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Party activist wants to change Mahdia mining rules
Dear Editor,
Some time back I highlighted some problems we were encountering with an activist of the ruling party in Mahdia. That activist came to live here about a year ago and in that time residents here consider a menace or a trouble maker.
The first thing bad that this guy did when he realized that there was gold in his backyard he started giving permission to dredge owners to carry out mining activities in his back yard. This is against the mining laws since that area falls within the landing area.
He was doing this under the pretext of desilting a creek which he claimed is responsible for flooding where he is living.
The truth of the matter is that this guy built a camp in a swamp and the only reason for him building his camp there was to collect sand from the creek to make concrete blocks to sell since he is a block maker.
I am 65 years old and I have been living and mining for over 45 years in Mahdia, and I always knew that area to be flooded when the rain falls. What is alarming is that despite the amount of high land in and around Mahdia this guy opted to built a camp in that swampy area.
He is giving the authorities the impression that flooding is due to mining activities and that he needs to desilt the creek, when in fact he actually want to mine there.
Recently he organized a couple of miners and have them on standby to start mining there soon. He is going around recruiting dredge owners to bring their dredges and mind there claiming that he has a special mining permit granted to him by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment to conduct mining there. He is also claiming that permission is granted to him by the RDC of Region Eight to conduct mining there.
I would like to once again say that should this activist be granted a special mining permit by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment to mine this land which is in the landing area and which falls under the control of the RDC this would be setting a bad precedent that will have serious repressions. Other persons will apply for special mining permit to conduct mining activities in their backyards.
Mining activities normally leave large pits which can have serious consequences on the health of the residents; these pits become breeding grounds for the malaria mosquitoes. Also, mining close to a landing affects the water that the residents use for household purposes.
I believe that the in the best interest of the community the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment should not grant any special mining permits for anybody to conduct mining in their backyards.
I do believe that the time has come for us in Guyana to put politics aside and work in the best interest of the Guyanese people.
Allan George
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