–Commissioner cries foul

By Svetlana Marshall

THE Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) Board of Directors has moved a No-Confidence Motion against the Commissioner, Rickford Vieira and several senior functionaries within the Commission.
The Motion was moved by the Board on Monday, November 28, 2015 following three thorough assessments.
On Tuesday, Vieira received a letter from Minister with responsibility for Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, indicating that he should proceed on leave due to the filing of the Motion.
In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle yesterday, GGMC Board Chairman Clinton Williams explained that the Board of Directors reconvened in September, 2015 after a period of four months upon the instruction of the new A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Government.
It was subsequently given three functions to execute, starting with assessing the performance of the Commission, based on decisions and actions taken by the Board.
In addition to rating the Commission’s performance, Williams explained that approval was granted by the Government to complete a System Management Review which had commenced under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration.

SYSTEM REVIEW
The exercise, which commenced in December 2014, was designed to review the operations of the Mines Division, Land Management and Geological Services Divisions of the Commission to determine the coherence of the structures and functions, and the flow of its operations.
Additionally, it sought to identify systemic problems and other conflicts and deficiencies. The team of consultants was also required to investigate whether the activities of the specific departments and divisions were aligned to the overall strategic plan for the sector.
It was argued that any deficiency within the management framework and current practices could contribute to the non-fulfilment of the Commission’s objectives, and could possibly lead to the presence or possibility of undesirable acts of malfeasance.

MOWASI ACCIDENT
Thirdly, Williams said, the GGMC Board considered the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Mowasi Accident which left nine persons dead.
In May, 10 miners were buried alive when disaster struck at a mining pit at Mowasi, Konawaruk, in the North West District. Only one miner survived the tragic accident, subsequent to which the government had mandated the Minister with responsibility for Natural Resources to convene a CoI into the most recent casualties.
Reports indicate that some 25 persons have died in 16 accidents from June 2014 to June 2015, with 18 of them dying as a direct result of pits collapsing.
The Board considered those three reports, and subsequently passed a No-Confidence Motion against the Commissioner and some senior functionaries,” Williams told this newspaper.
He said findings from the three reports suggest that the aspects of the Commission have been somewhat dysfunctional, noting that there were cases where senior officials within the Commission have neglected their duties.
Based on the motion filed, a sub-committee of the board has been formed, and together with the Consultants will formulate a number of recommendations based on the files. “This is the stage we are at,” Williams explained. Upon completion, the sub-committee will submit the recommendations to the Board before the final submission is made to the Government.
But Commissioner Vieira is not going down without a fight. On Wednesday, he fired back at the Board, having received a letter from Minister Trotman indicating that a No-Confidence Motion has been filed against him, and as such he should proceed on leave.
According to him, the motion came as a “shocker” since he was never written to or cautioned by the Board. “They never had reason to write me or caution me,” he said as he complained bitterly.
In fact, the GGMC Commissioner said the Board should not have been given the authority to make such a ruling. “This Board is a Board from the former Government. It is not a professional Board. It is not a technical Board, they are not knowledgeable when it comes to the mining industry and so why should they be allowed to make certain decisions,” Vieira said..
He said the No-Confidence motion came at a time when GGMC under his watch would have accumulated significant funds despite many challenges. “At the end of 2012 GGMC had $10B, 2013 -$15B, 2014 – $19B and at the end of November, 2015 we had $19B after putting $6B into the Consolidated Fund in September,” he pointed out.
“Every cent was generated by GGMC,” he further lamented.
Instead of supporting the work of Commission, Vieira alleged that the Commission had been non-supportive, thereby hampering the work of GGMC. “In 2014 the Commission submitted a Strategic Plan 2014-2019 targeting safety in the sector among other things, it was given to them since October, and it was never approved.”
He added that approximately three years ago the Commission had expressed its intention to digitalize its operation, and as such had purchased the required equipment but the project came to halt due to a lack of support on the part of the Board. “We have been asking for space to set up the equipment, till now. So we are stuck with it,” he added.
Nevertheless, Vieira he was waiting on Minister Trotman to make a substantive decision, but maintained that it should be the board on trial and not him.