GGMC personnel replaced after Puruni Landing raid… Authorities target “illegals”; nine buildings closed

Mar 20, 2018 News

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It is considered one of the hotspots in the Middle Mazaruni, Region Seven area.

From gunplay, to prostitution to breaches in regulations, the infractions are many.

This past week, authorities in a raid to the area, closed nine of the 50-plus businesses on Puruni Landing.

It was a situation that was being monitored for a while now, but despite regularisation attempts, little progress was being made.

It appeared that persons in the area were tipped off of an impending raid on Friday.

Seventeen women from Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela, who had no work permits, vanished from the area on Friday, ahead of the raid by officials of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).

Yesterday, the team of GGMC officials briefed Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes.

GGMC has since replaced its personnel in the area.

It is deeply worrying situation, Broomes said.

She explained that the exercise Friday morning came from a series of engagements with shop owners, Commissioner of Lands, Trevor Benn; and even Minister with responsibility for Citizenship, Winston Felix.

Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, also visited the area. He had explained that while the laws allow for persons who break the law to be taken to the court, it is the preference to have the matters of the wild-west situation addressed otherwise.

The big problem in the Puruni Landing area, Minister Broomes explained, is that persons issued licences to provide goods and services have been subletting them to others.

In addition, there are problems with human trafficking, money laundering, environmental, gold smuggling, drugs, guns and robberies and other crimes.

Lots of money which is not being taxed, is passing through the area. Don’t even ask, she says.

“We have started to work with the illegal Brazilians and we have linked up with Citizenship. Because of what has been reported to us. We have been receiving information.”

Among some of the issues was the illegal squatting on reserves that has been set aside to build a bridge across the Puruni River. Lands earmarked for a police outpost and health centre have also been taken over illegally.

Mines officers have discovered persons selling rice and flours and burning gold with the dangerous mercury nearby.

To stem the reported human trafficking, Minister Broomes disclosed that GGMC has set aside a budget targeting prevention and partnership. The campaign involves posters.

Businesses issued with licences have to now sign on declarations for Certificates of Registrations, which indicate what workers on present in the mining areas and for what purpose.

The reason is to have businesses take direct responsibilities if they happen to be caught in human trafficking.

“You can’t take people to sell food and then put the girl in room next door with men.”

With regards to the raid Friday, Broomes disclosed that two days before a small team was quietly dispatched to the area to gather information.

They managed to visit the various businesses and found 17 women coming from Venezuela, Brazil and even the Dominican Republic- none had work permit.

When the raid was carried out on Friday, the women had disappeared.

Nine buildings were boarded up. They have breaches in the licences, which said they can’t sublet.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being paid for those subletting, Broomes said.

The Minister warned that GGMC will take actions if the closed buildings are reopened without permission.

“They may want to run to the media or call someone. GGMC must be supported and we have to allow them to do their work.”

Broomes also pointed out that in places like Brazil, illegal mining and squatting result in equipment being burned and seized and the guilty parties jailed.

This will not happen in a hurry here as this government is focused on regularisation, she said.

There are 26 other landings in the mining areas that will see similar exercise, the minister warned. There are also others that are cropping up.

“The ministry and GGMC are saying that you need to put your house in order. We cannot continue to have the chaos that we met when we came in office to continue. There must be compliance.”

The investigations in the Puruni Landing raid will see a report, which could come within a week, Broomes said.

“We have to support getting the extractive sector to where it belongs. We have to support GGMC and its work.”

With gold the biggest foreign currency earner for Guyana, there have been challenges, including smuggling, bad roads, and illegal mining. Prices have been high in recent months.

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