The Office of Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo has defended the process for the awarding of Guyana’s carbon credits and questioned the motives of the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) in lodging a complaint that could lead to a delay in disbursements.
The APA has complained to the Winrock Architecture for REDD+ Transaction Secretariat (ART), the certifying body for Guyana’s carbon credits programme, alleging the lack of adequate consultations among other defects.
A lengthy rebuttal issued on Saturday by Jagdeo’s office may reflect anxiety that the APA complaint could interrupt what had been hailed as a historic US$750m deal between Guyana and the American oil company, Hess, one of the partners of Exxon in the lucrative offshore Stabroek Block.