MINISTER of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Mr. Manniram Prashad has said that most gold jewellers and goldsmiths have expressed their intention to comply with the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) regulations to have the standard quality mark on their products.
Following several complaints of poor quality jewellery being sold by some businesses, Minister Prashad had recently met with manufacturers of gold jewellery and goldsmiths, along with representatives of GNBS, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Guyana Gold Board, to address the issue.
Speaking at a press briefing at his South Road office, in Georgetown last Friday, Minister Prashad said, “From the feedback that we have got, most of the jewellers and goldsmiths have expressed their intention to comply with the regulations of the GNBS to have the standard quality mark on their products.”
The GNBS operates a Product Certification Scheme whereby manufacturers are granted permission to mark their products with the National Standards Mark provided they can meet the requirements of the scheme constantly.
The minister said the Bureau of Standards will continue with random testing and sampling in collaboration with the GGMC, and expressed the hope that complaints of substandard jewellery would be reduced.
“The ideal thing is not to have any complaint but we are not living in a perfect world,” he noted.
The minister, however, pointed out that most of the gold coming out of Guyana is excellent.
Insisting that there are good craftsmen and jewellers in Guyana, he said “but there are few who deliberately pass on to unsuspecting consumers substandard gold” and they will have to ‘deal with them’.
Prashad said the GNBS is intensifying its campaign in collaboration with the GGMC to monitor, educate, and  get jewellers and goldsmiths to come onboard the “campaign to make sure that gold coming out of Guyana is of a high standard and quality.”
He pointed out that when bad gold comes out of Guyana and goes overseas, it is not the goldsmith or jeweller that would get the bad name, but it is the country as a whole.
The minister said they have to make sure that the country’s image is protected because there are a lot of tourists coming into the country right now as tourism is growing, and visitors usually buy souvenirs and jewellery.
“We want to make sure that when people go back to their respective countries, they have quality products coming out of Guyana,” Prashad reiterated.