Guyana Geology and Mines Commissioner William Woolford believes the organization has been doing what is expected of it with its current resources in monitoring the situation at Salbora Road in Region Eight (Potaro– Siparuni).
Contacted for comment on recent reports that miners have again started to wreak havoc, dredging up sections of the road, Woolford yesterday afternoon promised a detailed press release on the commission’s perspective on the matter. Up to press time last night the statement was not received.
Yesterday, reports from the region remained the same but Stabroek News understands that the mines officers were out in the field all day.
During his brief conversation with this newspaper, Woolford said the commission had people at Mahdia monitoring the situation and were also there to restrain persons whenever they try to conduct the illegal activity on the road. He noted too that the commission had co-ordinated with the police and others with respect to providing information to the mines officers in the area.
Meanwhile, Woolford refused to brand those culpable of the reported illegal action as miners, noting that many persons try digging the road whether it be for gravel or anything else.
Woolford said the press statement from the commission would address the Stabroek News article on the recent incident, noting that while the commission welcomes newspaper reports about things taking place in the mining industry, he was disappointed when negative incidents occur and they are not reported in the way the commission knows it.
Asked about last year’s incident in which a number of miners were found culpable of digging several sections of the same Salbora Road and whether court action was instituted against those miners, he promised that that too would be the subject of a press release.
Information from the region has indicated that small miners have started dredging the road again and the matter was brought to the attention of Hydraulics Minister Robeson Benn.
Benn confirmed his visit to the region at the weekend and told this newspaper that though he did not meet with any miners he issued a call for them to desist from mining the road which leads to the Salbora Creek. He said the regional administration reported that miners had again started to dig the road.
A Government Information Agency (GINA) statement issued following Benn’s visit also said the recent incident had disrupted water supply in the Upper Mahdia areas as pipelines were damaged in the process.
Blind eye
Sources in the community have also blamed the situation on mines officers who have turned a blind eye to the situation and are somewhat hesitant to take the necessary action to deal with the miners.
Some 1,200 people in the community fell victim to unscrupulous miners in the area last year from the dredging of the same road, damaging pipelines which constituted the distribution system of the $50 Salbora Water Project.
Those lines were repaired from a sum of money given to the water company by the commission.
