Latest update May 6th, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 03, 2016 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom
The ban on used tyres is long overdue. The government must be commended at least for doing something that should have been done a long time ago.
Government policies do not always have to be popular. Highly unpopular policies, such as enforcing the closing times for bars, pubs and nightclubs, are often necessary.
Consumers should have choices. They should have a choice of “Dunlop”, “Michelin” or “Goodyear”. They should have a choice of whichever brand to buy. But they should not have a choice between new or used tyres.
The ban on tyres is necessary. A great many vehicles are unsafe for use on our roads because they have used tyres. These tyres are known for blowouts resulting in accidents. In rainy weather they cannot grip the road and therefore can cause skidding and poor braking.
But the used tyres remain popular because the ordinary man cannot afford new tyres. The cheapest new tyres of quality sell for around $28,000 each, VAT inclusive. This means that four tyres can cost at least $112,000. The average car owner cannot afford this outlay at any one time.
New tyres obviously last longer than old tyres – one new tyre will give you the life of about four used tyres. Thus, in the long run, it costs just as much to use old tyres as it does to use new tyres. But new tyres are safer. The only reason why the average driver does not use new tyres is that he cannot find over $112,000 at any one time for new tyres. But he can regularly find $3,500 to buy a decent used tyre.
There is no environmental benefit from switching from new tyres to old tyres. Whether the tyre is old or new, when it has reached its life use it has to be dumped. It does not matter whether it is new or used, there will be an accumulation of disposed tyres for which some form of recycling has to be found.
Therefore the ban on used tyres announced by the Minister of Finance is not an environmental matter. The ban obviously means that drivers have to find more money to buy tyres. Unless there is an offset, they will be tempted to claim that the cost of travel has increased. The offset against this claim would have been the slashing of fuel prices.
Unfortunately, there has only been a negligible decrease in the price of petrol by a mere $20. This is disgraceful. The price of oil on the world market has fallen below US$30 per barrel and yet petrol users in Guyana are enjoying only a measly benefit.
The government should not be setting the price of fuel. This is not the role of government. The government should be regulating the market by ensuring that taxes are adjusted to ensure that consumers are not ripped off. The government should not be setting prices for petrol, but they should also keep prices high.
If motor vehicle owners benefited from a lower price for petrol, they would have been more inclined to absorb the increased costs associated with switching to new tyres. However, the relief from fuel prices is negligible. In fact, it is disgraceful. If oil prices fall, then the price at the pumps will fall. If prices fall it does not necessarily mean that government revenues will fall, because with lower prices people will drive more and therefore consume more petrol.
The Minister of Finance should keep the ban on used tyres, but he should consider leaving the price of petrol to competition by also removing taxes as a means to hold prices high.
Guyanese motorists are reasonable people. They will be prepared to borrow to buy new tyres if they are sure that they can recover their outlay from low petrol prices.
GRA catch EXXON trying to hunch GUYANA over 11 BUS dollars in one shot!!!!
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