DR. Mark Bynoe, Environment and Resource Economist and former head of the Project Development and Management Unit of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) has been appointed by the Government of Guyana to head its Department of Energy.
Minister of State, Joseph Harmon on Monday confirmed Dr. Bynoe’s appointment. “He has actually been appointed,” Harmon said on the corridors of Parliament on Monday. He disclosed that Cabinet will be briefed today on the said appointment after which, a formal announcement will be made.
“The president did introduce him to the quintet of ministers responsible for oil and gas,” the Minister of State told the Guyana Chronicle while noting it is likely that Dr. Bynoe will begin his tour of duty from August 1, 2018.
The quintet of ministers, Ministers of Finance, State, Public Infrastructure, Business and Natural Resources, have been tasked with paying attention to the organisational structure of the department, legislation to be introduced for the sector, negotiation with potential investors, exploration and production licences, public communication responsibilities, the engagement of technical experts, the establishment of a Sovereign Wealth Fund, capacity building measures, the review of fiscal contractual terms and the transfer of responsibility from the Ministry of Natural Resources to the Department.
Asked to outline the environment and resource economist’s roles, the Minister said, “Duties are being finalised right now… the question of organisation, the structure, functions of the department.”
“They [the Department of Energy] will basically take over the duties of the Ministry of Natural Resources’, Petroleum Unit, so all of those functions that were performed by them will now move to the Department of Energy,” Harmon added.
The former Director, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences (formerly Environmental Studies Unit), University of Guyana is the holder of a Doctorate in Economics (Environmental Economics) from the University of East Anglia, United Kingdom, A Master’s Degree in Resource Management), University of Edinburgh, Scotland; a Postgraduate Diploma in Development Studies, University of Guyana; a BA Geography/Economics (Double Major) from the University of Guyana; a Certificate in Environmental Economics and Policy Analysis, Harvard Institute of International Development, Harvard University, United States of America; and a Certificate in Programme Monitoring and Evaluation hosted by the Commonwealth Secretariat, St. Georges University in Grenada, Grenada.
Meanwhile, the soon to be established Department of Energy will focus primarily on the country’s up and coming oil and gas sector and the Department falls directly under the Ministry of the Presidency and will receive direct guidance from President David Granger.
The move by the administration to establish a Department of Energy follows a proposal submitted by Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman, to have a specialised attention placed on the petroleum sector, given the complexity of tasks that exist with the administering of such resources.
Earlier this year, government announced that Minister Trotman, will hand over the oil-and-gas sector given Cabinet’s approval for the establishment of a new department within the Ministry of the Presidency.
The Ministry of the Presidency had made it clear that the Natural Resources Minister was not stripped of his responsibilities in the oil and gas sector. “The Natural Resources Minister has provided sterling leadership in the development of the sector and it is under his stewardship that significant progress has been made in capacity building and preparations for ‘first oil’,” MOTP said in a release earlier this year.
