The Village Council of the Amerindian community of Isseneru, in Region Seven, has expressed concern over the continued operation of a mining company on village lands, which has disobeyed cease work orders issued by the authorities.
The village’s Captain, Dhannes Larson, and members of the Village Council during a press briefing yesterday morning told the media that the matter has engaged the authorities but to date no firm action has been taken against the company.
Stabroek News’ attempts to contact officials of the Guyana Geology and Commission (GGMC) for a comment on the matter yesterday proved futile. Meanwhile, officials at the Amerindian Affairs Ministry said that the relevant person to comment on the situation was not in office.
According to the Village Council, on November 16 last year, the owners of the mining operation entered the Middle Mazaruni community without the council’s permission.
The company was informed by the council that under the Amerindian Act, it was required to seek its permission to mine in the area. This is stipulated in Section 48 of the Act, and it applies to small and medium scale miners.
Councillors stated that the miners paid no heed to the request and began working the following day. The GGMC officer who is stationed at Kurupung was informed of the situation on November 23 and, the following day, he travelled to the area to investigate the matter. The officer subsequently issued a cease work order (CWO) to the company and halted work there.
The councillors stated that much to their annoyance, the company continued working in the area the following day after the mines officer left.
According to the council, Toshao Larson and other members of the council travelled out of the area to the city and met their legal counsel, Acting Commissioner of the GGMC Karen Livan, and the Chief Mines Officer on November 25, and discussed the situation.
It was noted by the council that letters on the breaching of the CWO by the company were dispatched to the GGMC commissioner’s office at the end of November and the mining regulation body was also informed by follow-up correspondences during the month of December.
The council stated that the GGMC responded to the complaints on December 29, and mines officers from the city travelled to the area and issued another cease work order to the company. The mining operation again stopped for a few days but activities there resumed early this month.
According to the council, it was unable to report the latest breach to the authorities since there was no mines officer in the area at the time.
The council contacted its legal representative, attorney David James, who told the media that he had informed then chairman of the GGMC board, Major General (rtd) Joe Singh of the situation, and he noted that the official did his best but his contract with the GGMC was almost completed at the time.
Larson told the media that the council was disturbed by the situation, while noting that the rights of the community were being blatantly breached.
He said that the council has informed the Amerindian Affairs Ministry of several similar issues in the past but it has failed to respond to their complaints.
Larson is a rural constable but he noted that the miners in the area “are aggressive so we don’t want to get into any problems with them.”
It was noted by the council too that there was a recent murder in the mining area, where a miner was shot by a workmate, and as a result the council was afraid of any eventualities the situation may create.
The village representatives told the media that miners in the area have cut a road which passes through their village lands and according to them, persons, including miners and members of the community, are required to pay a toll to utilize the road.
“The road is passing through the community and we the residents of the community feel the situation is one which the government needs to address,” a council representative told Stabroek News.
Isseneru received its village title in 2007, Larson noted and according to him, the miner in question has related that he has documentation to mine in the area, which was given to him prior to the village being awarded its title.
He said the miner occupies several small mining blocks in the area.
“It’s a situation which is confusing,” Larson said, “because we received title to our lands but there were concessions in it.”
The village has experienced problems in the past in which miners entered the area to mine on the lands without permission from the village council.
There are mining operations in the community which have operated without “problems,” council member Lewis Larson noted. He said that the miner is expected to discuss his intent with the council before he is allowed to mine in the area.
He noted, however, that the current situation leaves much to be desired, since there are miners who enter the community and “do their own thing.”
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud told members of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) at the body’s last meeting in December that the authorities are going to work to ensure that the land rights of the Amerindian communities are not breached.
He made the comment after miners said they had encountered problems with village councils in indigenous communities while attempting to mine there.
