THE Guyana Gold Board (GGB) was established on May 15, 1982 to manage the business of trading gold in Guyana. At present, there are two branches, one in Georgetown and the other in Bartica.

The board purchases and sells gold within Guyana and abroad, at a standard price which is fixes twice daily. It also secures adequate supplies of gold, ensuring equitable distribution at fair prices and engages in other commercial and industrial activities. The GGB has issued dealers’ licences to eight entities and individuals who help to facilitate the purchase of gold from sellers across Guyana.

In addition to the current services that they provide, the Ministry of Natural Resources along with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) has assigned a new role to the GGB: this is to provide licences to gold traders and jewellers.

Manager of the Bartica Branch, Holbert Knights, explained to this newspaper that the GGB is the regulatory body for gold trading in Guyana. However, they were only equipped to issue licences to gold dealers. Gold traders and jewellers licensing was done by the GGMC. It has reached the point where the GGMC’s role is overlapping, he said, so a decision was made to have the GGB provide all licences for dealers, traders and jewellers.
This he says, will create job opportunities.

“We are in the preparatory stage of expanding our services and the actual taking over of gold-licensing. The Guyana Gold Board has taken on a new role and that is to issue licences to not only dealers, but to traders and jewellers as well. This therefore means that we will need more staff and we are in the process of preparing accommodation (office space) for the Bartica branch and also the Georgetown branch,” Hilbert said.

He further noted that he envisions this expansion, when fully on stream, to create at least 40 job opportunities ranging from clerical duties to field officers. But as of right now, the Bartica branch is prepared to take on only five more persons.

“Initially, the target is at least five new staff, ranging from clerical duties to the duties in the field. Some of the officers will have to be travelling in and out of the region. But as time progresses, and as we assume the role fully, those numbers will increase,” Knights assured. Explaining that they will also require persons to be hired as licensing officers who will visit jewellers and traders to validate information provided to the GGB.

This expansion is to commence before the end of the year. Knights shared that the board is waiting until the amendments to the Guyana Gold Board Act and regulations are passed in Parliament.