The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) cannot file any charges over the May 17th Pepper Creek, Konawaruk mine collapse, which claimed the lives of 10 men, until the injunction obtained by operator Imran Khan against the regulatory agency prior to the incident is discharged.
“Until the injunction is discharged, we cannot pursue anything,” Commissioner of the GGMC Rickford Vieira told Stabroek News on Thursday. He said given that 10 men died in the mine collapse, the GGMC thought that the police would have filed criminal charges as “that is outside our mandate.”
Earlier this week, Division ‘F’ Commander Courtney Ramsey told Stabroek News that the police are finalising their report on the Pepper Creek mining disaster for submission to the Director of Public Prosecutions. In late May, he had informed Stabroek News that the police will not be charging anyone and said if any charge is to be laid, it has to be done through the GGMC.
Vieira told Stabroek News on Thursday that the matter is with the GGMC’s legal department but noted that Khan had obtained an injunction against the agency prior to the incident and until it is discharged, the agency’s hands are tied. “We can’t do anything with the case pending against us,” he said.
