By Fareeza Haniff

MINISTER within the Ministry of Natural Resources, Simona Broomes, has vowed that the APNU+AFC Government will continue to fight against corrupt practices in the mining sector.In her contribution to the 2016 Budget debate in the National Assembly on Monday, Minister Broomes pointed out that the gold mining sector is one of the areas which pose challenges for the Government. She said that falling gold prices have hit the mining sector hard, but there are “things that we can, and must, change.”

According to Minister Broomes, the real challenges lie in changing “old habits”.

In referring to corruption in the sector, she said: “Even now, the pockets of poor administration, lack of attention to safety and health, and corrupt practices in the areas of the sector continue to unfold. It is a situation in which the more you peel away the layers of decay, the more you discover.

“Bringing a sense of order to the natural resources sector is one of the challenges of this APNU + AFC Government,” Minister Broomes told the House. “We need to turn around. Rolling back the tides of gold smuggling is a priority.

“It must surely disturb this House as whole that, as a nation, we appear unable to benefit directly for more than half of the gold that we produce. That is unacceptable,” the Minister declared.

She pledged Government’s commitment to tackling corruption on all fronts. “This administration must set its face against corruption and corrupt practices. We must close the loopholes. We must ensure that we work towards re-directing that which we have been losing overtime,” she said.

The Minister noted that Government intends to ensure that all players in the sector are treated fairly. She pointed out that the task is to create a vibrant natural resources sector.

TRAINING
Additionally, Minister Broomes said there is need for continuous training, so that performance standards can be enhanced. She commended Government for the sum of money allocated in the budget for more training, but said: “Training alone cannot bring about the transformation that we seek. I strongly believe that we must provide incentives and the encouragement to the creation of committed professionals.”

MINERS’ CONTRIBUTION
It was noted that, in spite of a 13.4 per cent downturn in quarrying, the mining sector had grown by 9 per cent, and gold production had grown by 16.4 per cent.

“What makes me particularly proud is that our own local miners, through their hard work in the face of many challenges, made their own important contribution to that production increase.

“Our own Guyanese miners accounted for more than 90 percent of the 451,490 ounces declared at the end of last year,” she declared.

According to this minister, the increase in declaration was due to the change in the working environment as well as the incentives granted the sector by the APNU/AFC Administration.

She said the Government intends to ensure that all the players in the sector are treated fairly, and she said there are plans to invest in educating miners, with safety being a priority.

“This Government…intends to keep miners honest as far as the safety of workers is concerned. In that regard, there will be training put in place to teach managers how to prepare their mining pits in accordance with the occupational health & safety practices. We will take the training sessions to the miners at the location where they work,” she declared.

COMPLIANCE DIVISION
She further revealed that the Ministry of Natural Resources is in the process of establishing a Compliance Division, which will be tasked with ensuring that all the agencies and sectors under the Ministry are compliant with the relevant regulations and policies.

“That is where the process of effective management has to start. Effective management…cannot be built on a free-for-all foundation, where people simply do as they like, ignore the rules and regulations entirely, and simply proceed as though everything is normal. Much of that has been happening in the natural resources sector. The position of this administration is that all of this has to change,” Minister Broomes declared.

The Compliance Division will be staffed with skilled personnel who will be directly responsible for ensuring that operatives in the mining sector are in compliance with the law.

In seeking to erode corruption, the Minister pointed out, the aim is to create a vibrant natural resources sector. She noted that Government is not interested in political confrontations over what had obtained in the past.