The Guyana Scrap Metal Dealers Associa-tion launched last Tuesday at the Hotel Tower in Georgetown is seeking to eradicate the rogue element in the country's thriving scrap metal trade by having all scrap metal dealers operate under special rules that monitor practices associated with the acquisition and sale of scrap.

Last month, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds told scrap metal dealers that government would move to outlaw the industry unless the theft of metals comprising valuable infrastructure ceased.

Under the rules of the newly established Guyana Scrap Metal Dealers Association members have agreed "to take steps to safeguard the main copper and metal entities in the country such as the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) and the Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) and other institutions of the same category"

The naming of the three utility companies in the constitution of the new Association points to scrap metal dealers' concerns that the persistent protestations of those entities -particularly GT&T - against the vandalizing of critical infrastructure by scrap metal thieves could force government to make good its threat to close down the scrap metal industry.

Secretary of the newly formed Association Emily Nedd, a partner in Guyana Metal Inc., a local scrap metal dealership, told Stabroek Business last Wednesday that the legally registered scrap metal dealers are ready to cooperate with government to eradicate the irregularities in the industry. Nedd told Stabroek Business that the Association is seeking a meeting with the Prime Minister at which it hopes to present proposals designed to bring an end to the irregularities.

One proposal which the Association hopes will find favour with the Prime Minister is a recommendation that membership of the body be made mandatory for persons "buying or selling non-ferrous metals." The new Association is also seeking to have legal penalties set for persons operating in the industry without trading licences.

Nedd told Stabroek Business that these recommendations were designed to persuade illegal operators to legitimize their operations in order to lift the "cloud" currently hanging over the industry.

The Office of the Prime Minister, meanwhile, has issued new directives for the export of scrap that allow officials of the aggrieved utility companies, along with the Customs Administration, to inspect consignments of scrap prior to export with a view to identifying components that may have been vandalized from their infrastructure. Export licences will only be granted after the scrap produced by the dealers for export has been thoroughly inspected.

Nedd told Stabroek Business that the Association has recruited a Security Consultant who will be assisting its members to ensure that they work within the law.

The local scrap metal industry provides employment, directly and indirectly, for more than 30,000 Guyanese and according to Nedd the new Association anticipates that it could face challenges in its efforts to "clean up" existing irregularities. She said that while the official spotlight was being placed on legitimate dealers much of the trade was being run by illegal operators who export scrap overland to Brazil. She added that those illegal operators wishing to become members of the Association will be required to secure Dealers' Licences as a precondition for membership.