Inconsistent data including on exports continues to be an issue here and Guyana’s first Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) report found that government agencies’ records on exports were different from one another as well as when compared to companies’ records.
The EITI report was completed by the Independent Administrator – BDO LLP – and submitted to the Guyana-EITI (GYEITI) National Secretariat on Thursday. The report is required to enable full membership of the global transparency watchdog, EITI.
The report, which featured a host of recommendations for the extractive industries, when speaking about the accuracy of export data, pointed out that EITI requirement 3.3 refers to the disclosure of export data for the fiscal year covered by the EITI report (Year 2017), including total export volumes and the value of exports by commodity, and when relevant, by state or region of origin.
“We note that Government Agencies’ records on exports were different from one another as well as from the companies’ records. We understand that the GGMC (Guyana Geology and Mines Commission) and GGB (Guyana Gold Board) do not systematically crosscheck exports data (with) GRA’s (Guyana Revenue Authority) records to identify the potential discrepancies,” the report said.