REGION 10 regional and municipal officials remain firm that no mining–whether gold or diamond–should be done in the Demerara River, since it will destroy what thousands of people use for their sustenance.

This decision came on the heels of a diamond-mining company establishing its operations in the Upper Demerara River after two huge ‘water draggers’ were discovered aback Watooka last week and miners were subsequently arrested.

After seeing documents issued by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) giving the miners permission to mine gold and diamonds in the Demerara River, regional officials met with the representative of the mining company Ezron Landry on Monday. The officials, including Regional Chairman Renis Morian, Deputy Mayor Wainwright Bethune, Linden Manager of the Guyana Water Incorporated Rawle Friday and Municipal Councillor Lennox Gasper, related that while licences were granted, no environmental impact assessment was presented. They alleged too that the company was employing workers without work permits.

Morian on Tuesday said that no inclusion or consultation with the local agencies was done, and therefore he is questioning where the power of the local agencies lies. “We are either saying there is no need for the local government agencies and GGMC could just come in or just give out land, there are three local government bodies, you need to come and sit and have discussions with them because they represent the people,” Morian posited.

Deputy Mayor Wainwright Bethune said that the residents are in no way resisting economic development as is being peddled, but are putting the interest and well-being of the residents first, since such mining could have serious environmental and health implications.
GWI Linden Manager Rawle Friday said that over 18,000 residents are receiving water from the Demerara River via three plants and if the water is polluted, the health impact will be astronomical. “These three plants that we have serve around 18,000 persons, so we have to be very careful in taking care of our most precious source. This kind of operation that can have this kind of effect on our communities in terms of our water, increasing the turbidity, increasing the amounts of metals and other contaminants in the water, can affect adversely the residents.”

The officials were concerned about the Indigenous residents living up the river, in communities in proximity to where the mining will take place. These residents rely on the river for all domestic purposes and could be directly affected.

“Most importantly… we have several communities residing on the banks of the Demerara River. GWI’s focus right now is to bring equity of service to all people of Guyana; and so there should not be no [sic] disparity with what happens on the coast as to what happens on the hinterland or the interior regions,” Friday said.

Morian said, “Because of unregulated mining, we have that issue at Coomacka, where ¾ of the river is closed and where today the cost to correct is over $550M.”
The regional chairman related that he is presently engaging ministers on the way forward and is pleading with them to understand that the residents’ health and well-being are at risk. “We will not compromise that position, together we stand, united, we stand against this situation” the safety and well-being of our residents come first,” Councillor Gasper said.