The Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources will be conducting a ‘fact-finding mission’ to Chinese Landing to gain better insight into the aged-old mining controversy that has been plaguing the village.

Chinese Landing is an indigenous community located in Region One.

In 2017, the Caribbean Court of Justice ruled that the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) had no authority to issue a cease work order against miner Wayne Vieira for his operations in the community.

However, the Chinese Landing Village Council has been calling on the Government to revoke the mining permits issued to the miner to operate on its land.

Earlier this year, the Council secured precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), resulting in Government dispatching a team to the area.

Chairman of the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources, Opposition MP Dawn Hastings-Williams said while the Government would have conducted a visit to the village in response to the precautionary measures issued by IACHR, the Parliamentary Committee hopes to conduct an independent visit to engage residents on the challenges being faced by them.

“The Chinese Landing is a complicated case because the matter was taken to CCJ – the Caribbean Court of Justice and a ruling was made. So, we want to go there on the ground to see exactly [what is happening]. I know the Government had sent in a team – a fact finding team but then you would have heard that the residents and the Toshaos weren’t satisfied of the visit that was made, and so, they continue to complain, hence, as the Natural Resources Committee, accountable to the people, we want to go there,” MP Hastings-Williams told News Source.

In August, the Government halted all mining activities in the Village of Chinese Landing in a direct response to the precautionary measures issued by the IACHR.

The Toshao for Chinese Landing, Orin Fernandes said while the decision to halt mining activities on the blocks assigned to Vieira was a step in the right direction, residents are looking forward to the complete removal of the “outside miners” from their titled lands.

He said the presence of the miners poses a threat to the safety and well-being of villagers, and also affects their socio-economic development. (Svetlana Marshall)

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