By Francis Quamina Farrier

EVERYONE likes to know what’s going on around them, especially with the things which impact their daily lives. With modern technology, we can access the kinds of information which our ancestors never dreamed of. For example, back in the colonial era, the average Guyanese knew absolutely nothing about the financial dealings of big companies which operated in British Guiana, such as Bookers and Sandbach Parker. In fact, Bookers was an extremely big and influential company in this country, employing almost half of the workforce. It was so influential that British Guiana was sometimes referred to as “Bookers Guiana”.

Fast forward from the pre-Independence portion of the 20th Century in British Guiana to the 21st Century in the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. To be more precise, November 2017, more than 51 years after Independence. Citizens are grasping with their newly-acquired power of being able to access hitherto inaccessible information as regards the financial dealings of their government with big business – both locally and internationally.
On October 25, 2017, Guyana became the 53rd country to be granted membership of the Extractive Industries Transparency Institute (EITI), a global group of nations which embrace openness around the governess of natural resources. That, in essence, means that in the areas of extractive industries, such as Gold and Diamond Mining, Oil and Gas extraction, Bauxite and Manganese mining, the average Guyanese citizen can go online to and access details of the financial dealings of their government and big and medium businesses in the extractive industries.

Heading the two-man team to Manila, the capital of the Philippines where the meeting was held, were the National Coordinator of the Guyana EITI, Dr. Rudy Jadoopat, and Mr Curtis Bernard, a member of Civil Society. For the two professionals, it was a long and tiring journey by air from Georgetown to Manila- more than 22,000 miles for the return trip! For regular long journey air travellers, it is known how physically and mentally challenging that could be.

Nonetheless, irrespective of the long travel and many meetings in Manila, the objective was acquired with Guyana being accepted as the 53rd country into the EITI group on Nations. “I am elated that Guyana’s candidature application has been accepted,” was the reaction by Minister of Natural Resources, Hon. Raphael Trotman, MP, under whose portfolio the GYEITI falls. The Minister further praised all the stakeholders who were instrumental in Guyana’s successful application.

Guyana’s interest in joining the EITI, goes back to the previous (PPP/C) Government, which made a commitment toward the International EITI on May 4, 2010. That government signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International EITI on May 15, 2012. With the change of Government in May 2015, the new (Coalition) Government honoured the undertaking of its predecessor. These developments were of interest to Guyanese-born Dr. Rudy Jadoopat, who was at that time, based in New York; but who made regular visits to his homeland Guyana.

Last year he responded to an advertisement in the Guyana Newspapers for the position of National Coordinator of the Guyana EITI. He was successful and was appointed on February 1, 2017. The GYEITI Secretariat is based at the Ministry of Natural Resources on Brickdam in Georgetown. The Deputy Coordinator of the GYEITI is Ms. Diane Barker.
The establishment of the GYEITI was promoted to the Guyanese people with five out-reach meetings a few months ago; at Corriverton, Region Six, on July 8; Bartica, Region Seven, on July 12; Linden, Region 10, on July 15; Charity, Region Two, on July 17; and finally in Georgetown on July 20, 2017.

At all the meetings, members of the public were afforded the opportunity to pose questions regarding the operations of the GYEITI, and what was clear, is that Guyanese are now empowered more than ever before, to know what is going on in the corridors of power, with the Extractive Industries Transparency Institute. The GYEITI website is at “www.gyeiti.org”, and citizens are encouraged to visit it as often as they desire.