The Ministry of Natural Resources on Monday presented a cheque valued over $49M in royalties it collected from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to the Amerindian Affairs Ministry for Amerindian communities – six years after the relevant Act was passed in Parliament.
The $49M accounts for 20 per cent of the royalties from mining activities by small and medium-scale miners from hinterland communities including Isseneru, Jawalla, Chinese Landing and Campbelltown paid to the GGMC from 2006 to 2011. The transfer of the said funds is mandated by the 2006 Amerindian Act to benefit Amerindian villages, a press release from the Government Information Agency said. The Act further stipulates that small and medium-scale miners must pay to village councils not less than 7% of the value of any minerals obtained from village lands.
The absence of the transfer of the royalties to Amerindian communities was raised in 2010 by commentator Christopher Ram and later taken up in the 9th Parliament by the
