1 KIMBERLEY PROCESS CERTIFICATION SCHEME ANNUAL REPORT 2014 GUYANA TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK 2 LEGAL FRAMEWORK 2 IMPORT AND EXPORT REGIME 3 SYSTEM OF INTERNAL CONTROLS AND INDUSTRY SELF-REGULATION 5 STATISTICAL INFORMATION FOR 2014 8 IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS OF KIMBERLEY PROCESS REVIEW VISITS AND/OR REVIEW MISSIONS 8 INFRINGEMENTS AND COOPERATION WITH RESPECT TO ENFORCEMENT 12 MISCELLANEOUS 12 CONCLUSION 14 ANNEX 1-2014 Statistics 15 ANNEX II-Authorised Signatories for KP Certificate 22 ANNEX III- Programme of Activities for 2014 KP Peer Review of Guyana 24 ANNEX IV-Mining (Amendment) 2003 Regulations 25
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KIMBERLEY PROCESS CERTIFICATION SCHEME
ANNUAL REPORT 2014
GUYANA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK 2
LEGAL FRAMEWORK 2
IMPORT AND EXPORT REGIME 3
SYSTEM OF INTERNAL CONTROLS
AND INDUSTRY SELF-REGULATION 5
STATISTICAL INFORMATION FOR 2014 8
IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS OF
KIMBERLEY PROCESS REVIEW VISITS AND/OR REVIEW
MISSIONS 8
INFRINGEMENTS AND COOPERATION
WITH RESPECT TO ENFORCEMENT 12
MISCELLANEOUS 12
CONCLUSION 14
ANNEX 1-2014 Statistics 15
ANNEX II-Authorised Signatories for KP Certificate 22
ANNEX III- Programme of Activities for 2014 KP Peer Review of Guyana 24
ANNEX IV-Mining (Amendment) 2003 Regulations 25
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ANNUAL REPORT - 2014
KIMBERLEY PROCESS CERTIFICATION SCHEME
GUYANA
A. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
PART A-Constant
The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme in Guyana, South America, continues to be
administered by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) with co-operation on some
aspects of the process by Customs and Trade Administration (CTA) of the Guyana Revenue
Authority (GRA). Information on exports of diamonds is also shared with the Bank of Guyana
and the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce.
PART B-Variable
There has been no change in the agencies administering the Kimberley Process Certification
Scheme in Guyana since the last annual report.
B. THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK
PART A-Constant
The export of rough diamonds is contingent on adherence to the Mining Regulations made under
the Mining Act, 1989, of Guyana and the steps put in place since 2003, remain.
All rough diamonds for export must be lodged with the GGMC upon commencement of the
application process to export such diamonds.
The GGMC through its Mines Division is responsible by law for the monitoring
and regulation of activities engaged in by miners of diamonds (and other minerals),
traders in valuable minerals and precious stones, and exporters.
All documentation with respect to the activities of these persons must be submitted
to the GGMC to be made part of the GGMC’s records.
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The law is designed to create a nexus between the operations of the producers and
buyers/exporters as evidenced by the mandatory reporting requirements.
Diamonds, including rough diamonds, are required to be sealed, as stipulated by
the Mining Regulations made under the Mining Act, 1989, of Guyana with the
Kimberley Process certificate of Guyana accompanying the sealed package.
The Guyana Mining Regulations also satisfy KPCS requirements with provision
for the keeping of records of export; provision of a statutory declaration as to the
diamonds’ source; and establishment of a secure database.
Mr. Rickford Vieira, Commissioner of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, is the Co-
ordinator of KPCS in Guyana. Mr. Vieira succeeded on Mrs. Karen Livan on November 1, 2012,
as the Co – ordinator, KPCS, Guyana. Mrs Rosemary Benjamin-Noble, former Legal Adviser,
Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, provided direct support until September 15, 2013.
Thereafter, Manager of the Geological Services Division, Mr. Jimmy Reece and Legal Advisor,
Mrs. Kara Duff – Yehudah assumed this role.
[A copy of the relevant regulations is attached hereto as Annex III, for ease of reference.]
PART B-Variable
No legislative changes were made to the export procedure since the last annual report. However,
the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and the Guyana Revenue Authority are currently
working assiduously to finalize the draft Regulations which would govern the importation of rough
diamonds into Guyana.
C. IMPORT AND EXPORT REGIME
PART A-Constant
C.1 OUTGOING SHIPMENTS
The procedure employed in processing of exports of rough diamonds from Guyana remained the
same as explained in the previous report. It is as follows:
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1. Submission of export documents to Mines Division, GGMC. These documents
would have already been processed by the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and
Commerce.
2. Checks are made of documentation submitted in support of source of diamonds,
i.e., production records of miners; proof of source of funds; transaction records of
licensed traders and evidence that exporter is licenced to trade in valuable minerals
and precious stones. The checks may include field checks should it be determined
by the GGMC that further verification was necessary.
3. On satisfactory checks, KP certificate is prepared, parcel sealed as set out in the
law, and certificate is signed by Exporter, duly authorised signatory of CTA and of
GGMC.
4. In sealing, a tamper proof transparent plastic bag is used.
5. Fees are payable for the KPCS processing.
6. The exporter is given the parcel and accompanying KP certificate.
The certificate’s characteristics remain unaltered and only have validity for one (1) month from
date of issue.
Note: As an administrative requirement (and as recommended by the peer review team in 2006)
the rough diamonds are photographed and those photographs are filed.
C.2 INCOMING SHIPMENTS
No shipments were made into Guyana from other countries in 2014.
.
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PART B-Variable
Since the submission of the last annual report, no changes were made to the import and export
regime.
D. SYSTEM OF INTERNAL CONTROLS AND INDUSTRY SELF-REGULATION
PART A-Constant
In accordance with the laws, the following system of internal controls and procedures are
employed:
1.The exporter must be a licensed trader, that is, must be the holder of a valid Trading Licence
sold by GGMC but issued under the Tax Act, Chapter 80:01.
2. The exporter is required to prepare all export documents for diamonds to be exported and submit
same to the GGMC, re:
(a) Production records
(b) Transaction records of the Licence Trader
(c)Diamonds for lodging
3. GGMC then conducts satisfactory checks to ensure that the diamonds were obtained from the
following:
(a) valid mineral properties (claims/mining permits/mining licences)
(b) valid dredge (dredge is registered with GGMC and has a licence which is in force for the current
year)
(c) Valid Trading Licence
(e)The names of the holder of the mineral property (claims/mining permits/mining licences) and
the dredge owner are correct according to GGMC’s records
(f) That all royalties are paid and the receipts submitted are valid.
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As mentioned earlier, the checks may include field checks should it be determined by the GGMC
that further verification is necessary.
4. At the completion of the above-mentioned checks, the export documents are submitted to the
Commissioner of GGMC for his signature.
5. The exporter then uplifts the Affidavit to be sworn to as it relates to the diamonds to be exported
and pays to GGMC the sum of five thousand Guyana dollars (G$5000) for the processing of the
Kimberley Certificate.
6. The export documents are then taken by the exporter to the Ministry of Trade and Commerce;
and Customs and Excise Department.
7. When the step at no.5 has been completed, the exporter informs the Mines Division of the time
of sealing and the sealing occurs at the Finance Division of GGMC.
8. The lodged diamonds are then re-opened in the presence of the Customs Officer, the exporter
and representatives of the Mines and Finance Divisions of GGMC respectively.
9. The diamonds are then recounted and sealed.
10. The sealed parcel is handed over to the Exporter.
11. The Kimberley Certificate is delivered to the Exporter after the following signatories have
signed:
(a) The Exporter
(b) The authorized Customs Official
(c)The Commissioner of GGMC or any of the other authorised signatories of GGMC.
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(Please refer to Annex II for the list of the authorised signatories for GGMC and GRA)
12. All information with respect to export and production of diamonds are entered into the
appropriate Ledger and Database within the GGMC.
It is stated in the Mining laws that every exporter who acts unlawful shall be liable on summary
conviction to a fine of one million dollars and imprisonment for a maximum of five years.
With respect to industry self-regulation, all rough diamond traders and exporters are also required
by law to maintain records of production and exports listing the names of their trading clients, their
licence number, amount and value of diamonds sold and purchased or exported. These records
must be retained for a period of no less than five years from the date of transaction.
Additionally, in relation to exports of rough diamonds, the diamond exporter must sign a
declaration that the rough diamonds being exported were legitimately obtained in Guyana or
another territory which is a Kimberley Process participant and were not obtained from any source
or activity which is engaged in the trade of conflict diamonds.
Emphasis thus remains on strict compliance by exporters and traders with the law. Failure to
tender adequate and acceptable documentation as required would result in the process not being
completed and the export of rough diamonds not being allowed.
The database that was established to record statistical information for KPCS and to also record and
track rough diamond production in Guyana was for the most part trouble-free. A system of cross-
checking is continually reviewed so that the integrity of the information is maintained.
Although it is hoped that the industry would self-regulate, the GGMC would continue to oversee
the process to ensure compliance with the law.
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PART B-Variable
Since the submission of the last annual report, there are no new developments with respect to the
system of internal controls and the industry self-regulation. However, the Guyana Geology and
Mines Commission will continue to conduct periodic assessments of its systems of internal
controls to ensure that they continue to satisfy the KPCS requirements.
E. STATISTICS
PART A-Constant
Thirty-eight (38) KPCS certificates were issued by Guyana for export in 2014. Please refer to
Annex I which provides statistical information for export of rough diamonds for Guyana for
this period.
PART B-Variable
Diamond production in Guyana increased in 2014 when compared with 2013. The increase in
diamond production in 2014 may be attributed to the low gold prices and the favourable diamond
prices during 2014 which resulted in many miners shifting from gold production to diamond
production.
F. IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS OF KIMBERLEY PROCESS PEER
REVIEW VISITS AND/OR REVIEW MISSIONS
The Recommendations of the Peer Review team of 2006 have been implemented:
1. Strengthening database of development work. This is an on-going exercise.
2. Strengthening internal controls with respect to valuation of diamonds. Guyana’s
application for assistance from KPCS was regrettably, not realised. GGMC has not
been able in 2014 to sponsor or benefit from training further to that undertaken in
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2009. GGMC is in the process of liaising with India and other sources to identify
a suitable expert to conduct training in Guyana.
3. Amendment and implementation of laws for import of rough diamonds. GGMC
and CTA are still liaising on this. New provisions remain in draft.
A Kimberley Process Peer Review was conducted in Guyana from the 22nd-25th September, 2014.
The Kimberley Process Review Team comprised Mr. Louis Perron (Canada and the designated
Team Leader of the Peer Review), Mr. Paulo Roberto Alves (Brazil), Mr. Frisco McDonald
(United States of America) and Mr. James Evans Lombe (World Diamond Council).
The objective of the review visit was to assess the implementation by Guyana of the Kimberley
Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), in accordance with the standard terms of reference for
review visits and review missions contained in the Administrative Decision on Peer Review in the
KPCS. In order to further enhance the effectiveness of Guyana’s certification system, the
following recommendations were made by the Peer Review Team:
Recommendation 1: Diligently pursue efforts to better reconcile statistics with its trading
partners. In order to do so a GGMC official should be designated to follow up on exports to ensure
the reconciliation of shipments with importers.1
Recommendation 2: Consideration should be given to include the shipment container seal number
on the KP certificate to make the container more tamper proof.1
Recommendation 3: Encourage Guyana to complete the legislation process initiated to develop a
framework to regulate the import of rough diamonds. In the meantime a target on HS codes subject
1 Kimberley Process Certification Scheme Report of the Review Visit to Guyana 22-25 September 2014 submitted by Mr. Luis Perron (Representative of Canada and Team Leader of the Peer Review Team), Mr. Paulo Roberto Alves (Representative of Brazil), Mr. Frisco McDonald (Representative of the United States of America) and Mr. James Evans Lombe (Representative of the World Diamond Council) dated May 21, 2015.
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to KPCS requirements should be initiated by Customs to intercept any such shipments entering
Guyana.2
Recommendation 4: Strongly encourage Guyana to develop internal valuation expertise or to
contract-out for such a service to be accessible to the Guyana government to ensure the domestic
production is accurately valued as part of the export control process. This would enable better
statistics to be provided as well as a better royalty stream collected. This would also allow the
GGMC to fulfil its AML obligations.3
Recommendation 5: Encourage Guyana to consider the set-up of a website, such as present in
Brazil, to enable the on-line entry of production reports by field inspectors instead of the current
paper-based system. The GGMC should also investigate whether the 3 separate physical
signatures on the daily operating, production and transaction records could be replaced by
authorised electronic approvals, to speed up the process.4
Recommendation 6: Before proceeding to print a new certificate batch, the Review Team strongly
suggests including the following sentence on the certificate: “The rough diamonds in this shipment
have been handled in accordance with the provisions of the Kimberley Process Certification
Scheme for rough diamonds.” The current sentence on the certificate referring to the sealing of the
shipment does not equate to the standard KP sentence.5
Recommendation 7: Given the ease with which individuals could smuggle rough diamonds from
Venezuela or Brazil into Guyana, the team recommends that sufficient funds be provided to
GGMC and to Customs and other relevant law enforcement agencies to ensure the regulations and
internal controls are adequately enforced and managed to counter smuggling activities. This can
be done by ensuring appropriate customs controls on all entry points in Guyana and on stringent
controls on mining production records. It could also be achieved by fostering better cooperation
with Brazil and Venezuela through bilateral meetings inside or outside the scope of the KP
2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid.
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Working Sub Group on Artisanal Alluvial Production. The GGMC should ensure that the daily
records contain an affidavit that the goods are of Guyana origin.6
Recommendation 8: As a matter of security, particularly to lessen the amount of travel within
Georgetown for the diamonds, Guyana should seriously consider housing all the export control
mechanisms under one physical roof7.
Recommendation 9: Whilst there is no evidence that it is taking place, interviewees have
suggested that the GGMC should also investigate how to prevent goods that haven’t been mined
from a particular site, from being put onto that site’s production records.8
Recommendation 10: As with the 2006 KP review mission report, the 2014 team encourages the
GGMC to ensure that all punters and pork knockers are covered by some form of licensing and
are included within the internal control mechanisms, in particular ensuring that their production
can be traced by formal records submitted to and maintained by the GGMC.9
Recommendation 11: The GGMC should continue to urgently upgrade its databases and proceed
to correlate the information between the databases as this will highlight any potential issues and
flag any suspicious production10.
Based on its assessment, the Kimberley Process Review Team concluded that:
“Guyana meets and in some aspects exceeds the minimum requirements of the KPCS.
While the control of rough diamond production from alluvial deposits represents a
6 Ibid. 7 Not a KP requirement but a suggestion for improvement by the 2014 KPCS Peer Review Team of Guyana in their Report mentioned in fn. 1 dated May 21, 2015. 8 Kimberley Process Certification Scheme Report of the Review Visit to Guyana 22-25 September 2014 submitted by Mr. Luis Perron (Representative of Canada and Team Leader of the Peer Review Team), Mr. Paulo Roberto Alves (Representative of Brazil), Mr. Frisco McDonald (Representative of the United States of America) and Mr. James Evans Lombe (Representative of the World Diamond Council) dated May 21, 2015.
9 Ibid. 10 Ibid.
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challenging task, the team was able to thoroughly review the internal controls present in
the country and suggests that, in general, Guyana’s approach be recognized as a best
practice inside the KP community.”11
Guyana welcomes these recommendations and will certainly give due consideration to them.
G. INFRINGEMENTS AND CO-OPERATION WITH RESPECT TO ENFORCEMENT
There were no seizures of rough diamonds in 2014 and GGMC continued to encourage the miners
to be compliant with the laws and procedures.
H. MISCELLANEOUS
H.1 Guyana was represented by Mr. Jacques Foster, Secretary to the Board of GGMC at the
Plenary Meeting of KPCS 2014 held on the 10th-14th November, 2014 in Guangzhou, China.
H.2 CONTACT INFORMATION
Contact details of officials responsible for implementation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS):
Mr. Rickford Vieira Commissioner Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) Upper Brickdam GEORGETOWN Guyana South America Tel. No.: 592-225-3047 Fax: 592-227-0084 E-mail: [email protected]
11 Kimberley Process Certification Scheme Report of the Review Visit to Guyana 22-25 September 2014 submitted by Mr. Luis Perron (Representative of Canada and Team Leader of the Peer Review Team), Mr. Paulo Roberto Alves (Representative of Brazil), Mr. Frisco McDonald (Representative of the United States of America) and Mr. James Evans Lombe (Representative of the World Diamond Council) dated May 21, 2015.
