Minister Broomes mining lucrative Amerindian lands

Land titling, conflict of interest fiasco brewing…

– while justice denied to villagers awaiting title after eight years

Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection Simona Broomes is among several persons involved in lucrative mining operations in Tasserene, an Akawaio community located in the Upper Mazaruni, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), even though villagers of that community applied some eight years ago for the title to their land, but are being told to hold on, despite being entitled under the Amerindian Act to their land rights.

Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection Simona Broomes

This development has led to the residents there raising concerns over the issue, while also raising other matters directly related to equity, fairness and the process of natural justice. Tasserene is situated within a prime mining area disputed by several gold mining concessionaires. There has been no progress on the land titling process which remains unconcluded, due to conflict of interests between miners and the Village Council. However, in the case of Tasserene, approximately 400 residents are affected by the decision to issue blocks within their ancestral lands. Minister Broomes, who owns at least three medium-scale mining blocks, is one of the most prominent persons who have exploited the delay in titling of Amerindian lands. The three blocks were registered under B-149/MP/000, B-149/MP/001 and B-150/MP/000, and issued in April, 2013 to the Minister despite the fact that she was intimately familiar with the negative consequences of mining operations in Amerindian areas, having headed the Guyana Women Miners Association (GWMA) for several years before being awarded in June 2013 by the US Secretary of State John Kerry, for her significant efforts in fighting against trafficking in persons (TIP) in mining districts in Guyana. Broomes’ new role as Government Minister has not influenced a decision to rescind exploration and mining in the Amerindian Community that is fighting against miners to obtain legal ownership to land. The Tasserene Village Council has been continuously requesting that the title be delivered since residents depend on their ancestral lands to secure their future livelihood. The Village Council had applied for title since 2007 and title was delivered to the village during at the National Toshaos’ Conference (NTC Conference) in 2012. However, due to objections from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners’ Association (GGDMA) the title was withdrawn. This newspaper was informed that the land titling process for Tasserene had resumed under the Amerindian Land Titling Project, spearheaded by the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs. The village was then slated for early titling by the previous Administration, which was in the process of developing a mechanism to resolve pending mining issues. Broomes was featured on the list of those miners who owned mining blocks within the area designated for titling by the village. However, the project was brought to a halt by the new Administration on June 15, leaving the village in a situation where residents are confronted daily with the appropriation of their lands by miners and remain vulnerable to the destructive impact that gold extraction is having on their lands and environment. Indigenous Rights Activist Yvonne Pearson who is also a former Advisor to the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister and now a People’s Progressive Party/Civic Member of Parliament, in an interview with this newspaper stated, “When Minister Broomes acquired those blocks she was a miner heading the GWMA. Now she is a Minister of Government and this challenges her responsibilities as a representative of the people. Will she still keep those mining blocks knowing that the people of Tasserene are still awaiting title after so many years?” Pearson, who has solid experience in dealing with matters of governance and indigenous land rights, also posited that “the Government has to ensure that the question of Amerindian lands is expedited”. The GGMC continues to issue prospecting and mining permits on lands which are not legally held, as these belong to the State. Mining affects communities that depend on the environment and natural resources or their subsistence and cases of potable water sources being contaminated by mercury and high levels of turbidity may arise due to operations. Amerindian land titling is a major part of Amerindian development as it is a key element to the expansion of the asset base of communities. The Government of Guyana has over the years maintained a policy of addressing Amerindian land rights expressed through the titling of at least 105 villages provisioned for by Government funds as well as the LCDS funded Amerindian Land Titling Project. However, major challenges such as high implementation costs and conflicting interests among stakeholders have resulted in the delayed land titling process for some villages, particularly those located in zones exploited for their natural resources. In mining areas, Amerindian villages depend mainly on the exploitation of mineral resources which represent their main source of income. In the case of Tasserene, mining blocks issued on ancestral lands deprive villagers not only of title but also of the possibility to conduct their own mining. Minister of Governance and Patrimony Raphael Trotman, was quoted in a statement to another newspaper last week, while referring to the new Administration’s plan of reforming the mining sector, that there will be no indulgence in “areas in which favouritism seems to have been shown for one person or one company or one group as against another”. He also emphasised the need to increase transparency in the mining sector and “strike a balance between business and maintaining a healthy environment and that includes how people are treated and how companies operate within communities”. Whether this applies to the case of Tasserene is still to be determined.