Bartica shuts down amidst protests

Feb 02, 2010 News

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– residents, businesses call for special committee to suspend work

An estimated 3,000 persons, decked in yellow, took to the streets of Bartica yesterday shutting down that community to protest several mining proposals being considered by a government-appointed team.
Hundreds of vehicles were involved and miners and residents from other interior areas
descended on Bartica to lend solidarity to the protest action.

Schools, banks, shops and other key services closed their doors in support of the protestors.
Yesterday, the miners said that they will be writing President Bharrat Jagdeo asking for the Land Use Committee, which he appointed and which is studying the proposals, to hold off its work and its role expanded to include more representatives from the mining communities, especially Bartica and Mahdia.
Barticians and miners are claiming that the proposals, once implemented, will effectively shut them down.
The motorcade started off from the Bartica Police Station and wended its way through several streets before assembling for a rally at the Bartica Community Ground.
Yesterday, Frederick McWilfred, spokesperson for the Committee of Concerned Barticians, which organised the protests, said that a strong message has been sent to the government that miners and Barticians are worried about the industry.
There were representatives from 12 riverain and interior areas including Mahdia, Itabali and Linden.
Several miners, the Bartica Chamber of Commerce of Industry and Commerce and the hire car and speed boat associations, also expressed support for the mining industry and concerns about the proposals which among other things are considering a six-month notification by miners before operations can begin.
According to McWilfred, it is clear that yesterday’s action crossed all boundaries since the proposals are a threat to the very existence to the industry and everyone that took part in the protest united for a common cause.
Yesterday, the miners, at the Bartica Community Ground, demanded that there be no new regulations and that Government should immediately examine the possibility of allocating to miners, between seven and 10 per cent of forested areas for alluvial gold mining.
It was recommended that the Land Use Committee be expanded to allow representatives from Bartica and Mahdia since these two areas are heavily dependent on mining for existence and any new measures will have disastrous effects on its existence.
It was also urged that the small miners, such as porkknockers, also have a voice in that committee to address concerns over its existence.
Speaking with Kaieteur News yesterday, McWilfred said that he has been receiving a huge show of support from all over the country, including support from businesses from the city involved in the mining sector.
According to the miner, the action yesterday was devoid of interference from any political party and people were puzzled why government would want to hurt the industry especially in light of the utterances of Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, who Saturday said that the administration had granted in excess of $10B in tax remissions to the mining industry.
“People are puzzled since the proposals being considered by Government are in direct contradiction to what the Minister is saying.”
McWilfred noted that Barticians, after writing the President, will be awaiting his response to see whether any framework is lent to make it happen.
“We have our concerns. Is the government willing to listen?”
On Saturday a government team led by Minister Robert Persaud and including Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn; Head of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), William Woolford; Head of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), James Singh; and Odinga Lumumba, member of GGMC, visited Bartica to assure that the government was not intending to close the industry.
Miners criticised opposition parties for not raising their voices in protests on critical mining issues and warned them that they will not be welcomed to use the occasion for politics since Bartica stands ready to fight its own battles.
At the stormy meeting, Minister Persaud told the packed gathering that the Industry was too crucial to Guyana for any contemplation that will ultimately hurt it.
On Friday, it was announced that the mining community, long considered a gateway to the mining industry of the interior, was gearing to shut down all activities yesterday and hold a motorcade and rally to protest changes in policies for the mining sector which they said will effectively close them down.
On Saturday, several miners and residents alike, numbering around 200, assembled at St John The Baptist Primary School, wearing yellow as a show of support for the importance of mining in that community.
Minister Persaud had warned that a drop in gold price which is tied to the US dollar will have repercussions if the dollar gains strength.
This is where the government’s Low Carbon Development Strategy comes in since it allows for the country to use resources to plug into other key areas even as mining continues in a greater way.
“It has always been made clear that mining will continue. There has never been any discussion whether we should cease or reduce mining activities,” Persaud said.
He emphasised that no decision has yet been made about many of the proposals dealing with mining issues such as the six-month notice period and dispelled rumours that the notice will prohibit small miners from operating.
The outstanding contributions of the mining sector in 2009 were highlighted by Minister Persaud who noted that despite global challenges, mining held its reputation as one of the more resilient sectors. The same could not be said for rice, sugar, bauxite and tourism.
“Why would anyone attempt to hurt that? Why would any sensible government or administration want to proceed in a direction to affect a sector that is one of the more resilient sectors?” Minister Persaud queried.
Persaud, who is performing the duties of Prime Minister, acknowledged that lack of information may have fueled the concerns of residents and miners.
Minister Benn assured that mining will not be affected if the right procedures are followed.
“If you have a medium-scale mining permit and you identify where you want to mine, you can go and start mining and continue mining. There is nothing that will stop you from mining. What is required and what is already inherent in the laws is that you have to give notification so that under all the various stakeholders using our forest resources, we are able to ensure that the practices are sustainable,” Minister Benn said.

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