Dear Editor,
Today, (Monday 12th), I met two teachers from Aishalton who were in Lethem over the weekend; they had come to visit their dad who is working here. I have known these young ladies since they were young children, so we broke into conversation quite easily. They told me about their dilemma. They were expecting to hitch a ride 126 miles back to their village yesterday (Sunday) so that they could be back at work today (Monday). They then realized that the miners are no longer in Marudi. So, they are stranded in Lethem.
Tonight, I met five young men from Gunn’s Strip (home of the Wai Wais). The mother of one of the young men and I were colleagues and I remembered some of the surnames from my visit to the area years ago. The men were so pleased to have met someone who could actually relate to their village. I was able to find out about some people I had met on my visit there. These young men too were stranded. They were hoping to get a lift to Para Bara, and foot and boat the rest to Gunns. No transportation.
It then dawned on me that the unfortunate incident at Marudi, was more than just an out-of-control, power-drunk corporal of the Guyana Police Force unleashing his ignorance on a group of hapless miners. It dawned on me that the incident was bigger than that misfit.
Since that fateful day, I spoke to numerous residents to get a picture in my mind of what Marudi was like before all of this greedy rush. Hence, I wish to examine the area in several contexts, namely, historical, economic, social, and last but not least, political.
Residents of the Rupununi have been mining in the Marudi Mountains for centuries. I spoke with an 82-year-old man and he recalled his grandfather mining in the mountains when he, the man, was 12 years old. So traditionally, the residents have depended on the mineral-rich mountains for sustenance. These people can claim the area as ancestral lands. When I was posted to Aishalton in October of 1991, I met mining activities ongoing at Marudi Mountains. During those years, there was a silent agreement between RomanEx and the miners. I cannot recall any dispute between company and miners. So what has changed since then?
The RomanEx Company’s licence has always been one of exploration. They never had a mining licence. I could recall numerous Skyvan trips transporting what the company regarded as samples. These samples never were scrutinized by any GGMC officials. These samples were taken from Aishalton to Timehri and then to Canada. No wonder there were rumours of gold being exported right under our noses.
I can recall too, that RomanEx employees mostly were expatriates. The few locals who were employed mostly came from coastal Guyana. A handful was chosen from the surrounding villages. Further, all of the company’s supplies were sourced in Georgetown, even their fuel. In short there were hardly any economic benefit accruing to the region as a whole and the dependant villages in particular. I do not have the conviction that the status quo will change drastically now.
The RomanEx licence was also once used by a company known as Vanessa Mining Company, and now we are hearing of a Molgravian Company. In fact I was able to ascertain that RomanEx has only two employees in Guyana: one in Georgetown and one in Lethem. Hence it has to be established – and here GGMC and the government have got to come clean − whether the transfer of ownership/management has been done in a lawful manner. If not, then Molgravian is also occupying the lands illegally.
Now that GGMC has acted, one has to consider the economic fallout that will inevitably impact on the residents of this otherwise deprived region.
Firstly, we have the issue of over 300 miners to be absorbed into the work force in Region 9. What are their prospects of acquiring gainful employment? The answer is nil. Most of these miners know nothing else. We already are challenged to find employment for our school leavers, who number 135 on a yearly average. Most of these students with passes at the CXC are forced to accept jobs as shop attendants.
Then we have the direct beneficiaries of the mining activities. There are the farmers who sell their produce to the miners; we have the fishermen and other meat suppliers; we have the grocery stores and the gas stations, all local people who will see a drastic decline in their sales. The miners do not source their supplies outside of the region. Probably the only out-sourcing that is done is for mining equipment.
As a consequence, over 7000 persons between Lethem and Marudi will be affected by the economic fallout. These include villages like St Ignatius, Parikwarinau, Shulinab, Potarinau, Katoonarib, Sawariwau, Achawib, Karudarnawau, Aishalton, Awarewanau, Maruranau, Shea and Gunns Strip.
Over time, these villages were able to get better prices for various commodities thus ensuring that their people attain a sustainable standard of living. The actions of GGMC, and by extension the government, will see regression in this regard.
The miners themselves will be affected. Many of them have obligations to the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) and the Institute for Private Enterprise Development (IPED). We can expect multiple loan defaults and the consequent seizure of assets to offset those loans. In short, business will be affected; in fact everyone in the catchment area will suffer one way or the other.
To date, the Rupununi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) has been strangely quiet on the issue. Many of their members benefit from the so-called illegal mining in Marudi. It is time for the Chamber to break the silence and let the government know exactly how they view this matter.
What about the social consequences? I know quite a few of these miners who are presently building their homes which are at various stages of completion. The inability to get an income will definitely stall the construction of these homes. They will also be hard pressed to contribute to family building and maintenance. This can lead to delinquency among the children and the permanent separation of families which can create more problems for society.
Those who are unemployable, Heaven forbid, might consider a life of crime, since the ‘system’ has let them down. This will tax our meagre resources even further. I wonder if that is the reason why a bigger courthouse was built instead of a technical institute. Then we may very well see women engaging in illicit activities to support their now broken families. This will give rise to the increase in communicable diseases, an area that the government is spending billions to prevent. The very livelihood of so many people will become unstable.
Then we have the political aspect of the problem. Here is where the government has exhibited their short-sightedness. The President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce recently wrote that to prevent corruption, there is need for effective institutions. The mere fact that the Minister of Natural Resources mentioned that his ministry is committed to stamping out corruption in the mining sector, is an admission that corruption has reached epidemic proportions. He need not look further than his mines officers.
This is not what anyone has told me, I have seen this with my own eyes. I was in another backdam last year and I saw officers visiting camps looking for certain requirements. When these were not found, they taxed the dredge owners as much as 2 ounces of gold. In fact the dredge owners will have the gold reserved exactly for that purpose.
I am told that the situation was no different at Marudi. From the GGMC’s own admission, they were well aware of these miners as far back as 2003. Nothing was ever done in all at that time to arrest the situation, they had to wait until it got out of hand to act, and act viciously. It is said that if you want to kill a monster, you have to do so in the infant stage. It will be increasingly difficult to exterminate that monster as it grows, and that is the case with illegal mining, not only in Marudi, but all across this country. It is facilitated by corruption.
This problem is not only limited to mining, but extends to housing as well. Right here in Lethem, prospective land owners are told by the CH&PA to squat. When the officers visit Lethem, the squatters are ‘regularised.’ So what is so different with the miners? Couldn’t the GGMC ‘regularise’ their activities? I am certain a compromise could have been reached. It is not that I am condoning illegal mining, or anything illegal for that matter. It is just that this very government has set double standards that have everyone confused as to what is right and what is wrong. There seems to be a very thin line between right and wrong these days.
The government needs to do a number of things. They need to recognize the various fall-outs as a consequence of their action/inaction. They need to recognize that our constitution guarantees the right to work. They need to sit with miners everywhere to ensure that they have adequate and suitable lands to engage in their business. It seems as though foreigners are given preference over our own citizens, since the number of foreign nationals engaged in mining activities in Guyana is ever growing.
The government needs to go back to their founder-leader’s unquestioned principles of ensuring that the working class gets its just due. This new leadership has continuously exhibited their anti-working class posture.
Since the government has admitted that the company is not effectively utilizing the lands by ordering a review of its licence, the government needs to identify blocks that can be allocated to the miners so that Rupununi can have some semblance of economic order and sustainability. The government is not providing that to us, so we have had to do it for ourselves.
The question of royalties and selling to official dealers needs to be addressed. The President had promised the miners that he was going to look into their concerns and get back to them. He never did, and probably never will, but whatever is the outcome, the miners cannot travel the trail with their production. That will be courting disaster security wise. Therefore, there needs to be established, right here in Lethem, a branch of the Guyana Gold Board. There is a branch in Bartica, so why not a branch here? For one it will ensure that as much production as possible is captured in the official statistics, it will ensure that the miners are safe and it will provide employment for some of the bright young minds now leaving school.
The ball is effectively in the government’s half, and what they do will determine whether we have a resolution satisfactory to all parties, or whether there will another confrontation.
As one protesting miner asked on the recording of the Marudi incident, “Whe we gon go?”
Yours faithfully,
Carl Parker
Regional Councillor
