Challenging the assertion by the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) that mining is an essential service, Policy Forum Guyana (PFG) is calling for the industry to be stripped of that classification, while saying that it does not qualify as a service needed by every citizen, but rather to make a small number of wealthy men even wealthier.
Government has classified mining as an essential service, thereby exempting the industry’s operations from some COVID-19 restrictions.
PFG, a network of civic organizations that seeks in part to strengthen accountability in the extractive industries, is contending that rather than a service, “the mining industry is so ill-regulated” that apart from preventing any accurate assessment of its contribution to the economy, it poses a major threat to the well-being of all interior communities.