SAINT DOMINIC. After several meetings and working sessions, community members of Cotuí and Barrick Pueblo Viejo signed a friendly, satisfactory and definitive agreement to resolve pending issues related to the resettlement linked to the expansion of the Pueblo Viejo mine, located in the Sánchez Ramírez province.
The consensus was achieved with the mediation of the Dominican Government, represented by the Minister of Energy and Mines, Joel Santos; the Catholic Church, through the Bishop of La Vega, Monsignor Tomás Morel Diplán, representing the communities, as well as the Defender of the People, Pablo Ulloa.
The estimated investment in the resettlement project will exceed RD$20 billion, including the provision of decent and adequate housing for each family resident, as per the census conducted, access to essential basic services (potable water, sanitation, electricity, health, education -primary and secondary-, sports facilities -mixed court and baseball field- and access roads), plans for the restoration of livelihoods and productive activities of the affected families.
The agreement includes new values for replacement for 8 short-cycle and perennial crops and 6 forest trees, established in a price matrix, as well as the value of the compensation that will be paid per land task.
From its inception, the resettlement project included a psychosocial support program consisting of personalized accompaniment to affected households, with professionals in the field of psychology, to prevent and/or manage difficulties that may arise in households, and to follow up on the design and implementation of family life plans.
Similarly, a program for generating income and financial education was considered, with technical accompaniment in the design and implementation of economic activities, a program for educational strengthening whose goal is to contribute to reducing the levels of backlog of students from the resettled communities in their educational process and to develop a program for reducing illiteracy in the communities and a program for coexistence with actions aimed at promoting integration and good relations between resettled households and receiving communities.
Resettlement Plan
Regarding the resettlement plan, the State and Barrick Pueblo Viejo guarantee the provision of decent and adequate housing solutions for each family, according to the census conducted.
The State agreed to build a Primary Care Unit, a vocational school, a police detachment, a municipal market and a municipal cemetery in the destination place, as well as the operation of a children’s home and the improvement of the Cotuí-Nuevos Horizontes road section.
The Minister of Energy and Mines, Joel Santos expressed: “The signing of this agreement between the mining communities of Cotuí and Barrick Pueblo Viejo represents a transcendental step towards inclusive and respectful mining of community rights. This stage marks the beginning of a new chapter in the relationship between mining development and the well-being of the people who inhabit these territories, reaffirming that it is possible to advance with social responsibility, dialogue and mutual respect.”
“From the Ministry of Energy and Mines, we welcome and deeply value the mediation work carried out by the Catholic Church and the Defender of the People, key actors who have accompanied this process with impartiality, sensitivity and commitment to justice. This agreement is also the result of a call to dialogue that we made with the firm conviction that conflicts can be transformed into opportunities when active listening and the search for consensuses are prioritized.”
“We are convinced that the consensual resettlement and the future construction of the tailings dam must become a model of participatory management and transparency. We will continue working to ensure that the commitments assumed are fulfilled with rigor and that this project is an example of how mining development can and must generate well-being, opportunities and respect for the dignity of the communities.”
On the other hand, Pablo Ulloa, Defender of the People, expressed that the agreement between the parties is part of a process that will be evolutionary and learning.
“This moment initiates a transition that will continue, independently of the fact that in the contract there are deadlines, and we have committed, both the Catholic Church and the Defender, to provide accompaniment so that it is a continuous process in other dimensions. I thank, above all, each of the representatives of the communities, the State, the Senate of the Republic, and reiterate our commitment to guarantee the rights of all and everyone”, indicated Ulloa.
Meanwhile, Juana Barceló, president of Barrick Pueblo Viejo expressed that the resettlement program has been built since the beginning on the basis of the continuous participation of the interested parties, agreeing on key aspects such as a compensation matrix aligned with Dominican legislation and the objectives established by the IFC’s Involuntary Resettlement Standard.
While, Martín Guzmán, representative of the community members, valued the agreement as positive. “We are at the final point of a negotiation and we have taken out the best that could be done”, he said.
All parties have acted in close collaboration to ensure the timely implementation of the resettlement process, reflecting a balanced and constructive result for all those involved, an agreement that has been possible thanks to the leadership of the Ministry of Energy and Mines as a facilitator and the commitment of the Defender of the People and the Catholic Church.
The parties also welcomed the openness and transparency of Pueblo Viejo in participating in good faith with the representatives of the host communities. With the arrival of this agreement, all the potential of the expansion project of the mine’s life is released, in benefit of the Dominican Republic.
At the signing of the agreement, the President of the Senate of the Republic, Ricardo de los Santos, Eberto Antonio Núñez, mayor of the municipality of Bonao, and by the MEM, Rolando Muñoz, director general of Mining, also participated.
creditos de las imagenes de este post: Deultimominuto.net
