Gold and Diamond Miners’ Association is not our friend

Feb 04, 2017 Letters

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Dear Editor,
I have been paying keen attention to the call of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) to small miners to protest against the new tax measures imposed by the government. It is so funny that GGDMA will call on the miners whom they have never supported. It is a known fact that the members of GGDMA are the ‘big boys’ in mining, some of whom are guilty of questionable acts in relation to small miners, known as tributors on their lands. The trend is that these claim holders would give you oral permission to work a piece of land, and most small miners accept out of desperation. As soon as there is a significant gold find, however, they will remove you with brute force and ignorance. Over the past two years I have heard countless stories of this happening. Our dredge was shot up with 36 gunshots, an incident which was caught on camera by the claim-holder as we had an injunction from the high court giving us permission to work.
The gunmen who were security personnel attached to the claim-holder’s mining firm came in their uniforms and were heard saying on camera that they don’t care about paperwork they got orders from the said claim-holder. These men were basically treated like celebrities by a former senior officer of F Division. Who told us the men would turn themselves in because they cannot leave their work ground? These men are free as a bird today. Instead of the DPP laying attempted murder charges, because my husband was seen on camera jumping in front of a shotgun to save his workers, they were slapped with malicious damage to property.
The excavator operator who was shot in the head has since appeared in court and withdrew the charges. We have since found out that he is now employed with the said claim-holder. Again we see the claim-holders’ influence all around. Until now nothing has come out of this and we are forced to fight in the courts for damages. We now have to find a way to recoup our losses and start over. We then began hearing all these horror stories coming out of the same area allegedly committed by the same claim-holder. Further, we hear stories of this happening to small miners working on lands belonging to current members of the GGDMA. The GGDMA has done nothing over the past two years to help us.
As members we approached them first after the shooting to assist us and offer support, however we were told abruptly by a senior executive he could not get involved because he is on a retainer for the said claim-holder and as such it would be a conflict of interest. He then referred us to another executive member who advised that I had a strong case, but never offered any further help. We quickly realized that the said claim-holder had a lot of friends in the association and it was a lost cause.
This blatant injustice and disrespect handed to small miners which was a trend during the previous administration has left a bad taste in our mouths. There are so many families which are in ruins right now contemplating their next move, and me trying to find the will to live after losing it all. Some still have debts to repay which in turn have them fearful for their lives. We would like to thank Minister Trotman, Minister Broomes and the newly appointed closed area committee for hearing our cries and doing their best to help us small miners. We have since been able to secure our own gold-bearing land for which we are still awaiting the paperwork. This gives us hope that we are not at the mercy of claim-holders.
The call by GGDMA for small miners to join in solidarity with them to protest is totally insane. This confirms to me that the GGDMA exists in their own world, and are truly out of touch with the reality of the small miner. I would like the GGDMA to cite one instance recently where they assisted a small miner. They even insulted the newly started Konawaruk Small Miners Association which attended a meeting with them and the government recently.Why does GGDMA think they are the only ones with the right to represent miners? Who gives them the right to insult and demean this group of hard-working miners?
Have GGDMA ever given back to the communities? Have they done any outreach programmes? Have they ever represented a miner who was not an ‘old boy’ in mining? We all know who these ‘big ones’ in mining are and we are watching them closely. It is a fact that combined they have so much money it’s pointless to fight. So small miners feel it’s either put up or shut up. We will not be treated like second class citizens. I say the time has come for small miners to rise up, not against the government which has been helping us and regularizing the sector, but against GGDMA. They cannot call themselves the representative of the entire mining body in Guyana when their interest is only for a few. Small miners should not be part of the political ploy of the GGDMA; they do not represent the real gold miners.
Alisha Figueira
Figaro Mining

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