The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Associa-tion (GGDMA) wants strong action to be taken against illegal miners who are raiding lands that have been legally claimed, while warning that tolerance for such activity is harming the image of the industry.
Speaking at the GGDMA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday, the organisation’s Vice-President Andron Alphonso said the issue has for a long time been pushed aside rather than addressed and as a result it has become a much bigger problem in the last year.
“It is becoming the norm for property holders to travel to their property located in the interior only to find it worked out. Mining officers and the police have issued removal orders for raiders and or physically removed them only to find that they have returned within a few days. This level of lawlessness must be addressed,” he stressed.
According to Alphonso, not only are the raiders illegally mining the land but they are also setting up illegal shops in close proximity.
These shops, which are associated with other illegal activities, such as the trafficking of people and drugs as well as prostitution, are a stain on the reputation of the mining community, he observed.
“The linking of these types of establishment with the mining community further heightens the perception that we are in support of these illegalities and is not good for reputation or image of the industry. We implore miners: don’t support the shops and don’t raid.
If you would like to access more lands, apply to the Closed Area Committee for lands,” Alphonso said
Several of the miners present supported Alphonso’s observations and called for the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to take stronger actions against raiders.
One miner spoke of being charged after he tried to clear his land of Brazilian miners who were raiding it.
“I get charged for representing my own land. This guy was raiding my land for three years. I made lots of reports to the GGMC, I actually made four helicopter trips at $900,000 a trip. GGMC don’t do anything. You make a report, they say they have no access to the area. I can afford four helicopter trips. What about those who can’t? Nine months after I try to move him from my land, he is still there and I have been charged. Mind you, they say that they were pressured by the Brazilian embassy and the media to charge me, when all I was doing was defending my land,” he said.
He went on to state that much of the property he has acquired mining rights to has been and continues to be raided. “I have a complaint right now at Bartica Police Station and GGMC. The guy got a shop there. He give permission for a guy to put a shop there and when I make contact with F Division, they say they can’t get involved, you gotta get the mines officer and he not available,” he related. While Alphonso stressed that the only way for this matter to be resolved is for the rule of law to be adhered to in the bush, one attendee noted that there seems to be a lack of will on the part of the enforcement agencies.
Another concern highlighted at the meeting was the presence of Venezuelan militants, called “the Syndicati,” who are reportedly harassing miners working close to the border between Guyana and Venezuela.
One miner said that he was forced to abandon some of his lands as he was afraid for the lives of him and his workers.
“These guys are establishing a presence. They are well armed and come over to our shores telling miners you have to pay for protection, you have to buy fuel from me. I have reported this to the GGDMA executive and others. The police and GDF came and established a permanent presence but they moved into the Cuyuni and are operating from a creek on the Venezuelan side, attacking boats which pass. It’s a serious gunshots kind of situation and we are afraid. It makes no sense you mining gold and you and you workers end up dead,” he explained.
