Opposition MP accuses Canadian company of exploiting Guyana
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| Published on Thursday, October 2, 2008 |
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By Oscar Ramjeet
Caribbean Net News Special Correspondent
Email: oscar@caribbeannetnews.com
GEORGETOWN, Guyana: Guyana opposition Member of Parliament Khemraj Ramjattan has accused the Canadian company Omai Gold Mines of exploiting Guyana for more than a decade.
Ramjattan, who is a member of the small opposition Alliance for Change (AFC), said that the contract with Omai that was signed between the government and the extraction company has to be looked at in the context of the circumstance and political environment of the times. He noted that, at the time, the PNC Desmond Hoyte administration did not have equal bargaining platforms.
Omai officially handed over the mines to the government of Guyana on Wednesday.
The Kaieteur News newspaper reported that from 1993 the company commenced actual extraction of gold and ended in 2005, but had to stay on for three more years to fulfil its obligations relating to ensuring that the site was environmentally safe, given the wide scale use of cyanide.
During the more than a decade-long period, the company extracted some 3.7 million ounces of gold, paying only five percent of that in royalties to Guyana.
Among the other payments to Guyana were corporate tax and Pay as Your Earn (PAYE) tax for the workers and the other staff.
Ramjattan noted, also, that what was also partially responsible for the terms of the adverse parts of the deal was the fact that there was no political unity when it came to negotiating a better deal, which could have possibly contributed to Guyana gaining more from it. This, he said would be something he hoped would be done in the future, hoping that the lessons would have been learnt from the Omai deal.
The AFC Member of Parliament questioned the modus operandi wherein the president would negotiate with CEOs of large companies for investments; making reference emanating from the World Bank that noted that there could be some level of corruption when this takes place.
He made it clear however he was in no way insinuating that there was corruption.
He quoted World Bank publications that "behind the door deals" would have prompted suspicions | | | | Reads : 359 | | | |
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