…claims deaths may be linked to mercury poisoning
The parliamentary Opposition has raised questions over the recent deaths of four Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) staffers; a matter that has seemingly been shrouded in an information blackout.
In a statement issued, the party expressed condolences to the relatives of the deceased staffers, whose names were given as Dwayne De Jonge (ranger), Latchman Chiti (surveyor), Leroy Green (carpenter) and Clement Profit (lab technician).
According to the PPP Party, all four men were documented to have been affected by mercury poisoning and precautionary measures such as testing and treatment for all staff must be operationalized by the GGMC and the Public Health Ministry.
Calls by this publication to Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman and his junior Minister Simona Broomes went unanswered. When contacted, a top-level official within the Ministry was also at a loss to provide information about the men. He could only confirm that the men were employed at the GGMC and indeed died but did not have any more information.
When contacted, President of the Guyana Civil Servants and General Workers Union (GCS & GWU) Gregory Gaspar declined to comment on the issue. Sources have informed this publication, however, that the men died in close proximation
