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International partnership needed to tackle gold smuggling – Norton
Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana should incorporate international security cooperation and the assembling of an inter-agency task force to assist it in curbing the country’s gold smuggling challenges, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton said on Friday.
Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton
Norton, who was at the time speaking at a press conference, suggested that key stakeholders meet regularly and coordinate anti-smuggling efforts to tackle the prevalence of gold smuggling.
He said this move would enable the sharing of critical information and ensure that the gold smuggling is tackled on all fronts.
“The establishment of such a task force was critical to the Coalition’s effective anti-smuggling efforts. It should comprise at minimum representatives from the Guyana Gold Board, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, Financial Intelligence Unit, Guyana Defense Force, Guyana Police Force, Guyana Revenue Authority, Attorney General’s Office and Civil Aviation Authority,” he said.
Further, the Opposition Leader said international security cooperation should be an integral element in protecting the country’s borders from gold smugglers.
“The Coalition was able to coordinate with Brazilian authorities in the past to prevent smuggling and such partnerships should be revived,” Norton said while adding that developing the skilled labour required by the industry should be a priority and incentivized.
“This means that there needs to be a renewed push to expand Technical and Vocational Schools nationwide, providing them with resources and additional capacity so that the needs of the gold industry can be met. A student stipend of $50,000 a month should be provided to encourage enrollment and retention of students until graduation,” he proposed.
The Opposition Leader blamed the government for the current situation noting that the low gold production and declaration from small and medium-scale producers are dropping as a result of “the PPP’s incompetence and lack of drive and initiative.”
“Labour shortage in this subsector shows signs of becoming chronic. Smuggling and illegal trading are increasingly rampant. The recent arrest and arraignment of three persons on a joint charge of exporting gold, valued at US$560,000, without a license is the mere tip of the iceberg,” Norton said.
He reminded that in 2019 under the Coalition government, gold declarations from local small-to-medium scale miners reached 448,321 ounces. He said, in 2023, it dropped to 322,755 ounces — nearly 30% less in weight or a quarter of US$1B.
Kaieteur News has reported that in 2019, gold declarations were 641,828 troy ounces. For that year, it was stated that the total gold declaration increased by some 4.7 percent with greater declaration from small and medium-scale miners and a combined output of the foreign companies, Guyana Goldfields Inc. (Aurora Gold Mines) and Troy Resources Guyana Inc. declined by 26.6% to 186,584 troy ounces.
Similarly, in 2020, it was reported that gold declaration declined by 7.8% to 585,433 troy ounces. The gold subsector experienced lower declarations by Guyana Goldfields Inc. and Troy Resources Guyana Inc. to 73,155 troy ounces and 26,727 troy ounces respectively.
Gold declaration declined in 2021, to 499,054 troy ounces reflecting decreased declaration by all categories of miners
Gold declined to 486,415 troy ounces in 2022 reflecting decreased declaration by small and medium-scale miners, while the sole operating foreign company recorded higher declarations.
“This downward spiral is likely to persist as the government has displayed little serious and sustained effort to tackle gold smuggling and, on the other hand, to grapple with a manifestation of the Resource Curse in the form of skilled labour leaving legacy lower-wage industries for the better-paying oil and construction sectors. Should new large-scale production fail to materialize as expected, Guyana will experience significant reduction in gold revenues and export earnings under the PPP,” the Opposition Leader said.
Norton said that given the opposition’s track record on the subject, the aforementioned measures need to be undertaken to ensure that the country’s gold industry is revived.
“It is vital that any inter-agency task force is given the requisite mandate and resources,” Norton said in a statement read on Friday.
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