Latest update April 7th, 2025 6:08 AM
A Conflict of Interest to have EPA and Natural Resources within the same Ministry- Harmon
Attorney at Law and A Partnership of National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament (MP), Joe Harmon, has expressed the fact that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) has embedded within it, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a conflict of interest.
Member of Parliament Joe Harmon
According to Harmon, the MNRE headed by Minister Robert Persaud has the power to implement measures that would be counterproductive to the protection of the environment and be unopposed since it has influence over the EPA.
Harmon said that the conflict comes when you have two bodies that are meant to counter balance each other being headed under one Ministry.
He offered the Low Carbon Development Strategy LCDS as an example where nothing is being done or heard of LCDS in Guyana since it was championed by Bharrat Jagdeo, while there is now an influx of MOUs and agreements dealing with exploiting extractive and agricultural resources.
LCDS seems to be abandoned; and he questioned if the government is no longer concerned about reducing green house gas emissions.
Harmon said that the amount of money that the administration can pilfer from the mining and extractive industries exceeds what can be made from LCDS, hence the reason why nothing is being heard about LCDS anymore and why silent contracts and MOU’s that are being done with these Indian and Chinese companies.
Harmon said that had the EPA been an autonomous body that was headed by another Minister then the likelihood would have been that the Ministry of Natural Resources whose functionality deals with increasing production in the extractive industry would be flagged when it reached a point where it infringed on the protection of the environment.
However since both are intermingled within one Ministry, it is clear that one would be suppressed subjectively to suit the other said Harmon.
This is also evidenced in the revelations that emanated from the EPA’s report that was mentioned about staffing issues where EPA staffers’ positions were being usurped by the MNRE. According to Harmon the EPA does not have the capacity to work and is being devoid of its resources so that the Natural Resources Ministry can be “bumped up.”
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Robert Persaud, in addressing that issue released a statement that established among other things that “the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment has recognized that there is an increasing demand for services of the EPA and that it has been somewhat lacking in capacity to effectively achieve its mandate…for that reason, MNRE has since engaged with the EPA and an international consultant to draft proposal to investigate means to strengthen the EPA, improve cost recovery mechanisms and improve staff retention.”
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