Enthusiastic supporters of Sanz as the head of the gargantuan industrial complex, the Venezuelan Guayana Corporation (CVG) fear he may have bitten off more than he can chew in a situation that already sent his predecessor, Jose Khan, into intensive care after a heart attack.Since he took on the arduous task of re-constructing Venezuela's heavy industries, including the 'nationalization' of Siderurgica del Orinoco (Sidor), Sanz has faced crisis after crisis on multiple fronts, with disillusioned iron & steel workers, production problems at CVG-Venalum and, not least, the contentious debacle surrounding the future of Venezuela's mining industry.
The crunch came when MinAmb's Ortega de Carrizales, whose husband if currently Vice President of the Bolivarian Republic under President Hugo Chavez Frias, suddenly decided that open-cast coal mining in the western province of Venezuela (close to the country's troubled border with Colombia) should be put on an environmental no-no list!
Already paralyzed nickel mining to the west of the capital, Caracas, was also put in abeyance as the Environment Minister proceeded to undermine Sanz' authority and portfolio by dictating "no open-cast mining" policies to include extensive gold mining operations in the southeast of the country where artesanal and illegal miners have held uncontrollable sway for the better part of the last century. The miners simply ignore her since they see no reason why they should not continue into the 21st century, continuing to deforest the Amazonian jungles and polluting the rainforest rivers with the massive quantities of mercury they have always used in the chemical recovery of gold.
Sanz' best-laid plans to stimulate the national economy with the launch of a series of industrial mining projects has been stymied with international headlines proclaiming the Environment Minister's edicts as his own while he battles on a domestic front to control the incessant demands of, and commitments to, recently-nationalized iron & steel, aluminum and other workers ... and that's without even thinking about the plight of more than 10,000 small-scale miners and their estimated 50,000 dependents screaming for employment opportunities and much-needed infrastructure investments that come with the promise of industrial-scale mining projects that have been decades in deliberation.With his cabinet colleague shooting off her mouth, Sanz surprisingly sought to limit local damage by imposing a gag order on his executive team, but ... as usually happens with gag orders ... the undesired opposite was created as Ortega de Carrizales' media outbursts went unanswered, despite the fact that Venezuela's new Mining Law is in the final stages of enactment with its draft approval already given ahead of formal readings in the Venezuela National Assembly (AN) and the final sign-off by President Hugo Chavez, perhaps less than a month away.
Given that the new Mining Law establishes the rights and wrongs of Venezuela's future mining policies under the exclusive direction of a Mining Ministry, the status quo is that the Environment Minister remains slap bang in the international media spotlight while the man directly responsible for mining remains side-stage and gagged by his own order, while faced with the cacophony of the most incredible international speculation worthy of an Armagheddon, from his side seen.
Meanwhile, just over the border in Bogota, Colombia's Minister of Energy & Mines, Beatriz Duque is punting her own government's aspirations to become "one of Latin America's principal mining countries by 2019" with a solid legal framework and security, including "proper tax conditions and macroeconomics needed for a healthy mining industry."
Unabashed by the brouhaha in Venezuela, and small wonder, Duque says she feels that decisions made by the governments of Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia are "generating some very big opportunities for Colombia!" And she is not exaggerating for, while Venezuela dilly-dallies, Colombia is working emphatically to "correct historical errors" and set its mining sector on the right path!
In contrast to her opposite numbers in Venezuela, Duque sees information and communication as being key features in Colombia's burgeoning future in all aspects of mining with public/private partnerships across the board and mining codes and environmental authorities on the same page to ensure the great possibilities for economic mining development in Colombia. No gag orders, no ministerial responsibilities flouted!
Duque adds that she recognizes that small and mid-scale mining calls for much more state intervention and that there is a lot of illegal mining. "We're working intensely to show authorities where their responsibilities lie in mining issues, we want to make small-scale miners stronger while we plan a participatory vision of Colombian mining to become one of the most important mining countries in Latin America."
"The message is that we want mining that is developed under the highest ethical, environmental and technical standards where companies are socially responsible and concerned about industrial health and safety issues while respecting our culture and unique qualities. In general, we are working to improve the image of mining to show how the reality is entirely different!"
Roy S. Carson
vheadline@gmail.com
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Venezuela is facing the most difficult period of its history with honest reporters crippled by sectarianism on top of rampant corruption within the administration and beyond, aided and abetted by criminal forces in the US and Spanish governments which cannot accept the sovereignty of the Venezuelan people to decide over their own future.
As you noted in your article today, the new Mining Law will establish the rights/wrongs of Ven's future mining policies under the direction of a Mining Ministry. I've always felt the KRY logjam wouldn't get resolved until the Mining Law passes. As I see it, the only way Ortega's edict will get reversed is through a new Mining Ministry with the explicit authority to overrule her. Right now, I don't see anyone other than Chavez with the power to overrule her, and he seems reluctant to get involved. Do you see this as the most likely course of action or might we still see Chavez intervene?
ReplyDeleteAs it has been said here and by KRY Ortega seems to be isolated in her views and all other gov't supports KRY to mine. We really don't know what Chavez wants and that is the wild card I am assuming. Can you tell me with Ortega's stance and numerous comments in the media can a Minister just change a policy at their whim like this or typically does it have to go thru the AN for approval. In most gov't it seems that laws and policies have to be debated by their legislatures and or the AN before something becomes or at least is brought to the president for passing/signature. Is this what should/or should have happened with Ortega's banning of mining in the Imataca?
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