Mining districts must benefit directly from earnings – APNU’s Sharma Solomon

Last Updated on Wednesday, 4 February 2026, 22:22 by Writer

Opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) member of parliament (MP), Sharma Solomon on Tuesday recommended that mining districts benefit directly from revenues earned from the sector in order to ensure human development.

“These regions demand a new social contract with revenue sharing tied to the extraction, infrastructure and proportional to the output and environmental accountability,” said Mr Solomon who is a former mayor of the once bauxite-dependent town of Linden. 

In his contribution to debate on the GY$1.558 trillion budget, he remarked that already Indigenous Amerindian communities had been raking in direct benefits from gold mining.

He said there were other extractive-based communities where there were low reinvestment, weak services and limited autonomy.

Stressing the need for reciprocity between earnings and investment in the extractive-based communities, the APNU MP said mining districts in Canada and Australia benefit directly.

Mr Solomon, also a former Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice) mayor, said his recommendation also means that for Regions 1 (Barima-Waini), 7 (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), 8 (Potaro-Siparuni), 9 (Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo) and 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice) there must be “legal recognition of community engagement tied to mining permit, setting local employment quota, training, procurement targets, community funds, and ensuring that mining goes back into the community in a tangible way.