Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Shurwayne Holder, said today that the Guyana Government’s excessive focus on the oil sector is significantly undermining the development and prosperity of the gold sector. During his contribution to the 2024 budget debate, Holder said, gold like a “faithful wife”, still accounts for 6 to 8 percent of non-oil Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 60 to 70% of non-oil exports. However, over the last four years, Holder said the government’s obsession with the “new girl” (oil sector) has resulted in a 50 percent drop in declarations from local small to medium scale miners.
From the large-scale gold subsector, Holder noted that production has actually dropped from around 186,000 ounces in 2019 to around 109,000 ounces in 2023, reflecting a decline of 70%.
In general, Holder said local small and medium-scale gold miners have pointed to waning government enthusiasm in the industry since the advent of oil production. Expounding on challenges affecting the sector, Holder said these include increased illegal mining, raiding of gold operations, illegal buying and selling of gold, and increased smuggling. He registered his disappointment with the government’s failure to address these issues.
“What all this means is that the gap between actual production from local miners and gold declaration continues to widen. The illegal trade in gold is not only rampant in the mining districts but also prevalent in our very capital city, Georgetown,” the parliamentarian said.
Holder said the government needs to mobilize of the human and physical resources of Ministry of Natural Resources, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, the Guyana Police Force, and the local communities to properly address the challenges facing the sector.
The opposition member also urged the government to urgently increase both the availability of and accessibility to new mining lands. He said this requires the government to find new areas of gold mineralization and build new access roads.
If these and other measures continue to be ignored while the government remains enthralled by the oil and gas sector, Holder warned that further sectoral decay can be expected.
