THE Guyana Gold Board (GGB) will soon be sealing shipments of gold, which are declared for export at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).

In a Stabroek News column, the Gold Board said the process has begun, and there has been ongoing interest and unflagging commitment, at the highest level of government, in moving to this sealing reality.

“The combined knowledge, expertise, and wisdom of vigilant overseers – local and foreign – have recommended, in fact insisted and demanded that sealing at CJIA become the norm and standard,” said the board.

Listed among those entities providing such insights and guidance are longstanding and reputable security entities and couriers; governmental agencies responsible for and dedicated to the fight against money laundering, drug trafficking, financing of terrorism, and smuggling in general, but of gold in particular.

“After all, it is a depleting asset; and there is the general consensus that many known and more unknown forces and channels are being marshaled and utilised to drain away the gold production in Guyana, of which a significant part does not make its way to the Gold Board,” said the GGB.
There has been resistance to the pending move but, the gold board said they are being worked through.

“They have to be managed and overcome, since almost the entire rationales tendered fly in the face of acceptable and robust practices, realities, and increasingly interconnected foreign surveillance architectures,” said the board.
According to GGB, current local conduct causes alarm and brings considerable, if not grave, exposure to Guyana.

Back in 2017, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, had expressed concerns about Guyana’s porous borders, which he said makes it easy for illegal aircraft and other types of transport to move minerals out of the country without the requisite royalty been paid to the State.

“I believe if we can curtail the illegal transactions then our declarations are going to be much higher than it presently is,” Minister Trotman had said.