THE Ministry of Natural Resources will soon be recruiting a corps of wardens to support the compliance and enforcement policies and programmes within the mining sector.Cabinet Secretary Minister Joseph Harmon has said that Cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal made by subject minister Raphael Trotman for establishment of a group of wardens within the extractive industry to complement the corps of existing officers, because, with expansion of the sector over the years, there is need for its enhanced monitoring, as the number of illegal activities and those that are non-compliant with the laws and regulations have become the norm.

“This has resulted in the near collapse, in some cases and instances, of the rule of law within the sector, and (has) threatened Guyana (with) becoming non-compliant with (a) number of environmental agreements and protocols”; thus there is urgent need for a robust compliance and enforcement programme across the extractive industries’ sector.

When recruited, the wardens are to address issues of non-compliance with mining-related environmental regulations; provide institutional capacity, to enable the enforcement of the various regulatory frameworks; coordinate action against illegal mining, drug trafficking, deforestation, and trafficking in persons; monitor increased levels of turbidity within rivers, creeks and streams, and the damage to river channels and ground water sources; and monitor improper chemical waste management.

Additionally, the Cabinet Secretary said, the wardens would also be expected to serve as an emergency rescue and disaster recovery unit within the natural resources sector.

“Cabinet approved the establishment of the corps of wardens, and noted that the agencies that will benefit from this activity included the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, the Guyana Forestry Commission, the Guyana Gold Board, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Protected Areas Commission, the Guyana Wildlife Management Authority, and the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission,” he told reporters on Thursday during his post-Cabinet press briefing held at the Ministry of the Presidency.

Asked whether the recruitment of wardens will in effect phase out mines officers working with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, Harmon replied in the negative.

“Many of you know of certain levels of recklessness and lawlessness that take place in the hinterland, and we have to correct these things. Trafficking in persons is also another matter… All of these are issues which will be dealt with by this corps of wardens after they have been properly trained and equipped,” Minister Harmon said.

He said the wardens will support the work of existing bodies within the natural resources’ sector, and will be trained in various areas. “…they will receive initially a certain level of police training, which is across the board; and therefore they will all have the necessary police training and the relevant policing powers that those entities would have. That apart, depending on the specialty, there would be specialized training for those wardens in those areas.”

In the case of the GGMC, those wardens would be trained in matters related to gold and other minerals, along with the use of chemicals in the hinterland; while those in the forestry sector would be trained to deal with matters therein.

Harmon explained that there are within the natural resources’ sector persons who are already performing the functions of wardens, and he noted that those persons would be brought together for the training with new recruits.

“There’d be advertisements, interviews; and based on that, the persons would be selected for training before they are deployed… There are two levels: the fresh persons now coming in, and those already in, who will be brought together for upgraded training,” he explained.

Earlier this year, on his weekly television programme, “The Public Interest”, President David Granger had said there needs to be more policing in the hinterland and forested regions. He had noted that the behaviour of persons there had led to a number of murders and fatal accidents.

“We already have a concept paper on the development of a corps of wardens who would be working mainly in the extractive industries and the tourist industry in the hinterland… That will come on stream after they are trained and properly equipped. They will generally come under the Police Force, under the Police Act, but they will perform specialized functions in those areas,” President Granger had said.