Latest update November 15th, 2024 1:00 AM
Moves afoot to make small miners independent – Min. Broomes
As some small miners have complained about not having sufficient access to land for gold and diamond mining, the government is taking steps to address the situation to ensure all can have access to mining land.
Junior Natural Resources Minister, Simona Broomes
Minister Simona Broomes said, recently, that there is a large swath of land available which has been penned off and not being made available to small miners.
She said that when she joined the Ministry, she was impressed to know that blocks of lands which were up for cancellation for several years were not being occupied.
She stated that the amount of land at the time was well over 1700 blocks or 1200 acres. According to the Minister, persons were crying out that they could not get access to the land even though it was available.
This was so since the land was in an area which was closed and needed the Minister’s signature before it could be awarded through the Closed Area Committees.
“You have other areas that are just penned off there. I was surprised because you always hear there is no land available. There is land available that could meet the needs of the smaller person and that is exactly what this government is doing.”
Broomes was at the time meeting with a number of representatives from the newly formed Mining Syndicates which were set up to allow small miners access to land which were previously kept out of their reach.
The Minister said that the Syndicate project is a clear initiative from government to remedy the problem being experienced by small miners.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the group had come to Georgetown to protest against the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association for the position that entity has taken in relation to dealing with the new tax regime being implemented by Government in the mining industry.
She debunked claims by the GGDMA that Government is trying to divide miners by pitting small miners against the Association by saying the Syndicate program allows government to give miners their independence.
The group was advised by Broomes not to go ahead with the confrontation against GGDMA and offered to speak with them. Following that meeting, one of the miners from the Upper Mazaruni/Imbaimadai, Wallace Daniels, said that for the last 10 to 15 years small miners were subjected to ‘bullyism’ by larger miners over areas found to be rich in gold.
According to Daniels, in some instances armed security attached to larger miners would show up, fire shots in the air and proceed to ‘wash-down’ the ‘sluice-box’ operated by the prospecting small miner, collect the gold claiming it as outstanding payments and leave the site.
“GGMC (Guyana Geology and Mines Commission) did nothing about it. Half the time the Police didn’t do anything about it, just to say well we coming and investigate. So that is what people were putting up with all the time.”
The GGDMA had accused Broomes of wanting to divide miners and put them against each other. However, according to the Ministry, it is absolutely not its intention or the Government’s to pit miners against each other or to ‘divide and rule’ in any way.
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