When oil and gas revenue becomes available in the next five or six years there will be a long list of priorities to address including matters like public service wages currently facing the government. There are other areas that require scaled up spending almost immediately because of the heightened activity that will precede the development of wells, extraction etc. The government must be alive to this and avoid wasteful and unnecessary spending as was the case with this year’s Jubilee celebrations.
In the coming years there will likely be significantly expanded traffic on the high seas and in the rivers of the northwest and along the Essequibo Coast. There would be a great need for the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) and the Coast Guard to have much more resources to monitor activities and maintain order and control.
In the case of MARAD, the need is immediate. Lawlessness on the rivers continue to claims lives unabated and without any apparent plan in place. After a hit and run, two children drowned last week in the Aruka River in a most gut-wrenching family tragedy. One child had to watch helplessly as siblings disappeared into the treacherous waters and his badly injured mother had to be helped to safety. A jungle on the waters. Not long after, there was another collision in the Pomeroon River which killed a man. These were just the latest of a series this year.
MARAD and the Ministry of Public Infrastructure will get few marks for simply handing out life jackets and delivering pep talks to river users. The anarchy that has pervaded terra firma for so long has already commandeered the rivers. There is disregard for normative rules for navigating the river, worsened by reckless and unskilled piloting, navigators under the influence of alcohol, craft without illumination and not river worthy and the savagery of the hit and run. MARAD needs to have boats patrolling these rivers and enforcing law and order. As is the case on the roads, too many people are losing their lives on the rivers while going about their daily activities. In addition to patrols there must be rigorous investigations of accidents on the river and swift prosecution of those who are culpable. Often, the victims of these river crimes lament that the authorities show little interest in these investigations and repeated complaints and checks have to be made. This must not continue and MARAD should play a significant role in ensuring that all of the requisite facilities are made available to the police for swift investigation and prosecution where warranted. It should also provide regular reports to the public on the outcome of investigations into collisions on the rivers, particularly fatal ones.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is another of the agencies in desperate need of upgrading and has been in this state from its inception over two decades ago. It needs no restating that the development of even only one oil well will be accompanied by grave risks ranging from the minutest of oil leaks to a full scale well blowout. No self-respecting government can even countenance the development of an oil and gas industry without ensuring a full-fledged EPA in place that has its own petroleum experts, vessels with deep sea capabilities to inspect the area of operations, a full suite of communication and surveillance equipment and, of course, access to resources to mitigate spills or worse.
While this government and its partners have spent a lot of time discussing a Sovereign Wealth Fund and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative to protect revenue streams from oil and gas, there hasn’t been similar attention to vastly and swiftly expanding the capabilities of the EPA in preparation for the next couple of years. This will require a substantial outlay and there should be some reflection of it in the upcoming budget. Where is the plan for the EPA?
The recent forensic examination of the EPA by former Auditor General Anand Goolsarran has found it in a state of severe need and with inadequate human resources even for its present mandate. In his report which was recently released by the Ministry of Finance, Goolsarran found that there had been severe budgetary constraints. For the years 2012 to 14, on average only 61% of the EPA’s request to the government was funded. Goolsarran found that in a brief to the subject Minister dated 8 June 2015, the Agency reported that with only monthly subventions to finance salaries for staff and some essential services, it had to significantly limit its field and operational activities. In addition, the Agency did not have a dedicated regional presence, particularly in Regions 7, 8, 9 and 10 where its services were much needed. Goolsarran said that the management has since signalled that arrangements are now in progress for a more decentralised operation with a presence in Regions 1, 2,6, 7,8,9, 10 and that this is expected to come on stream next year.
Staffing of the EPA was also woefully deficient. Goolsarran found that the then Ministry of Natural Resources had approved a staff structure of only 97, whereas the Agency estimated that 262 officers were needed to properly discharge its mandate. There was a deficiency of 63 officers in the all-important environment management compliance section. The Ministry of the Presidency which has now taken responsibility for the environment must lay out in detail the immediate plans for the EPA.
These are just a few of the areas that will require investment to protect gains from the oil industry. Between now and 2020, the government will face tough decisions on spending considering slumping commodity prices and the apparent lack of confidence in the economy. It must therefore allocate resources prudently and ensure that its priorities are in the right order.
