The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has warned that flying of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) over public or private property is prohibited unless permission is granted after Amerindian Affairs Minister, Sarah Browne-Shadeek, publicly complained on Sunday that a drone flew over her husband’s residence and violated her sister’s privacy.
Browne-Shadeek said on social media that a drone on Sunday flew over the home of her husband, adding ‘the drone came so low that a close female relative of mine who had just exited the bathroom felt exposed and ran for cover’.
She said she was forced to ask for a security guard for the safety of the family after noticing suspicious activities and that vehicles had been following her since an earlier incident at a hotel where ‘I was bullied’ in the presence of others.
‘I want to let those involved know that this will not move me or deter me from representing my people,’ she said.
The main opposition We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) on Sunday posted several aerial pictures of the Amerindian Affairs minister’s husband property, saying they were taken on Saturday.
In a separate post Opposition Leader, Azruddin Mohamed said, with the building in the background that there was ‘Not a troolie leaf in sight. Minister Sarah Browne-Shadeek, some of our Indigenous people want to live like you too in a more than 100 million dollar home. As MP Deon La Cruz rightly stated, they do not wish to be born and die in troolie house’.
The GCAA said flying the aircraft over or near private or public property is only possible if there is explicit permission from the property owner and that drones are expressly forbidden from operating within 150 metres of any congested area, organized open-air assembly, or within 100 metres of any vessel, vehicle, or structure not under the operator’s control.
The GCAA warned that a ‘breach of these regulations constitutes a serious criminal offence’ and violators could be fined up to one million dollars (One Guyana dollar=US$0.004 cents) and/or two years imprisonment.
Non-compliance with permit conditions, and operations outside the limitations specified in the GCAA directive or failure to adhere to an approved operations manual will result in immediate suspension of UAV drone permit and be prosecuted as a breach of the GCAA regulations.
The regulator said that to ensure that persons adhere to the legislation and avoid undue violations, it is appealing to the public to comply accordingly with its directive.
The public was urged to immediately report any and all unauthorized operations, suspicious or unsafe drone activity to the nearest police station or to the GCAA safety hotline at 608-4222.
‘The full force of the law will be applied to defaulters. The GCAA is committed to maintaining the integrity of Guyana’s airspace,’ the GCAA said.