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GGDMA not supporting small miners, only the interests of its executives and medium scale miners

Aug 30, 2013 Letters

 Dear Editor,
I wish to debunk the explanation provided by the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) in relation to its ‘mutual-benefit’ support for the appointment of the acting Commissioner of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Mr. Rickford Vieira to be confirmed as Commissioner, which was published by Kaieteur News on August 28.
Mr. Editor, I didn’t state in my previous letter, but I am now highlighting why I am concerned about the affairs of the GGDMA and the GGMC. For over fifteen years I have been an active small scale miner following in my father’s foot step and I am convinced that the GGDMA is not concerned about small miners. It is evident that the GGDMA is only concerned about the affairs of its executive members and that of medium scale miners.
However, since the creation of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, there has been a sense of small miners feeling valued and included in the sector. I believed this is where the GGDMA is scared of losing the footing of its membership and is now supportive of the Commissioners’ appointment to gain his trust and support to repair small miners’ image of the GGDMA. Or am I to believe that the GGDMA is just comfortable with the way in which the acting Commissioner is managing sector, all to the Associations’ whims and fancies.
As a show of the realities of small miners, I challenge any independent body to do an assessment to enquire of the support if any that the GGDMA is providing to support small miners development. The GGDMA is only willing to work along with the GGMC to solve problems of a few well off gold miners and that is the crux of the matter. How often does the GGDMA interact with small miners? We are fed up of not being represented, more so, several other mini associations have been formed to represent specifically small miners and have been successful.
The current reality is that small miners have been sidelined by the GGDMA and have been promoting its executives and medium scale miners and that there Mr. Editor is one of the major reasons why the GGDMA is going out on a limb to lobby for its own interest for the acting Commissioner to be confirmed. Like an old saying goes ‘hand wash hand make hand clean’.
Further, the GGDMA should focus on real issues to support small miners rather than satisfying its high level clientele of the Association and the GGMC. Additionally, I am aghast as to why I am being referred to as ‘Archer’ by Mr. Sparman in his response to my letter. And why is it that Mr. Sparman is invoking APNU by implying that I am calling them criminals, is it that he feels that the GGDMA and APNU are one of the same?  Don’t try to distract the small miners and the public by taking political cover.
Terence William (Snr)

 

 

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