Dear Editor,
The missive by Mr. Robin Singh published in the September 10, 2019 edition of the Stabroek News captioned `How can the President not know of issues affecting production and profitability in the gold and diamond sectors’, is most malicious and riddled with inaccuracies.
The letter Mr. Singh wrote is downright atrocious and is a misrepresentation of the facts.
Firstly, the establishment of mining syndicates can never be considered an act of cronyism. Small miners banded themselves into groups and demanded a share of the national patrimony by having access to proper lands to work.
Editor, you may recall that in 2017, when the Mining Syndicates were formed, it was after much agitation and several protests.
Our voices were finally heard after our continuous protests. So, I ask Mr. Singh to explain how a group, like the mining Syndicates can be considered cronies of the Government? What evidence does Mr. Singh have to substantiate his spurious claims?
It is clear from Mr. Singh’s letter that he does not understand the issues at hand and the efforts made to have those issues addressed. It could also be a case that Mr. Singh has allowed his biased perspective to cloud his vision of the reality.
Secondly, the syndicate initiative was birthed after small miners demanded a seat at the policy table for the representation of their interests.
Thirdly, the issue of the sliding scale of tax on gold sold to the Guyana Gold Board is erroneous at best.
The sliding scale was implemented after consultations between the Guyana Gold Board and miners. Several proposals were considered and the sliding scale was agreed upon.
Editor, I wish to remind you that miners have always represented their interests and for Mr. Singh to suggest otherwise, leaves much to be desired.
I call on Mr. Singh to arm himself with the facts before making public statements which have the ability to mislead the citizenry.
Ms. Cherryl Williams
President
National Mining Syndicate Inc.
