President of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA), Fredrick Mc Wilfred has parted ways with the body citing differences over the treatment of small and medium-scale miners among other issues.
Executive Director of the GGDMA, Edward Shields told Stabroek News yesterday that Bartician Mc Wilfred submitted a letter indicating that he was resigning from his post as president with immediate effect.
He noted however, that this was after the GGDMA was contacted by another media house on the issue, and Shields noted that the mining body was disappointed that, “he communicated his resignation with the press first (and) then to the GGDMA”.
Mc Wilfred stated in the resignation letter addressed to Terrence Adams, secretary of the GGDMA that at the last Management Meeting of the association he sought clarification of his role as President since according to him, “the rules are very vague as to the Functions of Officers of the Association and the functions, which are normally those of the Heads of most if not all Organizations, are in the case of the GGDMA being carried out by its Executive Director”.
He stated that the Management Committee, at that meeting confirmed that it had, prior to his election as President, agreed, and the General Membership of the body had confirmed, that the Executive Director was the “——sole Executive Authority of The Association and the only one that was authorized to speak officially on its behalf.”
Reports are that the association was of the view that Mc Wilfred was not an active member, and a source at the association explained that the President is elected to serve the miners within the industry, but not in an executive capacity. It was noted too that all decisions and directives are given by the body’s Management Committee, of which Shields is the Executive Director.
Reports are that there was an apparent breakdown in communications between Mc Wilfred and the Management Committee when he was elected President and as a result, he was unaware of his required functions.
Mc Wilfred stated in his resignation letter that the Management Committee informed him that he was only required to be Chairman of Management Committee meetings and that for all other matters his involvement in the management of the association was similar to that of all other members of the committee. He said that he was told that that his presence, “was not even necessary for the holding of any meeting of the Association”.
Mc Wilfred was notably absent from a recent bi-monthly meeting of the association where miner Stanislaus Jardine had expressed concern about his absence and Shields stated at that meeting that Mc Wilfred could not be located for some seven weeks. He said at the time that the President was asked at a meeting several weeks earlier his position on certain issues and he (Mc Wilfred) had asked for two weeks to respond.
Mc Wilfred stated in his resignation letter that he had made several statements and presented several initiatives to the benefit of the industry and he added that “they have been met with objections from the Executive Authority and the majority of the Management Committee of the Association who seem very comfortable with the existing status quo; that is, the representation of `—- the top twenty percent of our Miners, who are responsible for eighty percent of our Gold Declaration’”.
He continued that, “I must confess that the purely ceremonial nature of the Presidency of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association and the resistance of the deeply entrenched present leadership to positive change was, in light of public pronouncements about `unity and total representation’, surprising to me and the Bartica Miners Committee which persuaded me to seek election to that position. We were convinced that my election to the Presidency would bring about changes that would enable the GGDMA to effectively represent all miners and mining communities”.
He noted that, “Unfortunately that is not the disposition of the present leadership of the GGDMA which is obviously very comfortable with the façade of ‘Industry Wide Representation’ while in fact protecting and promoting the interests of a selected few”.
Shields told Stabroek News yesterday that the executives of the GGDMA will meet today to discuss the issue and he noted that the association will issue an official statement in response to Mc Wilfred’s resignation. He said that in the interim, miner Victor De Agrella, the Vice–President of the association will lead the body on mining issues until elections are called in June 2011.
Reports are that Mc Wilfred had been at odds with the body over what he saw, “as the Executive Director having more power than the persons elected at the General Meetings”. Persons in the industry noted that there appeared to be a “partial representation” from the GGDMA over the years, since it was noted that the body appeared to only look into the interests of “certain bigger ones in the industry”.
Mc Wilfred had been vocal in his stance on matters affecting the industry, most notably earlier this year at Bartica when miners across the country downed tools to have the authorities address issue relating to the industry, including a 6-month prior notice before mining stipulation. A protest organized in Bartica by McWilfred and the small miners brought the community to a standstill and put pressure on the government to revisit some of the concerns. A land use committee which included representatives from miners subsequently met to hammer out agreement on controversial areas.
It is left to be seen what impact Mc Wilfred’s departure will have on the association’s stance on some of the edicts directed at the mining industry by the government.
