Fuel, equipment concessions did not benefit small, medium miners- GGDMA

May 22, 2016 News

---

-says industry is on the brink, miners scaling down little by little
Back in November last year, the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA), Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) signed agreements with Minister of Finance,

Winston Jordan, to make eligible miners exempt from custom duties on fuel and equipment.
Tensions were high on Friday. However, as the GGDMA and impassioned mining operators made it known that these benefits were not been felt by those it was supposed to target- small and medium scale miners- in the short time it was provided. The miners stated that only a few were able to benefit, an outcome many observers had predicted upon first seeing the stipulations.
During a meeting at GGDMA’s office, President Terrence Adams laid out how things went awry. He stated that the agreements only stood for six months, but crucial paperwork from agencies, in particular GGMC, were held up for half of that time. Those agreements, the association stated, have since expired.
“It was only for six months (but) the fuel was a total disaster in terms of dealing with the other ministries or agencies; that is GEA and GGMC,” Adams stated. “I don’t think we had an issue with GRA (Guyana Revenue Authority) for the first instance; they were prompt in their response back to us.”

“But GGMC took close to three months to come up with an approval on the documents. By that time rules and regulations had been thrown out to us, (for instance) miners have to have storage facilities in the interior for fire extinguishers before we can acquire the fuel.”
He stated that they have thus not benefitted from the agreements and after failing to have a meeting with the Chairman of GEA, the association now intends to take it up with President David Granger to have the agreements renewed, not for six months, but for a year. Another issue which Adams noted would be brought up was the Value Added Tax (VAT) on heavy duty equipment.
Vice President of GGDMA, Andron Alphonso, stated that a huge problem is the mixed signals that the association has been receiving from Government. He stated that after a meeting with the Minister on one occasion, one would sometimes hear something different from the GGMC on another.
“This is why we need to have this meeting with the President. Because we need something from the (President) himself, on the way forward with mining or the government’s policy. We love foreign investments. We want more Troys or Auroras.”
“However you cannot forget the contribution from the local miner. From 2008 and all those years when there was the worldwide recession, this country and the disposable wealth grew, (mainly) because of mining.”
Members of the association who were present at the meeting also chimed in. They made it clear that there is a perception whereby Government has turned a blind eye to local miners, at a time when a large percentage of operators have parked their equipment because the cost of production –including fuel- is too high.
“Gold is not, as you (might) see it, in Omai. You have to travel to far-flung areas,” one miner said. “Rather than putting more weight on our backs, they need to ease it. Maybe we could bear it, but what about the small and medium (scale) miner out there?”
“These things are affecting them and they are scaling down little by little until soon there will be no more. This government needs to seek advice or GGDMA needs to raise it more vigorously with them. This thing is going to come crashing down.”
Concessions for miners were one of the coalition’s promises in its election manifesto. Based on the agreement, small and medium scale miners were supposed to have a 40 percent tax reduction on fuel, along with duty free concessions on imported equipment.
The equipment covered were matting, All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), jack hammer drills, flex hoses, expanding metals, pumps and hosing, impellers and engines.
Statistics don’t lie
Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, has since responded to the complaints of the Association. Trotman, who professed that he was taken by surprise, stated that at a meeting held between the Association, Government and GGMC on May 10, GGDMA made no statement about a crisis in the industry.
In light of this, Trotman suggested that the GGDMA, rather than working as a ‘committed partner’, has instead taken on the role of a pressure group. He stated that he was “nonplussed” about the motive behind the GGDMA’s statements, but that the Ministry remained committed to working with the association.
“Recent statistics about high gold declarations contradict the GGDMA’s utterances about the industry being in a crisis and devoid of any policy to give it direction,” he said in a statement. “The statistics don’t lie, and instead, confirm that an industry that is better regulated and incentive driven will produce results. The ‘free for all’ days to which some want to drag us back are over.”
Amidst the low price for gold on the world market, Government reported a record amount of gold being declared thus far for 2016; in excess of 243,000 ounces from January to May. This has been attributed to a clampdown on gold smuggling.

---

---