The Government of Guyana yesterday said that it is pleased that the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Board lifted a temporary suspension on Guyana, which it had put in place on February 1, 2023, due to the country’s inability to publish its 2020 EITI Report.
In a statement, the government said that Guyana published the report on June 30 within five months of the six-month deadline.
The Government says it remains confident that all systems will remain in place to ensure that Guyana is not placed in a similar position in the future.
The EITI Board yesterday issued the following decision: “The EITI Board temporarily suspended Guyana on 1 February 2023 for failing to publish its 2020 EITI Report. In accordance with the EITI Standard, it was agreed that the suspension would be lifted if the EITI Board is satisfied that the outstanding EITI Report was published within six months of the deadline. The Secretariat can confirm that Guyana published its 2020 EITI Report on 30 June 2023. Thus, the condition for lifting the suspension has been met”.
On February 22nd this year, Stabroek News reported that Guyana had been suspended from the EITI for failure to submit a report for 2020.
Georgetown was formally advised of the development on February 17th by the Norway-headquartered body but there has been no word from the government about it until the Stabroek News report appeared on February 22nd.
EITI countries commit to disclose information along the extractive industry value chain – from how extraction rights are awarded, to how revenues are channelled through government and how they benefit the public. Through participation in the EITI, more than 50 countries have agreed to a common framework governing what has to be disclosed and when – the EITI Standard. Now that Guyana is an oil producer the Standard is seen to be even more important.
In each country that has joined the EITI, a multi-stakeholder group, comprised of government, companies and civil society, supports implementation of the EITI Standard.
The suspension was seen as a major embarrassment for the PPP/C government which has at times appeared lukewarm to the Initiative.
Turmoil was also sown in the GY-EITI when the government parachuted its former media czar, Dr Prem Misir into GY-EITI in March last year rather than renew the term of Dr Rudy Jadoopat who had been in the position for some years.
Dr Misir and some stakeholders in the GY-EITI have clashed over decisions he has made and this has further inhibited progress on matters that needed to be addressed for the EITI standard.
The 2020 report was due on December 31, 2022 but this deadline passed without it being completed. A subsequent request by Georgetown for an extension of the deadline was denied by EITI as no extenuating circumstances were cited. Guyana had previously sought an extension for the 2019 report and this was agreed as the COVID-19 pandemic had been deemed a legitimate impediment.
In October last year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), while commending Guyana for its progress in strengthening its anti-corruption framework and fiscal transparency in the extractive industries, had urged government to more closely follow up on the recommendations of the EITI.
