Special Magistrate to be appointed to oversee mining cases - Minister of State

Special Magistrate to be appointed to oversee mining cases – Minister of State

Aug 01, 2015 News

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, yesterday said that Government plans to appoint a special Magistrate to oversee all mining matters which have been tied up in the court system.
He made this declaration at the Princess Hotel on the occasion of 36th anniversary of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).
He also called on the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to put the country and its stakeholders first in its operations.
The Minister promised that the organization would have new and improved systems, which will be put in place to ensure that the Commission is effectively managed.
Harmon said that GGMC has the responsibility for the country’s natural resources and as such, should ensure that every action taken is in the interest of the country and its citizens.
He said that President David Granger, during the course of the week, met with the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners’ Association (GGDMA) and several members of the GGMC, where it was expressed that there were many irritants to the Commission’s work and efficiency and the mining sector as a whole.
This, he related, included the increasing number of Court matters engaging the GGMC and the non-enforcement of existing laws governing the sector.
Harmon said, “These are matters, which as a nation, we have to address because in the view of many, there are too many injunctions, tied up injunctions… So the whole system seems to be tied up by injunctions … and this is something we will have to address.”
The Minister also said that Government has given its commitment to ensuring that the GGGMC operates in an environment which “unshackles all of these archaic rules and regulations and injunctions that ‘tie up’ the Commission and make it an ineffective tool of the State.”
He said that the new administration will be appointing a mining officer who will be responsible for dealing with regulatory issues.
“Going to Court is wasting a lot of time and we were advised of the provision in the act for a Mining Officer, which is a particular Magistrate who is assigned to deal with mining matters…We will explore that possibility to ensure that a particular Magistrate is designated for that purpose even if it’s one day or two days a week, to deal with mining matters so that these matters can be cleared up as quickly as possible,” the Minister said.
He said, “We believe that the protection of our natural resources, the national patrimony, is a serious responsibility which we have to exercise as a Commission. It is the intention of the government to provide the GGMC with the resources necessary to carry out duties in a fair and fearless manner,” Minister Harmon said, to much applause from the audience.

Latest News

Special Magistrate to be appointed to oversee mining cases – Minister of State

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| March, 31st, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Rotary Club of New Amsterdam Childhood Obesity Prevention Inter...

Demerara beat Berbice by 6 wickets after Apple...

DCB Under19 Inter-Association Cricket Tournament...

Tagore Memorial Secondary School benefits from...

Hurricanes knock Eagles off course despite...

Peter’s Hall, Herstelling ‘A’ advance to...

Features/Columnists

A coalition of shared disgrace

The U.S. “Joining” the Commonwealth: an unreasonable expectation

Better contract management, info flows

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

Special Magistrate to be appointed to oversee mining cases – Minister of State

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| March, 31st, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]