A decade after it was brought to the attention of the authorities that Tasserene’s only source of water is being polluted by mining activities, the issue is yet to be solved.
At the National Toshaos Conference last week, Alvin Joseph, the Toshao of Tasserene in Region Seven, made a plea to Vickram Bharrat, the Minister of Natural Resources, to investigate the issue.
According to Joseph, the creek, called Tasserene Creek, is the community’s only source of water. “We use the water for cooking and drinking,” said Joseph.
In response, Bharrat promised to have Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) officials visit the area.
Elaborating on the issue to Stabroek News shortly after the conference, Joseph disclosed that the government was first told of the problem in 2012, some three years after miners started polluting the creek.
For a brief period, the mining blocks surrounding the community were removed and miners were given alternative claims but when the former APNU+AFC government was in power the miners were permitted to return to their former concessions.
Joseph says the removal of mining blocks surrounding the community is the only solution to the decade-long issue. GGMC can grant alternative concessions, he says, where mining activities will not impact the livelihood of community members.
However, seeing that there is no real effort to solve this problem on the part of the government, community members have been searching for a solution to their water woes.
At present they are completely dependent on rainfall for clean water.
“So, what is going to happen to us if the rain stops falling for a longer period. We will have no clean water for drinking,” Joseph lamented.
With the pollution worsening, Joseph says, community members, particularly children, are suffering more frequently from diarrhoea. “This is why we want it to remain a mining free zone,” he said.
Located in the Middle Mazaruni, Tasserene is an indigenous Akawaio community of approximately 400 persons.
