By Bert Wilkinson
Caribbean Life News
An Australian mining company preparing to open a large-scale mine in Guyana has unwittingly handed the opposition a key elections issue on a platter by publicly condemning demands by government officials for bribes and inducements to help it get things done in the mineral-rich country.
Thanks to the successful filing of a no confidence motion by the seven-seat Alliance for Change (AFC) last month, general elections could be held later this year or early next year depending on whether parliament reconvenes from its summer break and votes on the issue in early October or whether the governing Indo-led People’s Progressive Party (PPP) decides to call an early date or not.
This week, Perth, Australia-based Troy Resources said in a statement that it absolutely won’t pay any bribes to government officials and regulators to get things done in relation to a large gold mine it is preparing to open in the west of the country near Venezuela next year.
This is so because it is still subjected to Australian laws on graft, transparency, and corruption whether or not it is at home or outside of its Australian home base.