Mike McCormack and Joy Persaud of the Guyana Policy Forum and Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman were Guyana’s representatives at the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) 7th World Summit in Lima, Peru from February 24 to 25.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Guyana delegation participated in plenary and break-out sessions at the summit and had valuable interactions with several country delegations. In addition, the delegation was able privy to experiences about the application process, and importantly pledges of support for Guyana’s journey towards attaining and sustaining membership in the body, the release said.
The EITI is a global organisation of 51 member countries, which have subscribed to establishing, upholding and promoting the standards and tenets of good governance, transparency and accountability in the management of extractive industries. At its core the EITI promotes the belief that natural resources belong to the people and are to be extracted and managed on behalf of the people; both for current and future generations. Countries, on assuming membership, coordinate their activities through a tripartite Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) that comprises representatives of government, industry and civil society. Guyana is at present finalising the composition of its MSG and making preparations for establishing a fully functioning secretariat to advance the work. In its quest to embrace good governance standards in the regulation of the extractive industries, Guyana has been receiving guidance and support from the EITI’S Norway based secretariat and the Trinidad & Tobago Chapter (TTEITI). Guyana, with an economy heavily based on extractive industries, and soon to become an oil and gas producing nation, propelled the government’s desire in 2015 to give its approval for Guyana’s membership application to be expedited, and to date, two seminars have been convened and a third is scheduled for March 4, the release said.
This seminar, it added, will be conducted in conjunction with the TTEITI and the University of the West Indies. All seminars are aimed at raising awareness amongst stakeholders and streamlining the application process.
