Latest update January 20th, 2026 12:33 AM
Four Miles residents demand probe into missing $34M collected by Village Council
(Kaieteur News) – The residents of Four Miles, Port Kaituma are demanding a full investigation into some $34M in gold royalties being unaccounted for by the Village Council.
In a letter to the Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Sarah Browne, residents pleaded for an impartial investigation and audit under Section (27) and Section (33) of the Amerindian Act of 2006, on the grounds that the Toshao and Councillors of the Four Miles Village Council, have failed to carry out their duties and have contravened several provisions of the Act.
They argued that the Council has failed to carry out several of its duties, including the convening of Village General Meetings, Audits and several others.
Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Sarah Browne
In the letter to Minister Browne, it was explained that during the last general meeting, hosted on June 8, 2025 villagers requested the Treasurer, Roxanne Rajab, to give an account of the royalties and income of the village.
“She stated that the Village Council received 98 ounces of gold. When asked for an account of how the 98 ounces of gold royalties were used, the Treasurer said that 64 ounces were sold at $540,000 per ounce, amounting to $34,560,000 in total. When asked to provide a breakdown of how the Village Council utilized these monies-—specifically what projects were executed and how much each project cost-the Treasurer refused to give an account as requested. She then closed her books and left the meeting,” the residents detailed.
Subsequently, another general meeting was held on October 9, 2025 where residents again sought information on the monies received by the Council. Notably, the Treasurer did not attend that meeting since she reported ill.
To this end, the residents allege that the Village Council read the financial statements but still failed to account for the royalties it received for the gold mining operations taking place.
Residents informed the minister, “The Village council claimed that they had received some 65 Oz of gold over the last four months but when the rangers were asked to clarify with their records how much gold was received, the rangers said they just record how much gold is washed down but the Village council receives the royalties the rangers then went on to conform 82 oz of gold and eight pennyweight was received over the last four months.”
They added that when clarity was sought on that revelation, they were informed that the Treasurer would have to explain. To this end, the citizens complained that nearly four months have passed since the Council’s last meeting with no accountability for the royalties or other finances received.
In addition to their financial concerns, the citizens informed the Minister of Amerindian Affairs that only 21 dredges were approved by them to operate on the village lands, however, villagers observe that over 50 dredges are operating without approval being sought from the villagers at the Village General Meeting. “Villagers have also observed that members of the Village Council have purchased dredges, vehicles, and other assets that they could not afford prior to having access to the Village finances,” they pointed out.
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