THOUGH it acknowledges the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Guyana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GYEITI) is reminding requisite stakeholders to submit their EITI data so that Guyana can meet the deadline for its second report.

On Monday, the Guyana Chronicle reported that the deadline for Guyana’s second EITI report — previously set for December 31, 2020 — has been pushed to March 31, 2021 by the EITI Board due to the pandemic. GYEITI National Coordinator, Dr. Rudy Jadoopat, also told the newspaper that while stakeholders provided their information in time for the first report in 2019, the GYEITI likewise expects that they respond to the request for this second batch of information “as soon as possible”.

The GYEITI is a government-led initiative in partnership with the private sector, civil society and the extractive industry. It it’s the Guyana arm of the EITI, a global standard for the good governance of oil, gas and mineral resources.

TIMELINESS IS IMPORTANT

Therefore, some of the stakeholders involved include the Department of Energy (DE); the Ministry of Finance (MoF): the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA); the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC); the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS); the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and the Guyana Gold Board (GGB).

“The GYEITI National Secretariat, months ago, sent out requests for the submission of required data and information to the various relevant government agencies. Due to government policy to curb the spread of COVID-19, the work schedules of public servants have been varied and this seems to be causing a delay in the submission of the required data and information by the GGMC, GRA, GGB, NIS, EPA, Ministry of Finance,” Dr. Jadoopat explained, adding:

“The Bureau of Statistics has been very cooperative and has already provided useful and relevant data and information to the GYEITI. We do look forward to receiving all the required data and information as soon as possible from the government agencies, without which the process necessary for the preparation of the second GYEITI report cannot move forward.”

It should be noted that Guyana’s first EITI Report was for the fiscal year 2017, while its upcoming second, as mandated by the EITI Standard, is of the fiscal year 2018. The EITI Standard requires that the data be no older than two years. Dr. Jadoopat said that the GYEITI National Secretariat has no reason to believe that the requested data will not be provided. He reminded that in a meeting with the National Secretariat in 2018, the DE pledged to provide the necessary data.

NOTICEABLE TRANSPARENCY EFFORTS

All eyes have been placed on Guyana’s new oil and gas sector even as the government hopes to maintain the required level of transparency. Dr. Jadoopat said that the GYEITI has been collecting copies of petroleum contracts and publishes the same on its website.
Even as the EITI has recently recommended that the next step for Guyana is disclosing its sales agreement, for the 2018 fiscal year and beyond, the GYEITI plans to collect copies of all mineral agreements for publication on its website and hopes that the necessary government ministry/department will do its part in making the said information public.

Like the DE, Dr. Jadoopat said that the MoF pledges to support the EITI implementation processes in Guyana as it is a recipient of revenues from the extractive entities. He said that the GYEITI has also taken note of the ministry’s efforts towards transparency in publishing the amount of revenues received from oil and their placement in the Natural Resource Fund (NRF).

“Indeed, the Ministry of Finance has been making disclosure via reports on petroleum revenues. GYEITI welcomes this and will continue to urge for the continuation of public
disclosures as much as practicable and to promote transparency and accountability as far
as can be meaningful to the EITI processes to promote improved governance of the
extractive sectors in Guyana,” he told the newspaper.

When questioned about the involvement of the Petroleum Commission, Dr. Jadoopat said that the commission’s role in providing data and information to the process is not adequately defined. However, the GYEITI intends to examine this when its Independent Administrator (IA) comes on board.

Contracting the said IA team has also been delayed due to the pandemic. An IA team is needed to assist Guyana in the compilation of the report but most of the members reside in other countries impacted by international travel restrictions. This has therefore also affected the compilation of Guyana’s second EITI report from the GYEITI’s end. Moving forward, when it comes to the provision of data, Dr. Jadoopat believes that systems can be put in place to increase efficiency. He recommends the development of a comprehensive government electronic data and information documentation, collection and reporting system which would easily enhance the constructive and meaningful efforts of the government’s transparency and accountability thrust.