KINGSTON - The country’s Public Works Minister will not condone any company who has a vested interest in bullying and controlling the Government and its people.
“We don’t have any interest in that. We will fight against that, we will make sure that viable good quality product is supplied to the nation,” declared Robeson Benn, at a press conference at his office on Friday, September 13.
He was addressing the stone shortage, which is being refuted by the largest quarry operator in Guyana – BK International.
Hon. Benn told reporters that there has been a shortage over the past two years, and that BK fell short by 40 percent in its delivery, hence the need to import stones to offset the demand.
Volcanic islands St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Dominica are the islands that provide Guyana with the bulk of stones, which Minister Benn deemed “satisfactory”.
“The stones that being imported by the contractors, aggregate producers and others are sedimentary rocks. They are clean and satisfactory…so the attempt to smear the producers is a pretty insidious one,” Minister Benn charged.
The Public Works Ministry, going forward is pushing for “a competitive sustainable source of supply of good quality stones” for purposes of national projects, businesses and private home builders.
“There is no other interest. We believe that a viable price for stone should between $6,500 and $7,500 at this moment. That is what our numbers say from our last run. We are not going to be dealing beyond this discussion with wild misinformed discussions made in the media …presentations by people who have a perverse vested interest in bullying and controlling the Government and the people we don’t have any interest in that. And if it means that for on time good quality delivery of the product has to be facilitated by the importation of stones, well so be it,” the Minister candidly pronounced.
