Do not use miners as pawns in pursuit of political power
Dear Editor, The small miners of Guyana were deliberately attacked at a public meeting held at Bartica on Saturday, September 29, 2018 by the Opposition party’s speaker, who alleged that the government minister who formulated the Syndicate initiative, owns 87% of all the lands received by the Syndicates throughout Guyana.
The National Mining Syndicate, which is made up of a majority of small miners, would like to make it very clear to the Guyanese people that this is a blatant lie and a deliberate attempt to undermine and politicise the Syndicate initiative by the Opposition. The Guyanese people should know that the initiative does not allow any individual to own any of the lands issued to syndicates; all the lands are leased (not owned) to a co-operative (co-op). The National Mining Syndicate, consisting of the various local syndicates throughout the country, are legal, constitutionally-structured entities which operate under the guidelines of the Friendly Societies Act. We operate with full transparency and democracy, and our representatives are elected and accountable to our members.
The Opposition speaker’s statement also impugns the Minister’s integrity and is a not too subtle accusation of nepotism or corruption by the Minister. This is quite unfortunate as the Minister who championed this initiative as part of the current Government led by President Granger, is a known fighter for the vulnerable in our country. The Minister used her intimate knowledge of the plight of the small miners to formulate the Syndicate initiative as a solution to landlordism, bullyism and exploitation of small miners in the sector. Syndication is an attempt to create a level playing field for all miners in the mining industry.
The opposition should refrain from using mining issues and miners as pawns in their pursuit of political power. The National Mining Syndicate is not a political entity. We are a group of small miners, given the opportunity to access mining lands to work and earn a decent living without many of the burdens we previously suffered because of the inaccessibility of mining lands.
Yours faithfully, Chyrel Williams President National Mining Syndicate