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Attractive salaries for oil ‘watchdogs’ must not be overlooked – says University of Houston Instructor
By Kiana Wilburg
As Guyana embarks on the development of its oil resources, proper compensation for the guardians of the new found wealth must not be overlooked. Making this comment during a recent interview with Kaieteur News was University of Houston Instructor, Tom Mitro.
University of Houston Instructor, Tom Mitro
The official who has over 30 years experience in the oil sector stressed that the key agencies which have to regulate the oil sector have the crucial task of keeping corruption at bay.
“Therefore, the importance of paying competitive compensation to key government agencies involved with oversight should not be overlooked; it serves as a means of not only attracting and retaining the most qualified people but as a means of minimising incentives for corruption,” the official said.
He further noted that while this is being pursued, the government should not lose sight of other important mechanisms, which keep corruption out of the oil sector such as the public disclosure of payments, agreements, development plans, audits, and general government finances.
Mitro commented that carrying out all of these actions will not be easy for any government, but developing a credible plan to do so is important to gain confidence.
One of the agencies which has a critical role to play in monitoring the oil sector is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
When its current head, Dr. Vincent Adams, was appointed in the first week of October 2018, he had done an assessment of the agency, subsequently informing this news agency that there is a dire need for resources to get it to where it needs to be.
In fact, Dr. Adams had revealed that the agency’s over $600M budget for 2019, did not cater for preparations for the oil sector. What is even more troubling is the fact that the agency, by Dr. Adams’ own admission, is not even funded to carry out some of its fundamental tasks.
To date, it still struggles to attract and keep professionals due to the poor salaries and absence of a pension plan. This was also noted by Chartered Accountant and former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran in a forensic audit report that was conducted on the EPA. In that document, he noted that the EPA is severely understaffed and needs about 160 professionals. This is still to be achieved.
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