not go down well with the suppliers, who reported that some used tyres are by far more durable than the low-quality new ones.

“Tyres don’t cause accidents, people do. People who over drink and use their phones while driving are responsible for the accidents on the roadways so I don’t know what the Government is saying,” another importer, Mustaf Mohamed argued.

An enraged Mohamed, who has been in the business for over 20 years and has been importing used tyres from Holland, told Guyana Times International: “I have been using the tyres on my truck for four years and six months now and I never got a blowout.”

Meanwhile, Mohamed Yusuf, 70, who has been a driver for over 50 years, explained that public transportation costs would rise if persons were forced to buy new tyres.

“The bus fare is now Gy$140 for the route which I work, but if I’m expected to buy a new tyre which I’m sure will not be tough as the used ones so I will have to keep buying, the fare will have to raise to Gy$300. This is going to put a strain on the poor people and the Government will have something to say,” Yusuf declared.

While the importers and drivers will be tremendously inconvenienced by the budgetary measure, housewives will also feel the “squeeze”.

Even though importers and drivers are aware that this move from the Government to ban used tyres is an affirmative one, they are petitioning for the measure to be reformed. They called for Government to at least have the Guyana National Bureau of Standards appointed to control the inspection of imported tyres to approve their condition and permanence.

The decision to ban the importation of used tyres was disclosed by Finance Minister Winston Jordan in his Budget 2016 presentation as an effort to promote a green economy and protect the environment.

Ever since the announcement had been made, the Government had come under fire from importers, drivers, and the previous Administration who had deemed the decision as one with no consideration for the affairs of middle and low income earners.