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Police receive ATVs, satellite phone to beef up interior security
The Guyana Police Force (GPF) was yesterday presented with two All Terrain Vehicles
Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud, Robert Persaud, Minister of Natural Reosurces and Environment and GGMC Commissioner Rickford Vieira, with members of the GPF and other mining officials.
(ATVs), navigation and communication equipment by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) along with the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA).
The presentation was part of an enhanced inter-agency monitoring and enforcement programme in the various mining districts. Present at the event which was held at the GGMC compound were Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud; Commissioner of the GGMC, Mr. Rickford Vieira; Commissioner of the GPF, Mr. Seelall Persaud, representatives of the GGDMA and stakeholders and senior officers of the Guyana Police Force.
Minister Persaud said that the new equipment is part of the continued collaboration with the security agency in developing their service in the interior mining locations. The Minister related that security is one of the major issues facing the mining industry and it has been reiterated by those directly and indirectly concerned with the sector.
The Natural Resource Minister said that some 18 new mining sections would be opened, while sights are already set on constructing and revitalizing roads leading to some mining locations. He pointed out too that logistics and communication have been constraints for the police force.
The Minister went on to say that it has been recognized that there is a heightened need for improvement in the provision of security in the interior locations hence the agencies collaborative effort to support the force.
Terry Singh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of JAPARTS Mining Supplies, who was also present at yesterday’s handing over, explained that apart from the agencies donating the ATVs to the police, local miners normally have to help to get them in and out of the interior.
He said the miners would have to take their own vehicles and transport the police, while in some cases they would have to help with transportation so that the police could go after criminals who would use the interior locations as hide outs.
Singh encouraged miners to assist the police in any event whether with the provision of boats, ATVs or aircraft since the interior is a safe haven for criminal elements. He said the miners are left at stalk and have to resort to equipping themselves with defence mechanisms.
The issue of security has been an existing concern of mining stakeholders. Some have even recognized that poor security could be a factor in the low gold production already declared for the year.
Region Eight Chairman, Mark Crawford, had highlighted that in his Region, Mining District Two, which covers from Ayanganna Mountain to Omai (the entire Potaro River), the police are very restricted in their mobility.
He said that the location covers a vast piece of land with a number of locations, but there are about eight officers with one All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) servicing the area. He said that the unsafe interior was driving people away since many of them have refused to work in certain areas.
Following the presentation, there was an interaction between senior officers of the Ministry and its agencies with the Commissioner of Police and senior members of his team. The various agencies are involved in consultation over the way forward as it relates to security in the mining sector.
Gold declaration for the past five months has put the government on its toes since it has dropped by 20 percent. Hoarding and smuggling has been the most prominent of accusations.
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