By Vanessa Braithwaite

RESIDENTS of Kwakwani on Wednesday staged a protest against the ongoing removal of bauxite mining equipment and items from the still operational crushing plant by Rusal employees. The items are being moved to their new mining district in Kurubuka.The residents told this publication that the crushing plant was left for the community after the closure of the nationalised bauxite company Bermine. The crushing plant which houses several electrical appliances and mining machinery is being dismantled by Rusal and the residents who claim that they have no one to represent them decided to stop the continuous efforts of the Russian mining company.

Police Officers were brought to the scene of the protest and the Rusal employees were cautioned to stop the removal of the items.

One resident Charles Thom said the next step that will be taken if the items continue to be removed is to block the plane which transports the salaries of Rusal employees.

The residents were told that the items were sold to Rusal by the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) under the stewardship of Winston Brassington, but no documentation of these purchases was ever shown to residents; hence, they did not have an idea as to what should be removed and what should be left.

“What we need is transparency, to see what these people buy and what they didn’t buy because they keep moving things and nobody saying nothing,” posited Thom.

He said residents reported the matter to the relevant ministers, the head of NICIL and the Regional Administration but were never shown any documentation of the alleged transactions between Rusal and NICIL.

Being cognisant of how lucrative is the scrap iron business, the residents are concluding that it will be later sold to dealers and those in the mining industry as was done before.

Thom told the Guyana Chronicle that six to eight years ago, the community sold those materials and raised over $9 million which was used for community projects.

He revealed that last December, Rusal removed some fuel trucks from the community and upon enquiring,the residents were told that the trucks were bought from NICIL.

The residents, however, are concerned that if these purchases are made, they are done under questionable circumstances.

NOT RIGHT
“Rusal is saying that these trucks were bought from NICIL but we are of the opinion that they are doing underhand business as there isn’t anyone to represent the community,” posited Thom.

The concerned residents are of the opinion that Rusal met a working crusher and at the end of their tenure, a working crusher must be left.
With the continuous dismantling of the plant; however, they fear that would not be the case.

“Rusal came to Kwakwani and met a working crusher and they must leave a working crusher in Kwakwani when they go,” said one resident.

They reason that if another investor shows interest, there must be equipment left for them to benefit from. In addition to that, the crusher was used to train youths of the community in the various fields of mining.
“Rusal is raping this community and the community is not benefiting from the things left for us,” posited Thom. “There is nobody to protect us,” he added.

One employee of Rusal who opted for anonymity for fear of being fired, revealed to the Guyana Chronicle that the company was demolishing the remaining assets every day in large quantities and these were being transported to Kurubuka.

“These people moving these things by the truck loads and we as residents of Kwakwani are concerned but cannot say anything because we don’t have a union to represent us, so every morning we come to work we talk about it but nobody is coming forward out of fear,” he said.

Horace James, Head of NICIL told this publication that there was a list of things bought from NICIL by Rusal and his officer in Kwakwani was aware of what was being moved and have reported no malpractice on the part of Rusal to him.

The question being asked by the residents is how the community is benefiting from the sales. Two security officers were employed by the residents to guard the crusher until proper documentation can be presented to them showing the transaction between NICIL and Rusal. Efforts by the Guyana Chronicle to contact Rusal were unsuccessful.