–says Jadoopat, who was unilaterally appointed by APNU+AFC, was never terminated as GYEITI head

THE services of Dr Rudy Jadoopat, former Head of the Guyana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GYEITI), were never terminated by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government.

As a matter of fact, when his contract ended in January 2021, his services were still retained for more than a year, and he will continue to function in the portfolio until the end of this month.

This is according to Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat, who was keen on clarifying the misinformation being peddled by the Alliance For Change (AFC) – the second largest party in the Coalition opposition.

The AFC in a press statement issued on Saturday, accused the government of practising “kleptocracy” by terminating Jadoopat’s contract as National Coordinator of the GYEITI.

In responding to the AFC’s criticism, Minister Bharrat stated that when the GYEITI was launched in 2017, the position for a Coordinator was never publicly announced or advertised. On the contrary, Dr Jadoopat, an executive member of the AFC, was unilaterally appointed by then minister Raphael Trotman, former Leader of the AFC.

“…with no obvious experience in the extractive sectors. There was no open process…he was given the position because of party affiliation. He was an executive member of the AFC; he would’ve [sic] campaigned and raised funds for them…hosted meetings for [Moses] Nagamootoo and others in New York,” Minister Bharrat noted.

Given the method of appointment, Minister Bharrat said that Jadoopat was well aware that once his contract came to an end, the government would be properly advertising the position, for which he was “welcomed to apply.”

A public notice of the vacancy for a National Coordinator of the GYEITI was advertised during the latter half of last year, attracting some nine applicants. “He even applied and was interviewed for the position,” Minister Bharrat said.

Once the process was completed, Dr Prem Misir was deemed a better fit for the portfolio. “He is a professional, not a politician,” Bharrat asserted.

Misir, PhD, has held many reputable positions throughout his career, including that of Former Pro-Chancellor of the University of Guyana; former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Fiji; Former Pro Vice-Chancellor, Solomon Islands Campus and Professor and Head of the School of Public Health, at the University of the South Pacific.

“If we wanted to get rid of Dr Jadoopat and if the PPP was [sic] not interested in transparency and the EITI, we could have sent him home since last year January,” Minister Bharrat argued.

He explained that instead, Jadoopat was given a short-term contract, pending execution of a fair and proper recruitment process.
“He was on the job all the time, just so that he can enjoy all his benefits. We did not terminate his contract or dismiss him as they [the AFC members] are stating,”

Minister Bharrat in his response also indicated that unilateral and political appointments to key positions within various ministries and public agencies dominated the employment practices of the former A Partnership for National Unity +AFC government.

“…Just like [sic] they did with the Compliance Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and others…they all did the same things,” Minister Bharrat posited.

The EITI is a global standard that promotes transparency and accountability in the oil, gas and mining sectors. Being a signatory of EITI sends a clear message to the international community that implementing countries such as Guyana are committed to better transparency and accountability.

Although the APNU+AFC has been credited with launching the EITI, work to align with the global body was started by the PPP/C in 2010.

On May 15, 2012, Guyana’s commitment to implement the EITI was followed by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI),” according to the GYEITI website.

The launch of the GYEITI led to the creation of a Multi-Stakeholder Group which comprised 12 members, including representatives of civil society, industry and government.