TIME FOR GOVERNMENT TO  BREAK ITS SILENCE ON CHINESE ISSUE 

The Government of Grenada must take full responsibility for stabilizing the ongoing dispute about the involvement of Chinese companies in the local construction industry and pave the way for proceeding smoothly into the future.
Engineer Mr. Carlyle Glean Jr. thinks that Grenada’s specific situation with regards to the Chinese issue is unique and thus cannot be treated the same as similar situations in other parts of the Caribbean.
In defining the peculiarity of Grenada’s case Glean said the damages to Grenada caused by hurricane Ivan posed some unique challenges to our construction industry thus when the Chinese came forward with their offer of 2000 housing units and the rebuilding of the National Stadium it was a most welcome gesture.
The Chinese have since enjoyed tremendous goodwill he said because of the work they have done and what they have promised to do.
This has to be weighed against the policy of the Chinese government to export construction entities to seek work outside of China with the Caribbean being one of the targets.
Glean said universally there would be resistance whenever foreign companies come into a country to seek work. Unless they are offering a totally brand new product or service and once it and involves replacement of indigenous companies there would be resistance.
Glean said while we cannot ignore the goodwill and the grants and loans given by the Chinese, it wasn’t given to individuals and private companies. It was given to the Government of Grenada and therefore the lead must come from the government in setting the scenario for moving forward from here.
Government Glean said must make this move in the sense that the Chinese have made it very clear that they are here to stay “when you look at the structure they have erected in Woodlands and the aggression with which they seek private jobs.”
One of the difficulties faced in Grenada with regulating the Chinese the engineer said is because they came to assist us after Ivan everything they brought would have come in the form of emergency aid and there will be no record of it. There would have been no duties and taxes charged on equipment that can now be used to carry out private jobs.
The founder/manager of Gleans Construction & Engineering Company Ltd. said it is a major challenge on the authorities to define the issue, to move it from emergency recovery to a pure business intervention.
He sees it as unfortunate that those responsible have chosen to cloud and blur the transition deliberately by prolonging the stadium and having the very company sent by the Chinese government to do the stadium pursue aggressively, private sector projects.
Glean said this is unfair even to the authorities because to police them now will appear to be policing the person delivering your emergency recovery or biting the hand that fed you.
Because of this unique situation in which we find ourselves in relation to the Chinese working here Glean it is hard to lump it with what is happening in the other islands because there is no other island where the Chinese are delivering emergency aid and the same company competing on the market.
Glean reiterated that the challenge lies squarely with the authorities who were essentially the recipients of the aid. Therefore the institution responsible for regulating private companies should be calling in the Chinese Embassy, the management of the companies involved and explaining to them that there must be a clear distinction between one operation and the other. Until this happens it will be a lot more burdensome and onerous for locals to address the impact of the Chinese.
However said the engineer, if we assume that the Chinese hadn’t come to do the stadium and the 2000 houses but had just come to compete as had happened before in the recent past we would still have to find ways to deal with the threat.
He said the entrance of the Chinese to the market came in the late 1990’s and it wasn’t a pleasant introduction.
He recalled that a Barbadian company had been the consultants on the new Ministry of Education Building and St. John’s RC School and on both of those projects a Chinese company made the lowest bid.
However on one of them the difference between their bid and that of a local company was not significant and the consultant decided to grant one project to the Chinese and the other to the local company.
The Chinese protested this delaying the project for more than a year causing the decision of the consultant to eventually be reversed the Chinese getting both projects. This proves that the Chinese companies seeking international work are very versed in the rules they are very aggressive and will go to great extent to prevent a local firm from working.
Glean said when the decision lies with external financiers it can be reversed but here the local regulatory body is guilty of inaction and the appeal then is for some action.
Glean said the Chinese have come and will continue to come on internationally funded projects.
It is within the right of a private company or individual to engage any firm irrespective of origin the engineer said and you cannot stop people for looking for value for money.
The intention should not be to create barriers or to pursue a protectionist policy where all work of a certain value should be given to locals.
Rather Glean said we have to be made to compete once the playing field is made level.
One point of concern he said is that we are not sure whether the Chinese firms registered are subjected to the same tax burdens and are subjected to the same stringent importation regulations as the local firms.
“It is therefore incumbent on the regulatory authorities to quickly pull the reins on the Chinese and draw very clear guidelines between delivering emergency aid and competing on the open market.”
Glean said what is also critical is the reaction of the local firms to the presence of a competitor like the Chinese and how they can use such a competitor to build and advance their own operation.
He said it is an unfair challenge presently because the competitor is very likely not subjected to the same rules as the local companies. However once they can be brought under the same tax regime and other considerations as the locals then there will be a fair race.
Glean said the reason why that will be beneficial to Grenada and Grenadians is that there are Chinese firms competing among themselves since the Chinese company doing the projects in Soubise and Mt. Gay is separate and distinct from the one that built the stadium and may get the Grand Harbour project and these are not the only ones in the region that are competing fiercely among themselves.
With this the case he said there will be some that may be willing to collaborate with locals. Some will have certain expertise or equipment that the others don’t and it is up to the locals to treat them as they would treat any other contractor.
Therefore said the engineer the first step is to bring them under a uniform tax regime and this is the job of the authorities and the next step is for the local contractors to study them  outwit them and outbid them.
He said it is possible to compete with the Chinese once the terms are equal because they are not winning all of the projects they bid for in the other islands; they can be easily competed with.
Glean thinks it is possible that local companies are overreacting to the initial shock of suddenly finding the market assaulted by competitors such as the Chinese especially with what just happened in Grand Harbour but there is no need to press the panic button since economies and industries don’t grow by chasing people out.
Glean is not worried about the ability of local firms to compete believing that once the Chinese start getting monitored in a serious way in terms of their quality and delivery; once the government of the day insist that the same rules that are applied to all contractors are applied to the Chinese the costs will start converging and quality and reliability is what will make one be chosen over the next.
He thinks further that our contractors have the edge in terms of their tenacity and ability to stay the course under pressure in addition to being more adjusted to the culture and conditions here.
Local contractors are just a little nervous, Glean said over the uncertainty but not inability of inferiority to anybody else.
The local authorities have to then reassure local contractors that it is working on bringing the blur between delivering emergency aid and bidding on the local market under control and local contractors may well find that they can outbid the Chinese.
If it can be proven that the Chinese are being subsidized by their government that amounts to unfair competition and local contractors may be able to legally appeal decisions Glean said.