Having failed to apply to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) by June 2015, Guyana is now aiming to make an application next year.
Under the terms of the Joint Concept Note of Guyana’s forest protection pact with Norway, one of the goals was the execution of an EITI Scoping Study along with the preparation of a fully costed Work Plan by February 2015 and application for EITI candidacy presented to the EITI Board by June 2015. This has not been done. Guyana has lost money under the terms of the agreement for failing to meet similar goals in the past.
Last week, Senior Policy Analyst in the Department of Governance, Natural Resource and the Environment Bobby Gossai told Stabroek News that Guyana is aiming to make an EITI application in 2016. The 2016 application deadline rests on the findings of a scoping study being conducted by Moore Stephens International. Gossai said that the study will provide an assessment of the country’s position in terms of the development of the oil and gas industry.
The EITI is an accountability and anti-corruption mechanism set up in 2002 and membership of the organization will bind Guyana to certain standards in terms of reporting on revenue and other key areas of the sector. It is the global transparency standard for improving governance of natural resources through a global coalition of governments, companies and civil society. Gossai said that Guyana is yet to determine if the application will be for a specific sector or a general application for all sectors. The scoping study, which will be completed by the end of October, will give an understanding of what type of application will be made and the timeline of such an application. It will also give an indication of the nature of Guyana’s extractive industry as it relates to potential investment.
In May 2012, the then Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment and the EITI International Secretariat signed a Memorandum of Understanding to assist Guyana in its preparation for EITI candidacy.
