The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be restructured and will take on more of an enforcement role, Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman says.
Trotman told the Government Information Agency (GINA) that the EPA in the past did not have the power to enforce regulations. He said that the agency will be restructured this year to offer a better service and improve its efficiency.
Officers of the EPA will be trained to become “enforcers” and those from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission will benefit from training in compliance and monitoring at the Mining School, GINA reported. The report said that this mandate will be boosted with the presence of junior Natural Resources Minister Simona Broomes. She has been tasked with dealing with matters of compliance and enforcement, Trotman said.
“A new division is going to be created in the Ministry and Ms Broomes will be responsible for the creation and functioning of that division,” Trotman was quoted as saying.
According to GINA, the Ministry of Natural Resources is aiming to have all stakeholders in the sector, operate within the laws and in a sustainable manner.
