By Lakhram Bhagirat
Amid continuing questions about the relationship between Dr Prem Misir and the PPP/C government, Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat yesterday defended his choice for a crucial natural resource transparency body with the argument that everyone deserves to be employed.
Bharrat’s statement appears to be a shift from the contention that the former National Co-ordinator of the Guyana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GYEITI), Dr Rudy Jadoopat had gotten the position because of his alleged affiliation with the Alliance For Chance (AFC). Both the AFC and Dr Jadoopat had denied that he was a member of the party.
Dr Misir has had close ties with former PPP/C governments and headed their state information agency. He also worked in the Office of the President under former President Bharrat Jagdeo and was seen as a key propagandist for the then government. In addition, he does not have qualifications that would make him better suited to the position than Dr Jadoopat, who had been in the post for five years.
Following the announcement of Dr Jadoopat’s replacement in February this year, Bharrat had said that the process was a transparent one and that Dr Misir was the number one candidate.
He had also argued that Dr Jadoopat was an executive member of the USA chapter of the party and was handpicked for the job back in 2017 as a form of repayment.
“That position, initially in the first place, was never advertised, never went through an open process. He was just selected and placed there in the first place. They did that with EPA Dr (Vincent) Adams and many other positions where they had political appointees in these key positions. We went through the process and Dr Misir is the number one candidate so we are not replacing him with someone who is not competent and cannot do the job,” Bharrat had said.
Yesterday, on the sidelines of an event, Stabroek News questioned Bharrat about Misir’s perceived association with the PPP/C government and in what seemed like backtracking on his position, the minister said that everyone deserves to be employed.
“You looked at his qualification, so you are saying that a person who is presumed to be close to the PPP even though qualified should not be employed?” he questioned.
When asked about his lack of experience in the extractive sectors, Bharrat said “EITI is not about oil and gas alone.”
“I am saying that the process [to hire Dr Misir] was a fair process, it was a public process, there was an interview process, the man is qualified and the panel ranked him the number one candidate. Whether he is affiliated to any political party or whatever the case, we are a small country (and) everyone has a right to be employed once you are qualified,” Bharrat said in contrast to his comments about Jadoopat.
Jadoopat is maintaining that his firing stems from his refusal to be directed by the Minister. He told Stabroek News that GYEITI is supposed to be an independent body but since assuming office Bharrat had been requiring every public missive or public engagement to be approved by him.
The government has been accused of attempting to staff the GYEITI Secretariat with its associates to avoid scrutiny. Misir has long been linked to the PPP. He was most recently the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Fiji and resigned in 2018 following disputes with some staff there. Five of the workers at the University of Fiji, according to the Fiji Sun, had complained to immigration authorities there resulting in Misir’s work permit being delayed. He was forced to seek the Prime Minister’s intervention to secure a work permit.
Never served
Dr Jadoopat had been at the helm of the EITI Secretariat since its establishment in 2017 and has accumulated knowledge of the extractive industries initiative. He has a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree in Economics, specialising in International Economic Relations, from Moscow State University, and a Master of Science (M.Sc.) Degree in Econo-mics, from the University of Guyana.
Dr Misir, according to public records, has never served in the extractive industry but rather is an expert in public health. According to the Ministry, Dr Misir has a Bachelor of Social Science degree (B.S.Sc. Honours) in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Queens University Belfast, a postgraduate research masters (MPhil) from the Univer-sity of Surrey in Social and Behavioral Sciences, and a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Manchester in Medical and Human Sciences. It further noted that he is a fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health, has a PhD with commendation in Social and Behavioral Sciences from the University of Hull, and is also certified by Harvard University in Improving Global Health: Focusing on Quality and Safety.
According to the GYEITI Secretariat, Dr Misir took up his post on March 7.
Since the announcement of his appointment was made, several persons and organisations have voiced concerns about the process and Dr Misir’s close affiliation with the People’s Progressive Party (PPP)/Civic government.
Non-governmental organisation, Policy Forum Guyana, which has representatives on the Multi-Stakeholder Group recently questioned Dr Misir’s appointment describing him as someone who “is not known to have competencies in business, economics, finance or the extractive sector.”
Yesterday, Stabroek News spoke with Vanda Radzik, who is the co-chair of the Multi Stakeholder Group (MSG) Civil Society grouping. She said the Policy Forum statement and subsequent follow-up statements by the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) are public knowledge but declined to provide any additional information on the MSG’s position.
She added that the MSG was supposed to meet last week but one of the co-chairs had a family emergency and the meeting was postponed to next Wednesday. At that meeting, it is expected that the issue would be raised.
The Multi-Stakeholder Group, comprising of representatives from the extractive industries, government and civil society, is the decision making body of the GYEITI.
“MSG as a group has not issued any statement on the matter of Dr Misir’s appointment and we have not yet discussed the National Coordinator’s appointment. For now, the Policy Forum statement on the matter and follow-ups by the GHRA and others are a matter of public knowledge,” Radzik said.
Meanwhile, another MSG member, who requested anonymity, told Stabroek News that several other members have registered their concerns about the direction in which the current government is steering the GYEITI.
“It is really sad for us to lose Dr Jadoopat at this time when his leadership is needed. We intend to raise serious objections to his replacement since we are aware that he (Dr Misir) has no background in the industry. They are saying that he was the better candidate but how can he be the better candidate when he has no knowledge?” the MSG member questioned.
