Chenapau residents who were recently ordered removed from mining within the boundaries of the Kaieteur National Park by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Guyana Police Force will be relocated to other mining areas as part of government’s ‘humane stand’. So said Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat and Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukahi after a meeting they held with residents of Chenapau last Friday. A government team visited the Kaieteur National Park (KNP) and Chenapau, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).
“We took a humane stand [on this matter] and not a big stick approach because when we went in there… [we] discovered that it is only villagers from Chenapau and not coastlanders as was reported before…” Bharat said at a press conference. He admitted that indeed miners were operating in the park and said that this has to be addressed immediately along with having talks on alternative income for the villagers.
