EITI gave Guyana May 2023 extension to submit report – Ali

…says persons with “ulterior motives” in MSG caused delays

Although Guyana was unable to submit its 2020 report on transparency and accountability in the local extractive industry by the December 31, 2022 deadline, President Dr Irfaan Ali has revealed that the country has been given an extension until May of this year for the final submission.
The report was supposed to be submitted to the international Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Secretariat, but reports recently emerged that it was not submitted. In a national address on Wednesday, President Ali made it clear that non-submission of the report was unacceptable even though Guyana has received an extension.

“In relation to EITI report, I’ve already made it clear that it is unacceptable to have a delay in the submission of a report. Notwithstanding the fact that an extension was given by EITI secretariat, to have that report completed by May this year, we still should have been in a position to have that report submitted.
“Notwithstanding the fact that all countries were given an extension in 2019, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and in our case, extensive floods that disrupted data collection, I’ve made it very clear that I will not tolerate delays in the presentation and submission of our report,” President Ali said.
According to President Ali, he will ensure that this time around the report is submitted in advance of the new May 2023 deadline. He also revealed that there may have been deliberate attempts to sabotage the submission of the report, at the level of the Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) of the EITI, which delayed approval of the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the consultant hired to complete the report.
“I found out a number of things. One, that the Government of Guyana, in keeping with its mandate and in keeping with its commitment to transparency and accountability, hired an independent administrator to complete the report. However, for four months, the Multi-Stakeholder Group, had the ToR for this administrator on pause.”
“This begs the question, whether there are persons on that group with ulterior motives. It was not until after four months, that we were able to have ToRs agreed upon, with two persons abstaining. This is unacceptable. To put a country reporting framework at stake, to try to damage the Government’s credibility is not being a good citizen,” President Ali added.
The EITI is an international body that requires implementing countries to publish comprehensive reports which include the full disclosure of Government revenues from the extractive sector, as well as the disclosure of all material payments made to the Government by companies operating in the oil, gas, and mining sectors.
Guyana’s first report was submitted to the International Secretariat on April 25, 2019. Membership in the EITI means that Guyana will have to adhere to the 12 principles of the EITI standards voluntarily.
These 12 principles include encouraging corporate social responsibility, sharing of information, revealing beneficial ownership and promoting revenue transparency. Failure to do so could be met by suspension from the EITI. Guyana’s next validation commences on April 1, 2024.
The EITI had previously allocated Guyana a score of 52 for implementing the 2019 standard, commending Guyana for the strides taken to make information available and consult with stakeholders, while also providing recommendations to further strengthen the system.
Guyana’s score of 52 included a score of 42 on “outcomes and impact”, 60 on “stakeholder engagement” and 53.5 per cent when it comes to transparency. According to EITI, Guyana did manage to establish a functioning platform for multi-stakeholder discussions.
Back in 2021, a 12-member MSG was appointed. Those appointees included Exxon and Repsol reps Jesus Bronchalo and Ryan Ramjit, as well as Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) representative Andron Alphonso and Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) representative Rafeek Khan.
The Government’s four appointees were Sonya Roopnauth, Hema Khan, Vanelda Harris and Michael Munroe. The appointees from civil society included Nicholas Fredericks, Larry Carryl, and Gomin Camacho.
Outspoken activist Vanda Radzik, who has brought court cases against projects ranging from the gas-to-energy project to a radioactive storage facility in Houston, East Bank Demerara (EBD), was another civil society appointee. (G3)