The ongoing dispute between the Batavia Village Council and a Bartica miner over two mining blocks in the village is expected to be taken to court for a resolution.
A meeting planned among residents, the miner, Rickey Ramnarine, as well as officials from the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs (MoIPA) and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) was expected to be he held yesterday morning in Batavia to discuss the claims of both parties.
However, according Toshao Oren Williams, though the meeting was scheduled for 10 am, he received a phone call at 8.30 am from a MoIPA official, who informed him that the ministry’s representatives would no longer be attending the meeting.
