Minister of State Joseph Harmon has assumed responsibility for the National Parks Commission while the Guyana Forestry Com-mission (GFC) remains under the purview of the Ministry of Natural Resources.
A December 14, 2016 extraordinary gazette noted that Harmon’s duties and responsibilities had been amended. How-ever, the duties and responsibilities listed are the same as those enumerated in the January 18, 2016 gazette.
-Harmon misspoke
Asked on Tuesday evening to clarify the issue, Harmon told Stabroek News that the GFC was one of the agencies that had been added to his portfolio.
However a statement from the Ministry of the Presidency on Wednesday noted that the Minister’s statement was incorrect. According to the statement it was the National Parks Commission which was inadvertently omitted from the list of agencies under the Department of Environment in the December 14, 2016 Extraordinary Gazette.
It further noted that the Department of Environment, for which Minister Harmon holds responsibility, is tasked with overseeing the activities of environmental compliance and management, protected areas development and management, national parks management and wildlife conservation and protection. It is directly responsible for ensuring coordination of the work of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Protected Areas Commission, the National Parks Commission and the Wildlife Division.
Harmon’s other responsibilities include Cabinet matters, Defence and Territorial Integrity, Civil Defence, Land Titling, Bauxite Development Policy, Organisation and Administration of the Public Service, Public Service Personnel Management, Public Service Training, Scholar-ships, Gaming Authority, Citizenship issues, registrar of births and deaths and climate change.
In terms of ministries and departments, Harmon is responsible for the Ministry of the Presidency, Cabinet Office, Department of Defence, Guyana Defence Force, Joint Intelligence Coordinating Centre, Central Intelligence Committee, Regional Intelligence Commit-tees, Civil Defence Commission, Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission and Lands Registry, Department of the Public Service, Personnel Division, Training Division, Department of Citizenship, Registration, Immigration and Naturalisation, General Registrar’s Office, Advisory Body on Sciences and Technology and the Institute of Applied Science and Techno-logy.
