McLean resigns from miners’ association

Jan 30, 2010 News

– govt. officials to meet Barticians today

by Leonard Gildarie

As a row in the gold and diamond mining industry deepens with threats to shutdown Bartica over a controversial six-month notice to authorities, a senior official in the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners’ Association has tendered his resignation.
Major General (rtd.), Norman McLean, last evening confirmed that he resigned from the Presidency of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) yesterday and that his resignation has been accepted by the executive of that association.
McLean’s resignation followed a meeting earlier this week between Bartica miners and GGDMA’s Executive Director, Edward Shields.
McLean said from reports he received from Shields of the meeting at Bartica with the miners, it was pointed out that he was not a miner.
“I am not a miner but I hold the interest of the miners at heart and have done my best to look after it. I have no personal axe to grind so I submitted my resignation.”
Sources last evening said that GGDMA may now be looking to hold an election for a President.
According to McLean, during that meeting the miners expressed concerns that he was not representing their interest fully. The official is part of the Land Use Committee which was appointed by President Bharrat Jagdeo to examine ways the mining industry could work harmoniously with the forestry industry, especially in light of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy which calls for increased vigilance in the two sectors.
With mining taking place on some forestry concessions, one of the proposals being studied by the committee was for miners to seek approval for operations in a particular area so that the official stakeholder bodies including the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and
McLean noted that the Land Use Committee was making “good progress” and was near to finalising an agreement on all the issues miners had expressed concerned.
With Bartica a key mining community, miners there had over the past days held several meetings and announced Thursday that it had scheduled a major motorcade and rally for Monday to discuss the issues including the six-months notice proposal and what they felt was a move to give the Guyana Forestry Commission “veto power” over the mining industry.
McLean said he felt that the upcoming actions in Bartica was not a wise idea and had expressed this to the GGDMA executive.
Yesterday, government announced that it will be going to Bartica today to meet with residents and miners of Bartica to discuss mining, forestry and developmental issues.
Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, who is performing the duties of Prime Minister, will be heading the team which comprises Minister of Transport and Hydraulics and Chairman of the Land Use Committee, Robeson Benn, Chairman of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, William Woolford, and Chairman of the Guyana Forestry Commission, James Singh.