Engaging a Mines Officer earlier this month, John Spencer became alarmed when the official said that a map of mining blocks obtained by his village, Tasserene, was outdated and from a month ago, 60 new mining blocks now cover land claimed by the indigenous Region Seven community.
“Why we are so concerned about the situation? There is a lot of concessions still [being] given out by the GGMC. They have given out this land. We are in a concession. The village is in a concession at this point. So right now if dem people come with their equipment to work in that area, we have to move. I don’t know what we will do… at the moment, our village is in a concession,” the distressed indigenous leader said.
Located in the Middle Mazaruni, Tasserene is an indigenous Akawaio community of approximately 400 persons. On August 9, 2012 then President Donald Ramotar handed over the “land title certificate” to then toshao of the village Alvin Joseph. But moments later, after the cameras recorded the moment, Joseph said, officials took away the “certificate.”
A neighbouring village, Kangaruma with some 300 residents, suffered the same fate. Since then, the village councils of both communities have been trying without success to obtain their land titles. Unsure of their land tenure status, alarmed at the mining blocks being granted in their proposed titled area, and wary of broken promises by the authorities, residents of both communities are in limbo, seeking and awaiting word on their land.
At least one development project in Tasserene has not happened and this has been linked to the village not having title to the land. Over the past two years, villagers grew alarmed as more and more mining concessions were being issued for the
