MR. Robert Persaud, as minister in the newly formed Ministry of National Resources and Energy (MNRE), has told a gathering of stakeholders that his ministry did not intend to carry out its work in an arrogant, know-it-all manner; but would, on the contrary, be consistently willing to listen to, consult, and collaborate with all interested parties as often as necessary, to obtain direction and advice in execution of its work.
He gave this assurance in remarks at the first-ever national stakeholders consultation on the natural resources sector, held by the ministry at the King’s Plaza Conference Room on Main Street Georgetown yesterday morning.
He said, “We want to start the work of this ministry, not intending that our work programme will be developed by what we think is necessary. We don’t want to take that approach. We want to take an approach where all stakeholders can make a constructive input as to how this ministry can embark on its work. As all of us here recognize there are many changes taking place in the natural resources and environmental sector, and we have to ensure that we have some sort of bearing on that reality, so that we can be effective.”
The theme of the consultation was “Effective natural resources and environmental governance”, and the consultation was described as the first of many. The meeting attracted a large cross-section of persons, including members of the diplomatic corps, miners, loggers, people in the wildlife trade, members of the Toshaos Leadership Council, representatives of Amerindian organisations, Amerindian leaders within indigenous hinterland communities, Government and Opposition Parliamentarians, and interested members of the public.
The MNRE is the umbrella Ministry for the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), the National Parks Commission (NPC), the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the Guyana Gold Board (GGB), the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC), the Wildlife Management Authority (WMA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Guyana Protected Areas System (GPAS).
Heads of those agencies and senior staffers were among the many persons present at the consultation.
The meeting was chaired by National Parks Commission Chairman John Caesar, and the programme included welcoming remarks by Permanent Secretary in the new ministry, Mr. Joslyn McKenzie; and statements from Conservation International (CI), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Guianas section, and the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA).
There were also presentations by the executive directors of the agencies which fall under the ministry, and these were followed by an interactive session, during which several persons made comments and recommendations on issues the new ministry should address, and outlined some possible strategies for carrying out its mandate.

Recurring theme
A recurring theme of many of the speakers was the necessity for a true convergence of national resources’ exploitation with environmental security.
Explaining the rationale for the new ministry, Minister Persaud said the past situation in which there were various agencies reporting to different ministries and even to the Office of the President did not lend to the level of harmonisation and coordination that was necessary.
The old arrangements also failed to deal effectively with the intensity and the growing number of activities within the natural resources and environmental sector; and were also ineffective in either managing or preventing conflict, not only among land users and those who were competing for the natural resources, but also in dealing with the emergent social dynamics.
“These were the circumstances which led President Donald Ramotar, out of his interest and vision for us to have a better management of this sector, to create this ministry,” Minister Persaud disclosed.
Among the other presenters were Mr. Bobby Gossai Jnr., Senior Policy Analyst/ Advisor of the MNRE.
He disclosed the organisational structure of the new ministry in relation to its goals.
There were also presentations by Mr. James Singh of the GFC; Mrs. Karen Livan, Commissioner of the GGMC; Mr. Doorga Persaud, Commissioner of the GL≻ and Dr. Indrajit Ramdass, Executive Director of the EPA. They spoke on the work of their agencies within the context of the exploitation of natural resources and adequate protection of the environment.
Issues raised during the interactive session included the crime situation in hinterland areas; repairs and maintenance of access roads and bridges to mining and logging areas; the illegal export of Guyana’s gold, and its sale to dealers outside of Guyana — described as leakages; illegal intrusions by some miners on Amerindian titled and demarcated areas; techniques to improve gold recovery; and alternatives to the use of mercury when the legal acquisition of this commodity is phased out.
The presenters made recommendations, and those were noted for follow up action.
At the end of the three-hour-long exercise, Minister Persaud said he was very heartened by the response to the inaugural meeting, and the high level of participation by those who attended. He advised that interested parties could send further comments by e-mail if necessary, and continue to guide, inform, and even instruct the MNRE, so that at the end of the day the sector can be efficiently and effectively managed for the benefit of all Guyanese.