The concession by the government that there would be no ban on mercury and river dredging has shown how ineffective the environmental community is on pursuing issues of national interest, the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) says, even as it called for a review of “inadequate” mining regulations.
Earlier this month, following a meeting with President Donald Ramotar, miners won assurances of no bans on river mining or on the use of mercury. Miners had ratcheted up the pressure on the government over these issues by declaring a vote of no-confidence in Minister of Natural Resources and Mining Robert Persaud and had vowed to step up action. Their aggressive stance had followed a June announcement by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) that effective June 1, 2012 no application for river claims would be processed. Following an outcry by miners, the government later said that the prohibition of river claims was to last only one month to allow a review in light of reports of irresponsible mining. It is unclear what this review found or whether it had been completed.
Yesterday, the GHRA said in a statement that after decades of mining activities in the country, fortunes in Guyana’s mining industry are still to be translated into wealth nationally and environmental protection for communities from which these resources are extracted. The organisation said that it
