Minersv body calls for Broomes to be reassigned

– cites clear conflict of interest

As conflict-of-interest concerns continue to rage over Minister within the Natural Resources Ministry Simona Broomes’ mining concessions and her oversight of the industry, the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) has now joined the call for the Minister to be reassigned to another Ministry, since her presence in the current Ministry was a clear conflict of interest and posed a threat to impartiality.

Minister Broomes has been at the centre of a raging debate after this publication reported that she was granted a new mining permit on March 4, 2016, just about two months after she was transferred to that Ministry and handed responsibility for the mining sector.

However, the Minister, who has said she transferred her mining interest to her two children, has since denied this and stated that the documentation which was ‘leaked’ was for her daughter, who was also named Simona Broomes.

This publication, however, was able to confirm that the National Identification (ID) number on the application is that of the Minister and not her daughter.

The GGDMA, in its strongly-worded statement, said that the subsequent “spin” by the Minister that the permission was her daughter’s hinted at the Minister’s “inability to deal impartially with mining matters and the facts”.

Such actions, it said, threaten the entire industry. The GGDMA recalled that prior to becoming Minister, Broomes had both positive and negative interactions with members of the mining community.

As such, the Association is arguing that when these pre-existing relationships and “bridges that may have been burnt in the past” within the sector are considered, it would be difficult for the Minister to operate in her post “impartially and without personal bias”.

“No existing miner, in good sense, can refuse a request from the sector Minister for her to be given permission to take gold from their land,” the GGDMA said, adding that it must be recognised that such permissions and all future requests or permissions rest in the hands of the agency under her direct preview.

Calls for transfer

The GGDMA said it supported the call for the Minister to be reassigned to another Ministry.

“The GGDMA, therefore, is heartened by the comments of His Excellency, President David Granger that he will reassign the Minister if a conflict of interest arises. We declare that there is a clear conflict of interest and call on the President to honour his words. Minister Broomes can serve well in any other Ministry,” the release stated.

Miners concerned

The GGDMA said that it is being bombarded with calls from miners who have expressed concerns about the clear case of conflict of interest involving the Minister, but are reluctant to voice their concerns publicly for fear of victimisation.