KARRAU Village in Region Seven is fuming over the polluted state of its main waterway, which passes through the community. A miner who was granted permission to operate near their titled lands in 2013 is being fingered as the alleged culprit.The creek passing through the village is Karrau’s only source of water, and it is used for several purposes, among which are drinking and washing. Within recent months, residents began to notice that the water in the creek was increasingly becoming discoloured, and they have allegedly traced this development to the activities of a miner started operating there.

Villagers claim the miner is acting in contravention of regulations regarding mining near water sources connected to communities.

Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Sydney Allicock, told the Guyana Chronicle on Thursday that he is aware of the issue at Karrau, a village located on the Mazaruni close to Bartica.

He said there are similar reports from other communities affected by mining, including one in the North West District. The Ministry of Natural Resources is aware of the issue, and is engaging the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and “all the relevant authorities; so we are hoping that very soon we will be having some answers”.

POLLUTION OF WATERWAYS
According to Allicock, there are some communities which are also engaged in mining and may be part of the problem, and that is also being examined. He added that pollution of waterways has been an ongoing problem, and the time is ripe to have it addressed.

According to the residents of Karrau, during the last quarter of 2015, their concerns on the issue increased, since parts of the creek that are closer to the village became visibly polluted. In the months prior to the miner’s presence, The water appeared milky, contrasting sharply with the dark colour of the natural state of the water. The only possible cause was the miner’s operation, and the community is hoping that tests will be undertaken to determine whether the water is potable.
According to reports, in 2013, the GGMC granted the miner permission to mine near Karrau village. The area is reportedly on a parcel of land for which the village council had applied for extension of its boundaries several years prior to the miner’s entry to the area.
“That very miner is causing our discomfort and shows total disrespect to the Village Council when he is on our ancestral lands,” one resident posted online recently.
He said that permission continues to be granted to miners who operate on mining claims/blocks, “whilst violating the very laws that are there to protect us as indigenous peoples”.
VIOLATION
According to the village, the situation is in violation of the Mining Act, particularly, Section 112 of the Act which states that “all land occupied and used by Amerindian communities and all land necessary for the quiet enjoyment by the Amerindians of any Amerindian settlement, shall be deemed to be lawfully occupied and used by them.”
The village alleges that the council was not notified by the mining authorities regarding the issuance of a permit to the miner. To this end, it said the situation breaches aspects of the Amerindian Act of 2006, particularly as it relates to permission being granted to miners to operate on any land which is contiguous with village lands, rivers or creeks.
For years, indigenous communities have raised concerns regarding miners whose operations result in pollution of the waterways connected to their villages and affect their way of life, including their main sources of food and drinking water. The problem has resulted in some communities taking the issue to the courts for results.

Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, has indicated that the laws regarding enforcement of the environmental regulations are being reviewed.
He told the Government Information Agency (GINA) last October, while under the portfolio of Minister of Governance, that environmental officers lack certain powers to enforce the laws. \“So we are actually reviewing the laws to give them stronger powers,” he said.
He expressed the view that the officers need to act in conformity with the regulations and laws under which they operate, in order to effectively execute their functions.