– Citations usually ignoredCommissioner ofGGMC Rickford VieiraThe Commission of Inquiry (COI) into mining deaths has concluded that the regulatory agencies, in particular Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) did not have the focus, capacity or strategy to ensure that mining operations fulfilled their legal responsibilities under health and safety laws and requirements of the Mining Act.After an examination of GGMC,Cheap NFL Jerseys, the COI findings revealed that even when GGMC performs its normal monitoring functions and flags a non-compliant operator, operators do not take them seriously and would continue their dangerous practices while the Commission looks the other way.The COI into mining deaths was ordered by President David Granger following Guyana’s worst mining accident in recent memory- the collapse of a Mowasi,Cheap Authentic Jerseys, Potaro mining pit that buried 10 miners alive. It was conducted by Chairman Dr. Grantley Walrond, Colin Sparman, of Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners’ Association (GGDMA), a representative of the Ministry of Social Protection, with Jo Bayah as the Technical Advisor.The work of the COI commenced on July 1, with a one-month time span and when their work, which included extensive field work, was concluded,Cheap Jerseys, their report was submitted to the Minister of Governance.According to the report, Geotechnical parameters-which have to be done by the engineer on the mining pit- to examine the pit height, slope,Stitched Jerseys, material competency, etc must be done to support miners. The report went on to note that GGMC with its available trained professionals must be the leader in this endeavour.In fact,Cheap NFL Jerseys, the report noted, some miners surveyed during the investigative period were willing to defray the costs in order to benefit from this essential and technical but life-saving service.The COI found that GGMC “was not focused and has not been doing its work properly.” It also stated that legal interference and interpretations which threatened to subvert the Commission’s work must be resisted.This was the case in the collapse of the Mowasi mining pit. Leading up to the accident, operator Imran Khan was able to secure an injunction from the courts against GGMC thus blocking wardens from entering his mining operation.In consideration of this, the report added that GGMC must adopt a “proactively aggressive posture against the persons and institutions which seek to derail it from its health and safety mandates.”This posture, the report said, was greatly lacking and must undergo a change in light of the recent mining accidents.The COI report also criticized the decision-making at the executive level,Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys, saying that the “decision nodes” at that level were not visible and moreover follow-ups were done in an ad-hoc and perfunctory manner.It was observed that the management of GGMC lacked an appropriate feedback mechanism for ongoing actions.In fact, the report chided GGMC by noting, that too often files from actions it was involved in would go missing, leaving the responsibility of re-creating the file to the client. In cases where the file does not go missing, they are left perpetually open without closure.“There is currently no clear protocol in place for dealing with post-accident issues including a ‘terms of resumption of work’ guideline. The evidence suggests that most operators have gone back to work after accidents without clear indications of what the GGMC and other agencies expect of them,” the COI determined.The COI recommendation in this respect was for a clear post-accident protocol to be implemented. In addition, the report said, this protocol system needs to be integrated into the investigation and closure arrangement whenever an accident occurs.“Remedial measures must be implemented in the industry to bring it to an acceptable state of compliance with the mining act and regulations, but these must be phased in to guarantee the continuation of livelihoods. The GGMC must urgently identify areas of the greatest threats and prioritize a scheme (to remedy it).”Task forceThe report noted that whenever an accident occurs, emergency responses for search and rescue are inadequate. It strongly recommended a task force to be established in order to establish a clear protocol to handle and respond to accidents.“All operations must sign on to this new protocol and know exactly what notice mechanism and responses must be triggered in case of a serious incident,” the COI recommended.It is understood that Minister with responsibility for Natural Resources and Environment Raphael Trotman will be holding meetings with indust

The words of Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, who said that time and space are running out for wanted man Rondell Rawlins, may be coming back to haunt him.A senior police official yesterday admitted that the fugitive and the remaining members of his gang have eluded a dragnet in the Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice area.The Minister of Home Affairs had said a little over a month ago that: “Fine Man’ is no Bin Laden. He is running out of time and space.”But, according to the source, the heightened Joint Services’ operations in the Kwakwani/Linden area have been scaled down.The security forces had swooped down on Rawlins and members of his gang at their Christmas Falls hideout, in the Upper Berbice River, in April.During the initial operation, which was conducted by a police unit, one gang member — Otis Fiffee, called ‘Mud Up’, was shot dead, while a large quantity of ammunition was found in what was described as a major blow to the gang’s operation.A few days later, the security forces shot and killed two other members of the gang near Goat Farm,Cheap Jerseys Wholesale, Upper Demerara.The security forces also captured a teenaged gang member and recovered two AK-47 assault rifles.During that time there were reports that Rawlins and a few other members had hijacked a minibus on the Ituni trail.This report was followed by the recovery of another AK-47 assault rifle that was buried near the Unamco road.There were also reports that some heavily armed men in camouflage uniforms were spotted in the Mabura trail.Since then, there have been no reported sightings of ‘Fine Man’ or the remaining gang members.The hunt for ‘Fine Man’ may have been stymied by the controversy surrounding the killing of eight miners at Lindo Creek, a few miles from the hideout at Christmas Falls.While the security forces have denied any involvement in the killings,Discount NFL Jerseys, going as far as to say that it was the work of the notorious gang, the owner of the camp, Leonard Arokium, is insisting that his men were killed by the Joint Services.Crime Chief Seelall Persaud told this newspaper yesterday that, although the hunt for Rawlins has not gone cold, the impression is that he is not in the Upper Demerara area. He declined to comment further.Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee had told this newspaper in the wake of the killing of two gang members — Cecil Ramcharran,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, called ‘Uncle Willie’, and Robin Chung, called ‘Chung Boy’ — that it was just a matter of time before Rawlins and the remaining members of his gang were captured or killed.“I am convinced that, one by one, the members of this gang will be flushed out like rats. It’s only a matter of time. He is running out of space and time to manoeuvre and hide,” Rohee had told this newspaper.“Fine Man is no Osama Bin Laden. He will be found. In fact, his location has already been identified,” the minister added.Security forces who were pursuing gunmen at Christmas Falls believe that Rawlins is one of the persons who fled a safe house some 90 miles from the mining community of Kwakwani, in the Berbice River, when a party of policemen surprised them.Rawlins has managed to elude the security forces on several occasions, prompting the Administration to offer a whopping $50M reward for his capture dead or alive.The security forces say that Rawlins masterminded several daring robberies and murders, including robberies and the two massacres at Bartica and Lusignan, in which a total of 23 persons were killed.The security forces had said that they recovered a diary which indicated that the wanted man was planning another massacre to avenge the death of his sister, Marcyn King, who was gunned down three months ago while she was on her way home.In the wake of the death of his sister,jerseys from china, Rawlins’s mother had issued an appeal for an end to all the violence.According to Minister Rohee, with the mode that the security forces are in at the present time,NFL Jerseys Cheap, it is quite obvious that they are going all out to capture Rawlins.“What is obvious is that the criminal enterprise is being dismantled piece by piece. This is going to be painstaking, but it will be done,” Rohee stated.He, however, pointed out that,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, to achieve success, members of the public must give their support to the Joint Services.