FORMER Executive Director of Conservation International Guyana, Dr. David Singh is of the view that the Green State Development Strategy (GSDS): Vision 2040 should have some “legal standing” to ensure its longevity.

The GSDS is expected to guide the efforts to reorient and diversify Guyana’s economy, thereby reducing reliance on traditional sectors and opening up new sustainable income and investment opportunities in higher value-adding and higher-growth sectors. It is aimed at building greater economic resilience by diversifying production, and reducing Guyana’s dependence on fossil fuels by generating renewable energy.

“It is important to have an aspirational strategy,” Dr. Singh said, going on to explain, “A strategy that lasts only for a political cycle is far too short-sighted to actually get the commitment of State agencies.”

He related that State agencies are mandated to commit to long-term plans which guide their work, usually over increments of five or ten years.

And as such, he posited that it is important for any government to have a “multi-cycle strategy” so that those State agencies, which fall under government, will also be guided on how their work should be implemented, and what targets should be set and thereafter achieved.

**Based on his knowledge of the GSDS and its creation, the Former CIG head noted that a “green paper” was supposed to be developed and taken to Parliament.

In simple terms, a “green paper” precedes a policy, and basically details an idea or vision the government has. That paper is presented to the National Assembly, debated, and seeks to amalgamate the views of stakeholders. Subsequently, a “white paper” is formed, which will then move forward to become law, once it has been passed by a majority vote.

The GSDS, Dr Singh said, is a proposal that should be put to the National Assembly for debate, and in some way should be fashioned into a part of Guyana’s legislation. What this safeguards against, he said, is that should there be a change of government, the policy should not be scrapped and redone easily. Instead, it would have to go through the legislative process once more.

“Any strategy, by virtue of development of it and the actions related to it, creates a certain momentum of activities so that, regardless of what comes after, even if that strategy is redone, the elements of that strategy are maintained,” Dr. Singh explained.

This was the case, he said, with the previously done Low-Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). In 2018, Head of the Office of Climate Change (OCC), Janelle Christian noted that the OCC continues to implement and execute projects articulated in the LCDS, mainly since these are tied to the bilateral agreement between Guyana and the Kingdom of Norway.

The GSDS is a 20-year strategy that details that Guyana will use its expected oil revenues to fund its sustainable development trajectory. As Dr. Singh explained, in some countries, national strategies become part of the legal framework of the country.

“I would advocate that the key elements of the GSDS be presented to Parliament, and has that legal standing to make it work,” he said in closing.