Chairman of Region Nine, Bryan Allicock yesterday strongly objected to a mining project for Aranaputa, the signing of which was witnessed by Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai.
He stated that the deal clinched between the Aranaputa Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) and Sol Nascente Incorporated was not underpinned by an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA).
“I totally disagreed from inception. That’s why I refused to attend the signing ceremony. No EIA or ESIA was done, and there was no consultation with the communities that will be affected. The residents are now finding out what was done after the fact. When they said they did extensive consultation, that was a lie,” Allicock told Stabroek News.