Increased fees, penalties among major changes proposed for gold dealing

Jul 19, 2018 News

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman, Gold Board officials and the dealers yesterday during the meeting.

Government is consulting with stakeholders about major changes in the way the country conducts its gold trading operations.

Yesterday, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, met with representatives of the eight licenced gold dealers to discuss proposed amendments to the Guyana Gold Board Act and Regulations.

The meeting took place at the Guyana Pegasus and along with the Minister were the Board of the Guyana Gold Board led by Chairman Gabriel ‘GHK’ Lall and General Manager, Eondrene Thompson, along with Legal Officer, Attorney-at-law, Stacey Weever.

Among other things the ministry disclosed after the meeting, the proposed amendments provide for changes to the quantity of gold that may be legally possessed by a person; an extension of the period within which a producer may legally possess gold before selling to the Guyana Gold Board; the introduction of a special dealer’s licence to possess, sell or export gold and the ‘fit and proper’ criterion to be applied to persons seeking this.

Also proposed is the increase of application fees, bonds, fines and penalties and new regulations related to the acquisition of foreign exchange and the strengthening of the gold trading regime.

“The discussions were deemed fruitful, with a number of compromises made on both sides to ensure that the views and positions of all stakeholders were given due consideration. The frank and open discussions made for a good understanding of the challenges and expectations of both Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the licenced gold dealers,” the ministry disclosed.

Trotman, it was revealed, undertook to brief his Cabinet colleague, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan on a number of positions the dealers have laid out with a view to reaching a final position that could see the passage of the proposed amendments in the National Assembly after consultations with the licenced gold dealers.

“Present at the meeting were Shawn Gurcharran of GBTI Property Holdings, Tamesh Jagmohan of El Dorado Trading, Marlon Roberts and Shawn Hopkinson of Gold Bar Development and Consulting Inc., Nazar Mohamed and Mohamed Safraz Husain of Mohamed’s Enterprise, Akeisha Paulsingh Thomas of Pure Diamond Inc., Vanderson Alves Alencar of Excel Minerals Inc., Mohamed Qualander and Mohamed Hussain of Dinar Trading and Aldron Alphonso of Adamantium Metals.”

Gold has been the biggest foreign currency earner in the last decade, ahead of rice and sugar.

However, following a number of scandals and a large Gold Board deficit made worse by poor trading and a slide in prices on the market, new management had vowed to reverse the tide.

With rains and poor road conditions in the first half, it is widely expected that production, despite relatively high prices, will be less than last year.

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