— Vice-President says GRIF being reworked, new agreement being sought
FUNDS earned by Guyana for the preservation of its forest and its low carbon emissions, were “misused” and “mishandled” by the former APNU+AFC administration, said Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo.
In signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Guyana on November 9, 2009, the Government of Norway had committed to providing financial support of up to US$250 million for results achieved by Guyana in limiting emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.
As part of the agreement, the two countries had agreed to establish the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) as the financial intermediary mechanism for the performance-based payments from contributors to Guyana.
The GRIF represented an effort to create an innovative climate finance mechanism which balances national sovereignty over investment priorities while ensuring that REDD+ funds adhere to the Partner Entities’ financial, environmental and social safeguards
“Those projects were reconfigured… we (past PPP/C administration) had left US$17.2 million for telecommunication and the hinterland, and they mishandled those funds, under land management and other mishandlings,” Vice-President Jagdeo lamented during a press briefing on Friday.
TRAVELS ABROAD
Rather than mapping and zoning for hazardous chemicals, Jagdeo said the former administration was using funds to travel abroad.
“They funded tons of trips, so the GRIF will have to be reworked… we would have reached out informally, but we will do so formally and start discussions with Norway,” said the Vice-President.
The first order of business will be to engage Norway on the remaining tranche from the last allocation of US$250M.
Norway in December had announced the release of $393.4 million Norwegian Kroner or G$9.1 billion, its final disbursement to the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund. The fund, administered by the World Bank, is used to finance developmental projects here in Guyana.
Vice-President Jagdeo, however, said that Norway had put the last tranche on hold because of the “lack of democracy”.
With a new government in place and the elections completed, accessing the remaining tranche should be no challenge. And when those funds are acquired, Government will be looking to engage Norway on a new agreement.
Although Guyana is now an oil-producing nation, Jagdeo was pellucid that the country would still focus on its “green sector” and even expand the existing concept.
In June 2009, the then Government of Guyana launched its Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), which aimed to transform Guyana’s economy on to a low-carbon, sustainable development trajectory while simultaneously combating climate change.
The LCDS was geared at protecting and maintaining the forests in an effort to reduce global carbon emissions and at the same time attract payments from developed countries for the climate services that the forests provide to the world.
This strategy was, however, cast aside by the former APNU+AFC administration, which released its “Green State Development Strategy (GSDS).”
A SHAM
“The green state strategy was a sham… they farmed it out to the international consultants, so it was not grounded in the Guyanese reality and could not solve our problems,” said Vice-President, Jagdeo in a past report.
At Friday’s press briefing, the Vice-President reiterated the relevance of the LCDS, noting: “this strategy will be expanded to cover the sale of biodiversity services; biodiversity management; and management of water resources… those are important parts of where we want to expand the LCDS into new frontiers.”
Jagdeo promised that actual work will be done under the LCDS, unlike what obtained with the GSDS. No project was implemented under the GSDS other than the planting of trees, said the Vice-President.
He criticised the past administration for “failing” to implement any substantial project and for casting aside the Amaila Falls Hydro Project, among other ‘green’ projects.
The Guyana Chronicle had reported that the Amaila Falls Hydro Project, which is being re-examined by the new government, is expected to cost just under US$1 billion and will be able to generate 165 megawatts of stable and reliable electricity for 11 solid months of the year, with the additional month during the dry season being used for scheduled maintenance.
The last time this newspaper checked, the project is still bankable, meaning that the financiers are still open to the idea of funding the project and all the technical studies are still relevant. Therefore, the restart timeline is expected to be much shorter than it was before 2015.
