GOVERNMENT has ordered a major overhaul of the Guyana Gold Board to allow for better regulation and a retooling of its human resource capacity, Cabinet Secretary and Minister of State, Joseph Harmon said in Thursday.Harmon said the directive for the reform of the board was given following the submission of proposals from Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman to Cabinet on Tuesday. “The proposals were based on the fact that the board had over the 35 years of its existence amassed significant deficits and was in need of a review and overhaul of its structures,” said the Minister of State.

Among the proposals made by the subject minister, were a legislative review and changes to allow for the board to enhance its monitoring and regulatory processes while adjusting its applications, renewal and processing fees.

Additionally, Minister Harmon disclosed that consideration will be given to the revision of penalties for offences within the sector. He said too that a Human Resource review is necessary to inform the restructuring of the board; as well as the expansion of the board’s compliance section both in terms of staff complement and its scope of work.

Harmon said it was proposed that there be the appointment of additional brokerage firms to sell the country’s gold while securing the best prices through competition. “The introduction of mobile purchasing operations in the regions and to determine the feasibility of establishing offices in Regions one, eight and nine,” the Minister of State added.

With the implementation of the proposals, the issuance of all licences and permits, relative to the trade in gold will be vested in the Gold Board. “Cabinet accepted the proposal of the honourable Minister of Natural Resources and authorised the implementation immediately,” Harmon stated.

Meanwhile, gold declaration for 2016 is significantly higher than it was last year and remains on track to surpass the 555,000 ounces projection made at the start of the year. In September, Trotman told the Government information Agency (GINA) that the industry continues to do well, noting that gold declarations for the first quarter of the year stood at 161,942 ounces, and that the figure could very well reach 600,000 ounces.