THE ATTORNEY General’s Chambers is finalising a new legislation intended to govern the scrap metal industry in Guyana, Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin said.
On the sidelines of a Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) event on Monday, Minister Gaskin said he is hopeful that the bill will be passed in the National Assembly before the end of the year.

Though the scrap metal industry is back in business, it is being done on a limited basis Minister Gaskin noted, while explaining that the draft legislation has already received the approval of Cabinet and is currently with the Attorney General’s Chambers.
“We will have a Board of Directors to oversee the Scrap Metal Unit, and I believe that we will have something firm in place to regulate and monitor the scrap metal industry,” he said.

Pending the passage of the legislation, Minister Gaskin said the Ministry of Business has put in place a software system that aids in the monitoring and regulation of the industry.
The scrap metal industry re-opened in April, after an almost two-year halt. The trade was suspended with effect from June 15, 2015, to facilitate a forensic audit that was completed in December 2015.

Prior to June 2015, scrap metal dealers were banned from operating in the capital city – Georgetown – after the theft of 15 metal manhole covers from streets in Georgetown. In Linden, historic artifacts associated with the bauxite industry were stolen either as a whole or in parts.

To better regulate the industry, the Ministry of Business has registration forms available on its website, for dealers to register under the categories of ‘scrap metal exporters’ and ‘scrap metal declaration’.

The audit report had recommended that reforms including legislative amendments, new regulations, and smarter monitoring of the trade, be introduced into the system.
It is believed that the scrap metal industry creates space and contributes to a clean and healthy environment by getting rid of the scrap metal in an environmentally friendly manner; especially when taken in the context of the Low Carbon Development Strategy and now Guyana’s Green State Development Strategy.

According to the Guyana Metal Recyclers Association (GMRA), records show that 1522 containers of scrapped metal were shipped out of Guyana during the period January to November 2012, as against 923 for the same period in 2013.