The names of persons selected to make up the interim civic component of the tri-partite mechanism intended to manage the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) are to be announced by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Guyana Policy Forum has said.
The forum said in a press release that it had submitted its list and expected those names to be revealed by the ministry, long with those from the government and industry sectors of the tri-partite committee.
The forum said that in its invitation from the Ministry of Natural Resources it was asked to identify seven civic members for the tri-partite committee, while the industry and government sectors would have five each, though the ministry was still to confirm those numbers. It noted that the tri-partite committee has been in the process of formation since last November.
Meanwhile, the forum said that along with the seven selected members of the civic component, five alternates will attend and have a voice but not a vote at EITI meetings. The individuals selected were deemed collectively to possess the range of skills, qualities and experience to contribute to establishing the EITI in Guyana.
The release noted that the EITI presents a unique governance challenge in assigning equal power to all three component parts of the tri-partite committee, replacing the arrangement in which the government traditionally always had the last say in multi-sectoral committees. In the context of Guyana, where governance mechanisms are rudimentary and polarized, success with the new formula in the EITI context opens possibilities for its wider application.
It noted too that achieving adequate and balanced representation of the entire civic sector comprising community-based, cultural, disabilities, indigenous, professional, religious, trade unions, women, youth, etcetera is a major undertaking.
The release said the Guyana Policy Forum, recognising the need for care, adopted a two-stage exercise. Its interim component comprises individuals charged with developing democratic and financial probity criteria and following determination of the criteria and a period in which organisations desirous of serving in the tri-partite committee would have had an opportunity, if needed, to get themselves in order, a substantive civic team will be formed.
It noted that civic bodies responsible for managing a process demanding transparency from industrial and state bodies active in the extractive industries must themselves be compliant with minimum democratic and financial standards.
Guyana Policy Forum
Along with endorsing the civic list, the forum said, it selected an interim chair and a three-person Steering Committee at a meeting held at the Guyana Human Rights Centre, where representatives of 17 members of the forum were present. The interim selected executive will remain in place until such time as the Guyana Policy Forum develops a formalized management structure of its own. In addition, for the interim period the forum will be administered through the offices of the GHRA in the Guyana Human Rights Centre.
Meantime, the release said the meeting reviewed its work in the two thematic areas over the six months of its existence: national preparation for COP21 and promoting the EITI process.
Following the review, it was decided that the forum will act as an advocacy network supporting, at the request of member organisations, issues which require national attention. It was agreed, the release said, that the constructive relations developed with the Ministry of Natural Resources reinforced the importance of constructive inter-sectoral cooperation and the productive engagement between the forum and a recent visiting Norwegian delegation was a formula which should be explored for wider application.
The release it was noted too that communicating with ordinary members of organisations and with the public at large is a constant challenge which the forum needs to address. This problem is aggravated by the extent to which political issues are obscured (and dominated) by technical language and the use of multiple acronyms. It was stated too that engaging the attention of the media in an era in which the terms ‘news’ and ‘sensational’ are seen as virtually identical, is an additional challenge.
