Close shop or pay an ounce of gold - businessman told

Close shop or pay an ounce of gold – businessman told

Jan 05, 2020 News

Miners from Puruni Landing, Region Seven, are complaining of other instances of shakedowns from Mining Officers.
This latest complaints would lend credence to widespread complaints of discrimination and abuse of power by a few Mining Officers of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).

With little oversight, Mining Officers are getting away with murder when it comes to shakedowns, businesses from Puruni have complained.

In a latest complaint, a businessman from Puruni Landing, a well-known central point, in the Cuyuni/Mazaruni area, claimed that that his shop was visited recently by an official who claimed to be responsible for managing Trading Licences.
“I was in Georgetown at the time doing business. The official who is not stationed in the area presented a notice to my shop attendant indicating that the trading in gold with the licence would be suspended from January 2020.”
The businessman claimed that the mining officer demanded one ounce of gold be paid to him if the shop is to continue to remain open.
The officer said he would be back in January to collect the gold.
“It is my understanding that the said person had made similar proposals to other shop owners. Upon return to the Puruni Landing two days later, I visited the GGMC’s office to enquire the basis of the notice and was told by the Mines Officer stationed there that he had no knowledge of such notice and would have to check with his supervisor.
“He did acknowledge that the official who served the notice works at the GGMC but in another department.”
The businessman, in his complaint, made it clear that he is convinced that this was a clear act of corrupt practice and must be highlighted in an effort to remove from the GGMC those individuals who engage in such practices.
“I have interacted on a number of occasions with officers of the Commission and found many to be hard working and honest. However, there are a few such as the individual who give the notice, who must be investigated and the necessary action be taken.
“I firmly believe that this was a “shakedown” operation since the officer stationed at the Puruni Landing confessed that he was in no way connected to that individual.”
The claims of the businessman, who is calling for actions, came days after a number of miners claimed that they are being constantly threatened with Cease Work Orders for the slightest infractions.
“No operations are perfect. However, we know that we are being pressured to pay up something because for the slightest of perceived something, we are told we are being closed.”
Closure is not an option for many mining operations with scores of workers to pay.
With tough conditions and in a backdam where Mining Officers have sweeping powers, the complaints of shakedowns have been growing.
Recently, it was learnt that based on complaints against senior officials at GGMC, President David Granger ordered an investigation into discrimination of small miners.
There were accusations of a systematic protection of big miners and shakedowns of small operations.
There have been little details of how that investigation is progressing.
Until recently, the mining operations have been largely below the radar.
Not so anymore. In the last decade, gold declarations have been responsible for bringing in the largest block of foreign currency to Guyana.
It has overtaken rice and sugar.