Casting itself as a force of resistance in the face of state obstruction, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has condemned what it describes as a brazen attempt to silence parliamentary oversight after four of its Members of Parliament were blocked from entering the Marudi Settlement during an official outreach to residents.
In a forceful statement on Friday, APNU—which holds 12 seats in the National Assembly—said its MPs Dr. Terrence Campbell (Lead Parliamentarian), Sharma Solomon, Saiku Andrews and Sherod Duncan were denied access by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) while carrying out what the party framed as a legitimate and necessary engagement with citizens.
“While in Region 9 at the entrance to the Marudi Settlement, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) decided to bar APNU MPs from entering the settlement to engage farmers and miners of the Settlement,” the party stated.
Positioning the incident as emblematic of deeper governance concerns, APNU argued that the move reflects an increasingly hostile environment for dissent and representation, even as it insists it will not retreat from its responsibilities.
“The law allows the GGMC to exclude persons from entering the settlement if they are illegally mining, if there is environmental harm, or road repairs are in progress. The APNU team was not engaged in any of those three activities and therefore should not have been prevented from entering the community since they were undertaking their normal parliamentary responsibility that are expected of them as Members of Parliament,” the statement said. “The GGMC had no authority to prevent the MPs from visiting and representing the people who need such representation.”
The party described the sequence of events as deliberate and obstructive, reinforcing its claim of a system resistant to scrutiny.
“On arrival at Marudi the barrier was open and had no padlock. Subsequently, the barrier was closed and padlocked by the authorities to prevent the parliamentary team from visiting and engaging the residents and workers in the community,” APNU stated.
Efforts to resolve the matter reportedly met with resistance.
“APNU MP, Dr. Campbell engaged Mr. Dennison of GGMC who refused to give permission for MPs to enter and was reluctant to advise who was capable of granting the ‘permission’ for entry to the MP team to engage with the people in the Marudi Settlement,” the party said.
Beyond the immediate confrontation, APNU advanced a series of serious allegations, framing the situation in Marudi as part of a wider pattern of inequality and alleged misconduct in the extractive sector.
“Our MPs have learned from locals that Brazilians enjoy the privileges of living and mining with unfettered access in the Marudi Mountain environs. While the Brazilians who are mining there have access the GGMC is trampling on the rights of Guyanese in Marudi,” the statement read.
The party further cited claims that some foreign miners may be linked to criminal activity.
“Eyewitness reports state that some members of the Brazilian contingent operating in the Marudi Settlement are known fugitives of the Brazilian judicial system and are facing allegations of illegal mining practices in Brazil,” APNU stated.
It also pointed to alleged local involvement.
“Locals in the area allege that two Guyanese have mining rights in the area and have engaged the Brazilians to mine for gold. It was also said that another Guyanese attached to GGMC oversees the Marudi station,” the statement added.
APNU framed these developments as evidence of a government failing to protect its own citizens.
“The PPPC anti-democratic and dictatorial government is failing at putting Guyanese people first. What is more troubling is that Guyanese face persecution while Brazilians are privileged. This is unacceptable,” the party declared.
The statement also highlighted the economic realities faced by hinterland communities.
“Guyanese in the hinterland experience a significantly higher cost of living and the extractive industries in their settlements need to bring adequate benefits to them rather than foreigners linked to the PPP regime and corrupt government officials,” APNU said.
APNU suggested that the denial of access may be linked to efforts to shield alleged large-scale gold extraction and smuggling.
“The fact that APNU MPs were prevented from entering a Guyanese community on misplaced authority is indicative of the PPPC having a desire to hide a gross violation of the rights of Guyanese living and working in the Marudi Settlement,” the statement said.
It relayed claims from residents about the scale of activity in the area.
“The locals advised that approximately USD$5 million dollars of gold leaves daily from Marudi. They further allege that Guyanese government officials collude with the Brazilians to conceal the extraction and smuggling of Guyanese gold,” APNU stated.
The party further accused senior officials of limiting scrutiny for personal and political gain.
“The situation is clear, if the Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources have engaged the residents of Marudi around the mining venture and now desire to prevent Opposition Members of Parliament from engaging the community the motive is corruption and taking advantage of the hinterland community so that their friends, family, and favourites can obtain wealth at the expense of the Guyanese residents of Marudi Settlement,” the statement read.
APNU also underscored the toll on local livelihoods.
“Another issue is that locals are barred from entering the community for days at a time and cannot successfully run their small businesses. They cannot do things like delivering fuel, but oil tankers are allowed easy entry,” the party said. “Consequently, the entrepreneurs are suffering, locals are fearful and the MPs who are to represent them are denied entry to Marudi.”
Despite the confrontation, APNU signalled that it intends to continue its engagement efforts, framing its stance as one of persistence in the face of adversity.
“It is clearly wrong and unconstitutional that parliamentary scrutiny and community engagement can be denied by the GGMC,” the party asserted.
The incident is likely to intensify debate over governance in Guyana’s extractive sector, even as APNU positions itself as unyielding in its role as a parliamentary watchdog amid mounting tensions over access, accountability, and the equitable distribution of national resources.
