By Jeff Trotman
Although the Ministry of Public Works has accepted the repairs that Bai Shan Lin has done on the $90M Inter-American Develop-ment Bank-funded Moblissa road, residents are displeased and have pledged to resume protest action to ensure that the road is fixed to their satisfaction.
Residents took that decision at a meeting held on Sunday in their community. Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon informed them that at the last meeting between Region Ten officials and government representatives on September 18 at the Office of the President, Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn had said that the repairs would be inspected to determine if it was satisfactory. Solomon said that he is aware that the inspection was done and found to be satisfactory. However, the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), Region Ten had also assigned a Clerk of Works to inspect the repairs and that officer has submitted a report expressing dissatisfaction with the general quality of the repairs and noted that a section of roadway leading to the creek, measuring about 500 yards, has not been fixed.
Solomon stressed that the Region Ten RDC is interested in representing people. “Once we have people come to our area with concerns, you can be certain that those concerns will be addressed,” he said, and pledged that the RDC will back the residents in whatever stance they take to ensure that Bai Shan Lin fixes the section of the road up to the creek and do a proper job of rehabilitating the road from its entrance on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway to the creek.
The regional chairman explained that two and a half months ago, Region Ten officials signed an agreement with Bai Shan Lin following several meetings with the Moblissa community after residents had implored leading members of the community to petition the Region’s assistance in ensuring that the Chinese logging company repair the road that it had damaged during its mining operations there. He recalled that when regional officials along with officers from the Environ-mental Protection Agency, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and the Forestry Department made inspections at Moblissa, it was realized that none of these government agencies were aware of Bai Shan Lin’s presence in the community and that the company had been doing medium scale mining at the Moblissa pit from which it removed 47,000 tonnes of loam, which was thought to be laterite.
Noting that the quantity of loam that was removed had been accurately calculated by a GPS instrument that measured the width, length and the depth of the pit, Solomon said: “No one came in (and) explained to you what was taking place. No one identified who was doing what….But these complaints came to the RDC, which we addressed. We came to you and said we have an issue; how do we move forward?”
Following consultations with residents after their many threats to shut the company down, government encouraged discussion on the impact of mining and the damage done to the road. Solomon, along with MP Vanessa Kissoon and environmentalist Charles Ceres engaged government on its arrangements with Bai Shan Lin, on the community’s behalf. Ceres provided pro bono consultancy service and conducted an environmental social impact assessment (ESIA) study of the impact of the pit mining on the community and an assessment of the infrastructure of the road.
According to the regional chairman, Ceres’s study noted that mining could compromise drinking water at Moblissa through the possible leaching of heavy metal into the water table. Also, it was known that the company frequently washed its heavy-duty equipment at the creek. The study also found that loam was not suitable to properly rehabilitate the road.
“And it was agreed that Bai Shan Lin would fix your road [with] laterite from Ten Mile on the Mabura Road,” he said.
Mutual benefit
Solomon said that the RDC’s position is that when an investor comes to the Region “there must be mutual benefit – that the company will benefit and the community must also benefit.” This has not happened in Bai Shan Lin’s case at Moblissa. However, he pointed out that the Guyana Revenue Authority in Georgetown is benefiting from a parking lot valued millions of dollars on Camp Street through Bai Shan Lin after tax concessions were granted to the company. In the meantime, the residents of Moblissa, the community in which the company operates, continue to suffer.
“You the residents (of Moblissa) have to suffer for months and had to threaten to shut the company down before they fixed back what they damaged,” Solomon said, adding “and if that was not bad enough, the company fixed only a portion of the roadway.”
Environmental impact
He said during the discussion with the government officials, it was also agreed that Bai Shan Lin would conduct an ESIA but to date, the company has yet to submit its findings and the region was forced to solicit the services of Ceres to do its own assessment. Solomon pointed out that the pit is less than 20 feet from the road and it is now at risk of being eroded, especially with the heavy rainfall expected in the coming months.
Further, Solomon said that the RDC has enquired of government what benefits the Chinese company will bring to the region.
“We are not comfortable with this investment. We don’t even know why we should welcome this investment in the Region because we have not seen how we will benefit from this investment. We don’t know if we will get jobs. We don’t know what is going on with this investment and if it’s even worthy of having it in this Region,” he said.
