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Govt. engages GGDMA on call clamp down on illegal mining, shops
A landing in one of Guyana’s interior location
Kaieteur News – The Guyana Gold and Diamond Mining Association (GGDMA) on Monday said that the government has met with the mining body following its call for illegal mining, and shops in mining districts to be shut down. The GGDMA is of the view that if the government wants to eradicate gold smuggling, it must first address the illegal practices taking place in Guyana’s mining districts.
The President of the GGDMA and other executives were engaged over the weekend following a call for more support to curb illegal mining and smuggling in the sector, GGDMA stated before adding “The Government says that in addition to already existing measures there will be ramped up efforts to deal with the issues highlighted.”
Some of the measures, according to GGDMA, include; “Identifying and regularizing specific areas that will be designated landings in the interior; additional mechanisms to sufficiently address the legitimacy of where persons can conduct the business in support of the mining sector in the mining community; addressing more aggressively the movement of itinerant individuals in the interior including shops and miners.
Additionally, the GGDMA said that “there should be measures to account for persons that are doing business in the interior, to engage in additional strategic operations in targeting cluster/area that have been reported on raiding- this will include doing sweeps addressing issues with conflicts of tenure and additional surveillance in relation to entities that are trading in vulnerable minerals”.
“The GGDMA welcomes and will continue to engage the Government of Guyana to address the rogue elements that sully the operations of the GGMC (Guyana Geology and Mines Commission),” continued the mining body.
On Saturday, the GGDMA posited that if the government of Guyana wants to stop gold smuggling, it must start by clamping down on illegal mining, illegal shops (commonly known as bush-shops) and the unregulated gold trade in the country’s gold mining district.
“Illegal mining, illegal shops, and the unregulated trading of gold within the interior are the pillars upon which the illicit gold smuggling enterprises survive,” the GGDMA had stated.
The Association blamed the main regulatory body of the Gold Sector, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) for allowing the illegalities to flourish over the years because of its lax enforcement.
GGDMA said it has been repeatedly calling on the GGMC to step-up its enforcement of the laws over the last ten years.
“In the past, there were a number of gazette areas in the interior where trade could take place, now it is common practice for persons to set up itinerant trading posts (aka, “landings”) at will”, the mining body stated before explaining that it has led to many being set-up and not being properly regulated.
“… Illegal gold buyers set up shop and buy directly from unethical miners who are willing to sell their production for higher prices, free of any paper trail, without paying any royalties or taxes,” GGDMA said while adding that “These landings are also hubs for human trafficking, the sale of illegal drugs and weapons”.
GGDMA believes that if the government shuts down these illegal activities in the mining areas, then definitely the gold declaration will increase.
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