– Ministry of the Presidency confirms

THE establishment of the Department of Energy (DoE) under the purview of the Ministry of the Presidency has not resulted in Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman being stripped of his portfolio.

In a statement to the media on Friday, the Ministry of the Presidency made it clear that by virtue of a notice posted in the August 2, 2018 edition of the Official Gazette, Minister Trotman may no longer be responsible for petroleum (oil and gas) matters, but he still holds responsibility for gold and diamond-mining, logging and forestry sectors.

“The ministry would like to place publicly on record that the establishment of the Department of Energy does not take away from the minister’s responsibilities,” the Ministry of the Presidency said, adding:

“The DoE has only resulted in the Petroleum Division being shifted from the Ministry of Natural Resources to the department under the Ministry of the Presidency.

“All responsibilities for the natural resources sector, including the gold and diamond- mining, logging and forestry industries, among others, remain with Minister Trotman.”
The ministry’s statement follows a Stabroek News article dated August 10, 2018, suggesting that Trotman is no longer the Minister of Natural Resources.

“Despite the fact that the Head of State President David Granger and the Ministry of the Presidency have, on several occasions, publicly stated that the minister has not been stripped of any responsibilities and remains a significant member of the government, this untruth has still found its way into the Stabroek News.”

The ministry noted that it was the Minister of Natural Resources who publicly stated on February 28, 2018, that it was he who had proposed to Cabinet that a Department of Energy be established and managed under the Ministry of the Presidency.

In a concept note submitted to the Cabinet, Minister Trotman had outlined the need for the new department, and the role it would take on with regard to oil management.

He stated that “given the evolving macro-economic and national security considerations, and the transformative nature of the imminent production of petroleum,” it is his view that several matters must be taken into consideration. Key among those matters was the proposal that “all policy matters, including, but not limited to, the negotiating and entering into contracts, and issuing of licences for exploration and production, be transferred/re-assigned to the Ministry of the Presidency and placed within a Department of Energy and Development.”

The Ministry of the Presidency made it clear that the Natural Resources Minister continues to provide “sterling leadership at the ministry, and enjoys the confidence of President David Granger”, and that “it is under Mr. Trotman’s stewardship that significant progress has been made in capacity-building and preparations for ‘first- oil’.”

The ministry stated that while the government promotes and stands behind freedom of the press, the media must “pay attention to the ethics and responsibilities that ought to be observed in the profession of journalism.”

“The media must take its responsibility to provide accurate information to the members of the public seriously,” the ministry stated.