Civil society group Article 13 today expressed deep concern over the government’s replacement of Dr Rudy Jadoopat at the natural resources transparency body with Dr Prem Misir.
In a statement, Article 13 called on the Civil Society representatives of the Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) which oversees the work of the Guyana-Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GY-EITI) secretariat, to “reconsider their participation in the MSG as offering legitimacy to a compromised organisation”.
Two weeks ago, following a statement by the Alliance For Change (AFC), the government confirmed that Misir was replacing Jadoopat and said that it had been as a result of a transparent hiring process. It also went on to accuse Jadoopat, who had been at GY-EITI for five years, of being a member of the AFC.
While Article 13 said it agrees that all contracts of employment must follow processes, it said that there is nothing in the public domain to suggest that Jadoopat had not delivered under his contract. In fact, the opposite seems to be the case, it contended.
“GY-EITI has published all the Annual Reports required for the years 2017 – 2020 and the preparation of the report for 2021 is in progress. We understand that GY-EITI has completed the 1st and 2nd EITI Reconciliation Reports but that the 3rd Report has been delayed as a consequence of government’s inaction. In seeking to justify the replacement of Jadoopat with Misir, the Ministry of Natural Resources has raised the issue of Jadoopat’s relationship with the Alliance for Change (AFC), raising the suggestion that Jadoopat served as an executive member of the AFC, a claim denied by both the AFC and Jadoopat. Article 13 is deeply concerned that the Government gives itself the right to terminate the contract of employment of persons who have any association, perceived or real, with an opposition political party. The resonance with the days of the Party Card is frightening and completely unacceptable”, the group said.
It added that the Ministry does not seem to apprehend the irony in offering Jadoopat’s association with an opposition political party as a reason for the termination of his employment while endorsing the recruitment of Misir, a long-time supporter of the ruling party.
“It is a matter of public knowledge that Misir has for decades served the PPP/C while they were in government and was publicly identified with the banning of ads for the Stabroek News, in breach of several provisions of the Constitution of Guyana. Article 13 fears that by replacing Jadoopat with Misir, the integrity of the work of GY-EITI will be compromised and that Guyana and its people will be the loser internationally, among international investors and multilateral institutions”, Article 13 said.
Article 13 noted that GY-EITI sets the recognised standard for accountability and openness as it relates to the proceeds from the extraction of all natural resources and in the context of Guyana, where the extractive sector is fast assuming a position of dominance in the economy, meeting those
standards is vitally important.
