Had both government and the current opposition acted on the Petroleum Commission Bill when it was sent to a Select Committee in 2018, controversy regarding the sweeping powers of the minister could have been resolved, as a commission responsible for those decisions would have been in place, former Auditor General Anand Goolsarran has said..
He believes that mirroring complaints on the issue of power by the minister would not have continued as it does for the recently proposed Petroleum Activities Bill.
“Our main concern so far about the Bill is the over-concentration of powers in the hands of the minister of Natural Resources. This is notwithstanding that the minister may delegate any of the powers in the administration, supervision and inspection of petroleum operations to a department, agency or government body under its administrative authority. The word “may’’ would suggest that it is not mandatory for the minister to do so. He/she can decide not to delegate any of his/her responsibilities, or if the minister does decide to do so, he/she can be selective in his/her approach,” Goolsarran wrote in his weekly Accountability Watch column, in the Stabroek News.
Further, he reasoned, “It will be recalled that in 2017 the Petroleum Commission Bill was presented in the National Assembly, providing for the establishment of a commission to oversee and manage the oil and gas industry to ensure, among others, compliance with the policies, laws and agreements relating to petroleum operations, including compliance with health, safety and environmental standards as well as local content and participation requirements. The Bill was referred to a Special Select Committee for detailed scrutiny. However, to date, the commission is yet to be established. Had this been done, the responsibilities of the minister would have been considerably reduced, thereby freeing him/her up to focus on policy matters.”
The Petroleum Commission Bill was first presented to the National Assembly in May 2017 and returned for its second reading and debate one month later. It was sent to a Special Select Committee and since then there had been no word on it.
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic, then in opposition, had stoutly criticised it, questioning the powers granted to the minister of Natural Resources. President Irfaan Ali had also been most vocal in his criticism of the Bill as an opposition MP. Objections were raised by the PPP/C, about the lack of independence of the commission, general governance, and its ability to operate in a non-discriminatory and apolitical manner.
“When we examine Section 8 which deals with the power of the minister to give directions to the commission, it is clear that the commission will hardly be able to work without the direction and control of the minister. According to Section 8, the minister is not only allowed to provide policy guidance, but also give direction to the commission regarding, size of the establishment, the employment of staff and the terms and conditions of employment, the provision of equipment and use of funds, reorganisation of such works of development as to involve a substantial outlay on capital account, training, education and research, the disposal of capital assets; the application of the proceeds of such disposals,” Ali had stated.
“Thus, the Minister is literally empowered to dictate inter alia, how many persons an independent commission should employ, what should be the terms and conditions of employment for the staff of the commission, how an independent commission should use its funds etcetera. Based on our review of similar legislation in other countries, we were unable to locate one that bestows comparable powers to the minister. Indeed, based on our review we found that the only power the minister is granted in other countries is the power to provide policy guidance,” he had added.
When Ali became president, the PPP/C promised that a commission would be established, with Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat, Attorney General Anil Nandall and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo all adamant that the party was still intent on seeing it set up.
Bharrat had told Stabroek News, in August 2020, that he hoped that as soon as the 13th Parliament began, the Petroleum Commission Bill would once again be tabled, as his government believed that it was needed for the sector to be insulated from political interference before major decisions for the sector are made.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall had also underlined that the Petroleum Commission Bill was a priority for the government and they would be working to ensure that it was swiftly returned to Parliament.
“While we were in opposition, we had some fundamental conceptual problems where it was felt that there was an overconcentration of power to politicians. As a result we withheld our support on the floor. The minister at the time, Raphael Trotman, expressed some reservations about the Bill and he had asked it to be sent to the Special Select Committee,” Nandlall had said, as he stressed the importance of having a Bill that reflected the best for the people of this country and also the benefits of the establishment of the commission.
Last year, Guyana’s Vice President assured that the Commission would still be set up but he did not commit to a timeframe.
“It is a worrying non-development that we still have no Petroleum Commission, as you can recall, a draft bill was tabled in the 11th parliament [by the APNU+AFC government] and sent to a Special Select Committee – the PPP and members of the public requested this route. Three years on, they have not amended or even presented their draft,” Alliance for Chance (AFC) David Patterson lamented as he called on the government for an update on the progress.
Patterson lamented government’s sloth in forming the commission that will be the main oversight body for the petroleum sector, positing that information is hardly ever forthcoming from the government, until pressured by criticism.
“The oversight of the petroleum sector is now in the sole control of the PPP, and they have not been forthcoming with information. In fact, since coming to power… the country is left to hear about our achievements via public statements by the operator…,” he said, singling out Stabroek Block partner Hess.
On the Petroleum Activities Bill 2023, the opposition said the draft shows that the government continues to take an apathetic approach to establishing a Petroleum Commission. It said that the mandate, powers and functions of the commission should be integrated within the Petroleum Activities Act, similar in pattern to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and the mining sector.
The Bill was released to the public on 20 June 2023 with a 14-day deadline for the receipt of comments. Goolsarran felt that was too short a period for a comprehensive review, considering its importance. Also that the powers given to the minister were too broad and would have been reduced had the commission been in place.
