Difficulties currently being experienced in the gold-mining industry are the result of the neglect of a section of the sector and the solution lies with a more comprehensive and collaborative approach by the government, A Partner-ship for National Unity (APNU) members have said.
During the party’s weekly press conference yesterday, Opposition and APNU leader David Granger, Natural Resources and the Environment shadow minister Rupert Roopnaraine and Local Government and Regional Development shadow minister Ronald Bulkan all opined that a plan of action was needed to deal with what they deemed the “degenerating” gold mining sector.
According to Bulkan, as one of the major contributors to Guyana’s economy, more emphasis should be placed on the gold mining sector.
“It is well-known that the… gold industry is a major contributor to our economy. The industry, however, is currently undergoing very difficult times,” he said.
He posited that there had been complaints from persons on the low level of attention being given to them.
“Some of the more specific complaints are that there is an uneven playing field; that concessions are disproportionately awarded to foreign players in the industry… Also, there are complaints that the GGMC [Geology and Mines Commission] offers very little or no services to miners. This is despite claims of the industry and of the administration to the contrary,” Bulkan said.
Similarly, Roopnaraine said local miners have a major problem with the breaks being afforded to foreign companies that are not also available to them. These breaks, he said, include concessions such as duty-free fuel. “This uneven playing field is a source of great frustration to the local miners,” Roopnaraine emphasised.
Further, Bulkan said, there had been complaints about the poor state of hinterland infrastructure, particularly in relation to the condition of the hinterland airstrips, roads, and poor or non-existent medical facilities.
According to Bulkan, a collaborative approach is the industry’s best bet for enhancement.
“This go-it-alone approach the PPP has brought to national governance is inappropriate and the implications for this industry are dire,” he said. He added, “The impact and implications for job losses is enormous; the Guyana economy cannot now afford to cope with further job losses because of the mismanagement of this administration and the absence of any new job creation. So we are convinced that a collaborative approach is necessary and needed.”
Granger concurred and stated that the industry did indeed have an impact on unemployment. He explained that he visited areas around the country and had met several young persons who had come out of the hinterland due to the closure of mining operations. Further, he said, many of them had contracted malaria.
“It means a few miners might be rich–perhaps the foreign extractive industries – but there is a serious crisis among the medium and small-scale miners in Guyana and certainly the workers…have suffered,” Granger said.
Days ago, Granger had stated that gold and diamond miners should receive the same level of government support as stakeholders in the rice and sugar industries and he went a step further yesterday by highlighting a number of areas for improvement.
According to Granger, a strategic plan of action for the gold and mining industries is needed in order to sustain employment, investment and development. He further said that attention must be placed on areas such hinterland infrastructure, public services, indigenous land rights, and hinterland security.
APNU’s proposed plan includes the transferal of the headquarters of the Guyana Police Force’s hinterland ‘F’ Division from Georgetown to Bartica. Granger added that it will also be necessary to provide the force with adequate aircraft, all-terrain vehicles, communications equipment and river boats to ensure more effective law enforcement.
He proposed a collaborative effort by several government ministries, including the ministries of Amerindian Affairs, Health, Home Affairs, and Natural Resources and the Environment.
Interventions being made
In response, the Minis-try of Natural Resources and the Environment (MNRE) is maintaining that it has already taken a collaborative approach towards the gold industry and said yesterday in a press release that it has been engaging in talks with the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA).
According to the MNRE release, areas of concern were identified and measures were implemented to ensure that the sector remained viable. “In this regard, specific interventions were made and are continuing, to support the sector and ensure its survival, continued growth, and contribution to national development,” MNRE said.
Further, the release said, “Significant progress has been made through constructive dialogue at the level of the Inter-Ministerial Task Force that was formed to undertake specific interventions aimed at supporting and streamlining the sector.”
However, during APNU’s conference yesterday, Roopnaraine stated that APNU’s understanding was that the committee has met only once though there should be ongoing committee meetings with a specific work programme to monitor what is happening within the industry.
Furthermore, the MNRE stated that it successfully provided support to the sector by a number of interventions, including fuel licences, duty-free waivers on spares and equipment, and hinterland infrastructure development and maintenance.
According to the release, the GGMC is currently reviewing feasible road designs and construction methods that can be adopted, while efforts are being made to implement Road Users’ Agreement for specific heavily travelled roads that are prone to ruin. “More importantly, the expenditure of funds on hinterland infrastructure is as a result of collaborative effort with the relevant ministries and the key stakeholder, GGDMA… The Ministry and GGMC will continue to work with the GGDMA and all other stakeholders for benefits of the sector,” MNRE emphasised.
