The Guyana Human Rights Association has issued a call for a full independent investigation into the operations of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission in wake of the recent gold smuggling scandals and other issues plaguing the gold mining sector.

In a statement, the GHRA accused both the Government and the GGMC of dragging their feet on a probe of the sector.

The Human Rights body said the scale of the national and international allegations of serious mismanagement and criminality rule out any attempt by the Government or the GGMC to mount an internal investigation of GGMC.

It said the only credible response available to the Government of Guyana at this stage is to arrange the hand-over of the entire matter to a team of forensic investigators, with an international component, furnished with a mandate and full authority to examine, investigate and make recommendations on all aspects of the gold industry within a specific time frame.

It was noted that allegations about irregularity and illegality in the gold sector have been steadfastly ignored by GGMC for years.

Citing silence over the recent US sanctions against two businessmen connected to the gold mining sector, the GHRA noted that over the past decade, the US and other international Agencies have on numerous occasions sought Government action to address criminality in the gold sector, but without success.

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