Natural Resources estimates make it through uncut

Apr 26, 2013 News

– Tax mulled for styrofoam boxes, more animals for zoo

Government is planning to collaborate with local wildlife workers and zoos from other countries to increase the number of animals in the local facility at Vlissengen Road.
These disclosures were made Wednesday by Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment (MNRE), Robert Persaud, as the National Assembly passed that Ministry’s $662M budget.

Government says it will be using an exchange programme to increase the number of animals in the Zoo.

The Ministry, which was created under the Donald Ramotar administration following the 2011 elections, has oversight over forestry, mining, oil exploration, the environment and land management.
The Lands and Surveys Commission will be getting a subvention of $107M; Environmental Protection Agency $191M; National Parks Commission $165M and the newly established Protected Areas Commission $42M.
Grilled about the allocations to the agencies under the Ministry, Persaud disclosed that a wider plan is currently being developed to transform the Botanical Gardens into a more user-friendly park. Contact has already been made with zoos in Asia and US for even a possible animal exchange programme. And no monies are likely to be spent this year to procure these, he said.
The Minister, also questioned over allocations made for security to his new offices located at the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), said that this (security) was handled by Presidential Guards at the Office of the President when the Ministry was temporarily being housed there.
It has since moved across to a new building in the compound of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Brickdam, where separate security arrangements have to be made, in addition to police and private personnel. The GGMC compound also houses the headquarters for the Guyana Gold Board.
There have been questions over the Ministry being housed there. The Minister assured that GGMC workers are also being accommodated in the new building.
He said that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), another agency under the Ministry, has expanded its capacity to monitor routine water testing and issuing sanctions.
Regarding the issue of styrofoam boxes, Persaud said the administration is considering proposals of making it uncompetitive to import them, thus encouraging the use of local products. These items have been blamed for blocking canals and causing back-ups in critical waterways, leading to floods. The management of solid waste and recycling is also being actively tackled.
Regarding the extractive industry, there are moves to build capacity to allow Guyana to monitor the growing oil exploration sector on the seas. Issues like training and a mining school are also being tackled.
Regarding the Lands and Surveys Commission, more monies are being set aside to improve the efficiency of this critical management service. Soon, a business development unit is set to come into being that will focus on making the Commission self-sufficient.
Minister Persaud admitted that while the financial reports of the Lands and Surveys Commission are not fully up-to-date, efforts are being made to rectify this and soon these will be presented to the National Assembly.
The Ministry is also in charge of the National Park, Kaieteur National Park and a number of other protected areas, including Shell Beach and other designated areas.