Govt. must monitor, better manage mining districts to prevent deaths—AFC
Kaieteur News – The Alliance For Change (AFC) on Sunday called on the Government to better manage and monitor Guyana’s gold mining districts in order to prevent deaths of workers.
Dead miners, Sherwayne Joseph and Imran Blake
The AFC released a statement following the death two miners Sherwayne Joseph of Moruca, North West District, Region One and Imran Blake of Kuru Kuru, Linden-Soesdyke Highway on Friday. They were killed after a mining pit collapsed at Elizabeth Backdam in Mahdia, Region Eight. The miners were reportedly buried alive around 02:30hrs on Friday, while working in the pit.
“This brings the number of mining deaths for the year to 10,” stated the AFC while adding that such deaths are preventable with better training, monitoring and enforcement of mining camps and operations. “Unfortunately, the sector appears to be in a depressed state and despite the empty boasts of incentives and investments in the sector, the tale of the average small and medium-scale miner is one of awful woe and hopelessness”, the AFC said.
The political party said that current management of the sector is now characteraised by inadequacy, ineptitude, corruption and discrimination. “Vital roads and arteries continue to be neglected and are in an abject state of disrepair”
Meanwhile AFC also pointed that government is the one to blame for miners to risk their lives in dangerous working environments just to earn a dollar and provide for their families.  “As the cost-of-living continues to rise, more and more young people are forced to brave the dangers of the backdam just to put food in the table for their families” opined the AFC.  To solution this problem, the political party called on the government to focus more on attending to the needs of the people in the mining and hinterland communities, who cry out for help and attention to their basic needs.
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