Illegal mining high on GGMC management retreat agenda

Apr 29, 2012 News

The issue of illegal mining and the need for greater monitoring were

Stakeholders and other participants during a critical retreat yesterday

among some of the major issues being dealt with yesterday as the country’s mining regulator, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), held a management retreat.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, the intention of the meeting, held at the Herdmanston Lodge, Queenstown, was to review GGMC’s strategic objectives and future plans for expanding the mining sector.
The retreat comes at a time when mining activities, amidst high prices, are expanding across the mining regions in Guyana with an equivalent increase in illegal mining.
The Ministry also stated that the challenge now has to do with greater monitoring, enforcement and even updating of the Mining Act and Regulations.
“Focus was also placed on increasing the capacity of the Commission through training and identifying constraints to address new challenges that are imminent within the expanding sector and to update the Strategic Plan of the GGMC which expired last year.”
Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud, during his opening remarks at the retreat, urged for attention to be paid to greater accountability and safeguards to ensure value for money, noting that the various departments of the GGMC including the Petroleum Division, will be restructured.
The management of the minerals of Guyana must be done in a sustainable manner and there must be the development systems in place.
Persaud added that Organisations and Government agencies like the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (MoNRE), the GGMC, the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) and the Guyana Women Miners’ Association (GWMA) must collaborate more frequently to ensure that all issues of the various stakeholders are dealt with much more effectively.
He urged all stakeholders in the extractive industry to engage the offices of the GGMC and MoNRE to work for the greater good of the sector.
Meanwhile, the strategic work plan for the next five years will define how the GGMC develops and governs the sustainability of the country’s natural resources for the growth of Guyana.
The event also included special presentations from the GWMA and the GGDMA.