Joint Ministry team conducts second visit to Imbiamadai to address residents’ concerns

Ministry of Natural Resources, Guyana, Wednesday 5, October 2016

IMBAIMADAI, Guyana- On October 3, 2016 the mining community of Imbaimadai in Region 7 (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), facilitated a community meeting with a joint team to address and give updates on issues raised with  Minister of Natural Resources, Honourable Raphael G. C. Trotman, M.P., when he visited the area on August 25, 2016. During the August meeting, Minister Trotman had committed to follow up several matters and report back to the community. The visit to Imbaimadai was a fulfilment of this commitment.

The team was led by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources Mr. Joslyn

McKenzie and included representatives from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs, Ministry of Communities, Ministry of Public Infrastructure and Ministry of Agriculture.

During the meeting, matters relating to agriculture, health, infrastructure, education, land titling and acquisition and the Closed Area Committee, were addressed. The community was also provided with a map of the surrounding area and relevant forms to facilitate the process of land application for mining.

One major issue discussed related to sustainability in the mining sector and the need for training. Mr. McKenzie assured the community of the Ministry’s support to facilitate opportunities for training through the Guyana Mining School which has both in-house and out-reach programmes. Other members of the team were able to address concerns and answer questions relevant to their Ministries, while residents proposed solutions to dealing with other pressing challenges facing the community.

After the meeting members of the joint team visited several sites, including the School and Health Centre to get a first-hand look at the needs expressed. An assessment of a major bridge that separates Imbaimadai from the Amerindian communities of Kambaru and Omanaik was conducted and follow up work will be done by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure to have it operational.

The Ministry of Natural Resources also used the opportunity to present several fruit trees to the community to improve its self-sufficiency, and as part of the Ministry’s contribution to the Government’s National Tree Planting Exercise.  Commitment to partnering with stakeholders from the mining community as well as through inter-agency collaboration to assure the community’s development was restated.

 

Public Affairs and Communications Unit

Ministry of Natural Resources