Dear Editor,
Allow me to vary a well-known biblical injunction and assert that, “dissensions will always arise, but woe to those who fan the flames of dissension.” Woe to Stabroek News! Its headline of Monday, February 14, ‘Miners will never accept six-month notice – Shields,’ was an accurate enough quote, but it was a reflex response at a Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) members meeting and, from some days earlier – the Wednesday before! – already water under the bridge for all concerned. The meeting was one of acknowledged differences, but also one of much cordiality and accord.
The article reminded me of old school days, when the passion of a quarrel between two students would be fading, but some other student would try to get a fight going by holding out a brick, or something, in his hand and calling out – “Fire, fire burn my hand; fire, fire burn my hand!” PM doesn’t like fire – it often takes its own head, going where no one might expect.
Prime Minister needs to say something for the benefit of those who were not at the meeting and who could not sense the spirit of the meeting, who could not experience the cordiality during refreshments afterwards, and who could be misguided, who, indeed, could be set ‘afire’ by the headline.
On the issue of miners taking greater account of TSA holders and others in the forest, and the physical, as well as the social/environmental, impacts, one can point out that this is one area in which the two main political parties – the PPP/C and the PNCR – seem to have taken similar positions. President Desmond Hoyte took the first step when he offered the Iwokrama area as a reserve for study, first to the Commonwealth Heads Meeting and, then, to the UN meeting in Rio in early 1992. It was his administration which, in the Barama TSA and the CRL TSA, recognized the concerns of, and potential conflict between timber operators and miners, and, hence, sought to grant those TSA holders the rights of ‘first refusal’ to any proposed mining within the boundaries of the TSA. Practically, there would have been a ‘wait’ of six months or more to process ‘rights of first refusal,’ as, no doubt, timber-harvesting plans would have had to be reviewed and adjusted.
It took a number of years of massaging the discourse with those TSA holders and promoting the potential for mutual benefit rather than fanning the flames of dissension, to dissipate that matter away and to keep everyone together. From what one reads of the AFC and other smaller parties, one can think of them being no less hitched to being ‘green.’ And to the extent that the world, as a whole, is concerned about climate change and ameliorating and mitigating, not exacerbating, it, we too, in Guyana, need to be so.
As I affirmed at that meeting, given our 770 thousand souls in a world of 7 billion, we cannot be apart from the world. We must be a part of the world!
We must seek to mitigate and ameliorate, not exacerbate, climate change, but we will expect competitive payments – as our President has argued for, in Guyana’s LCDS. And I heard quite a few cheers on this position from the large number of miners attending the meeting. SN, too, should have heard those supporting cheers. SN should know, too, that when the world was persuaded that ‘blood diamonds’ should be stopped, we adopted the Kimberly Protocol – we quickly dragged ourselves, kicking and screaming, and signed up, so that our diamond miners wouldn’t have to look to sell their diamonds on some black market at some huge discount and, more importantly, inevitably find themselves participating in some form of criminal activity.
I spoke, too, about various movements, voluntary and not so voluntary, towards “green gold.” Already in the world, to enter most markets for logs, timber, and wood products such as furniture, a ‘green’ forest certification is required. I spoke to a current programme where, apparently, the Jewellers Association, under the GMSA, had arranged a CIDA/CESO project to look at obtaining the 15% to 20% ‘green’ gold premium for Guyana gold. I pointed out that long before we could consider getting there, our jewellers would have to change their ways, for despite all the buoyancy we see in the gold-jewellery industry, the official records show our jewellers lawfully buying only a few hundred ounces of gold a year, declining to just about 100 ozs last year. Our jewellers may well be on a road taking them to a place where they must put themselves in order, and become a force for ‘green’ gold – certified, environmentally-friendly gold – in order to get their products sold.
SN, in recalling the marches and protests of last year, should be sophisticated enough to recognize the great potential for great dissension between our miners and the rest of our society and, as well, amongst and between our small and medium-scale miners themselves, as evident in attempts to form a ‘small miners’ association. And SN should be experienced enough to know that in fomenting one set of dissensions, then who knows which other ones will not also ‘bubble up,’ and who then can turn them off. As I stated in my presentation, our 300,000-plus ounces of gold are being declared from more than 800 individual operations covering a range of individual production from 15 ozs to 15000 ozs – a difference in level of production of a factor of 1000, when experience shows that differences in level of production of a factor of 2 could already have great potential for dissension.
If one chose to, one could readily point out that in last year’s protests, with the larger miners funding the protests (at a time when they are reluctant to fund a mining bank in which they would hold equity), these large miners were using the really small miners as cannon fodder. SN must be sophisticated enough to be intrigued by the sudden and unexpected election by the GGDMA, of Mr McWilfred as its President, his resignation during the year, and the subsequent formation of the Bartica Small Miners Association, with Mr McWilfred at its head.
A number of the larger miners, as they must for purely business reasons, already look ahead for much more than six months! As they have already said, they would have no problem with six-months notification.
They, SN, and all of us who are concerned, should be working to find ways by which the smaller miners could come into compliance. The government will continue to work with all miners and all associations of miners, so that miners may learn how to improve recoveries, reduce costs, reduce negative environmental impacts, both physical and social, and how to bring themselves into compliance with all regulations.
SN must know about the many protestations over a few larger miners holding lots of properties, and many, many small miners not having any; about small miners being given positions by some property holders, and as soon as gold is found, the small miner is ‘thrown off’ by one excuse or another!
SN should be concerned about ‘lighting fires’ for, and in, the small and medium- scale mining sector. Rather, they should be reporting in a manner that keeps heads cool and that helps to find ways to resolve and reconcile the contradictions and conflicts which, many say, are both signs and causes of further growth and development.
Last year, I felt forced to write SN as I wondered whether the SN that seemed to be reporting with great glee, and seemed to be supporting and encouraging the miners’ protests against six-months notification, was the same SN that seemed to have been, for years, hounding miners and the whole sector about all, and every sort of, negative environmental impact.
As I recall, SN affirmed that they were always against bad mining, but countered that I was to blame for not reining in the miners early enough! SN could, at least, have given me some credit this time around for boldly and courageously affirming that, “We must anticipate, too, that notice of clearing in preparation for mining will inevitably become a requirement, and that prompt restoration must follow mining.”
Many miners, at various levels, are opening their minds to the required changes, and I have no doubt that once miners open their minds, they would find ways – they will not only survive but they would be successful and would continue to grow and develop. And SN should write in a way to help. For example, SN could encourage discussion of, and promote, the idea of our many small and medium-scale miners specializing and networking so as to become, in effect, a dozen or so virtual large companies. I heard it said that that’s how Lloyd’s began, by many small insurers banding together!
Yours faithfully,
Samuel A A Hinds,
Prime Minister
