The South Rupununi District Council (SRDC) has said “no concrete steps” have been taken to address the presence of a “dragga” at Parabara Village, South Rupununi, despite “numerous commitments” dating back to December last year.
The community development group yesterday called for immediate action to be taken by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and the Guyana Geo-logy and Mines Commission (GGMC), while noting that it is “deeply concerned” that the “dragga” will soon begin river mining operations.
In a statement issued yesterday, the SRDC said a 14-inch cutterhead dredge could only be built with one purpose – to engage in river mining, which would contravene a government order and a Cabinet decision.
“The SRDC urges the GGMC and MNR to take immediate action, including forfeiture and seizure, which is authorised under the Mining Act, Sections 100-103,” the statement said.
“Immediate enforcement action must be taken to enforce the decisions and orders of the government as well as to ensure the government’s commitment to the protection of important headwaters in the South Rupununi,” it further added.
The statement noted that in May, Cabinet took a decision to refuse permission for the “dragga” to operate. It added that Major General (Rtd) Joseph Singh had also informed the SRDC that President David Granger had declared that the government would enforce a 2008 order and not allow mining in the Essequibo River and its tributaries south of the 4th parallel.
According to the SRDC, on June 14th, GGMC issued an order for the removal of the dredge but that has not occurred.
Stabroek News recently reported the head of the GGMC Newell Dennison saying that officers were given directives to remove the dredges found in the Kuyuwini River.
He explained that the officers were given a boat and instructed to visit the area and take the necessary action to stop the dredges from operating and have them removed from the river.
However, SRDC said that on September 8th it had received information indicating that the dredge was moved some distance away from its original position. It was also noted that “a pontoon carrying almost 400 drums of fuel for the operations of the ‘dragga’” was travelling alongside.
“After receiving this information, the SRDC sent in its monitoring team to verify that indeed the ‘dragga’ was returning. However, the SRDC has received confirmed reports from its monitoring team that the ‘dragga’ has indeed moved further down river,” the statement said.
In the first article published by this newspaper on the presence of the dredges in the river, it was reported that that dredge owner indicated that he would have to source approximately 40 drums of gasoline to move his operations from the area where it was operating at the time.
SRDC Chairman Nicholas Fredericks had told this newspaper that at least 17 miles of palm trees were wiped out from the river since the dredge has been operating there. This, he said, indicates a negative environmental impact since it is not trees alone that are destroyed but habitats for wildlife.
At the time the SRDC had noticed a dredge working 125 miles down the Kuyuwini River from Parabara.
“The reports of our monitoring team indicate that the ‘dragga’ operator is openly defying the order of a GGMC officer, a 2008 governmental order, and a decision of Cabinet,” SRDC stressed yesterday.
It said that it is committed to contributing to the protection of the sacred Amazonian forests, a part of which forms Wapichan traditional lands. “These very lands are the source of fresh water that feeds into our mighty Essequibo and supports extremely fragile ecosystems. In a time, when other parts of the Amazon are being destroyed on a scale of apocalyptic proportions, Guyana has a chance to step up and lead the way on helping the world heal its ecological scars.”
Against this background, the SRDC urgently demanded that the “GGMC and other relevant government agencies take immediate and appropriate actions to address this extremely alarming situation and to enforce its own laws, orders, and commitments.”
