Persistent complaints from sections of the mining community regarding the security implications of illegal shops in mining areas across the gold-bearing regions of the country have led to a new initiative by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment to regularize the operation of commercial enterprises at mining sites.
Stabroek Business has been reliably informed that the ministry has communicated to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) its wish that the GRA move to license shops operating in the interior as a means of monitoring them.
The move to license the currently illegally-run establishments comes on the back of promises made earlier this year that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) would be moving to close down the illegal establishments. However, a Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) source told this newspaper that it