“Villagers must be allowed to mine in their own village” -Amerindian Affairs Minister

Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai says Amerindians must be allowed to mine on their village lands.

The minister was addressing residents’ concerns at Campbelltown, Potaro-Siparuni (Region Eight), where villagers’ ‘hustling’ operations in their community were stopped.

At the meeting with residents and officers from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) stationed in the area, the Minister noted that the permission to mine on those lands comes from the people of the communities themselves.

“In an Amerindian village, only the villagers approve mining, and the Village Councils take that approval, formulate it into an agreement and then enact the agreement.”

The minister noted that the Village Council makes the agreement on behalf of the people and this is facilitated by the GGMC. But according to the residents, the Toshao had made the decision unilaterally.

Minister Sukhai also urged the GGMC officers to acquaint themselves with the Amerindian Act. “GGMC is overseeing a situation which is totally flawed and they are taking instructions from the leader and the Toshao, based on a flawed system which they themselves have not been party to and this is what we got to guard against,” the Minister stated.

The villagers had several complaints against the Toshao with the most pressing being her decision to stop them from “hustling.”

“Unilaterally she is making decisions and she is putting out all her villagers from earning…this matter has to be done correctly so…the suggestion and the recommendation coming from me as a Minister, who is not the Minister of mining but the Minister of Amerindian Affairs, in the interest of the villagers, GGMC must put a hold on mining now,” the Minister said.

She noted that the mining activities will not be put on hold indefinitely; just until the villagers and their leader resolve the issue in the best interest of the people. Minister Sukhai added the GGMC’s role would be to facilitate the process for external miners and dredge owners applying for permits to mine.

Meanwhile, the minister noted too that the reputation of the mining officers in the region was the “least to be desired”

“For too long, poor Amerindian livelihood has been put at risk by unscrupulous people in and around the country, and we are not, under the PPP/C Government going to tolerate it,” she said.

The Minister said she will have discussions with the Natural Resources Minister about the issue.