More Guyanese should speak out against Govt.’s mismanagement of country – Former EPA Head

Jan 10, 2023 News

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Kaieteur News – As Guyana continues its accelerated agenda in the oil and gas industry, Petroleum Engineer and former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams has pointed out the need for more Guyanese to add their voices to the call for better management practices.

In a recent interview with this publication, Dr. Adams reasoned that while the political opposition has been vocal on accountability issues in the oil sector and other industries, it is more important for members of civil society to also speak out.  “I would absolutely ask for more people to do so. A lot of times when it comes from the Politicians it appears as if it is political and that is why with the other folks in the Civil society it can carry more weight because it doesn’t come across as political but the fact is that people are scared and intimidated to say anything even though they know it’s a wrong being conducted against them and their families.”

He said that there is a fear that retribution will follow if people start to speak out for the good of the country, not only in the public sector but even those employed by private organizations.  “I empathize with some of the people who don’t wanna speak out but in the back ground they know what is being done against the people of Guyana it’s wrong but in Guyana people believe they cannot speak up or else there will be retribution whether you work for the government or even the private sector. It’s such a small community that everybody is dependent on the Ministers and who runs the Government so anybody who sticks their head out, they are putting themselves and their families livelihoods in danger,” he explained.

While this may be the present state of affairs, the Petroleum Engineer warned that it is critical for Guyanese to stand up now, as the oil and gas sector can affect thousands of livelihoods in years to come.  He warned, “This is a serious matter because ExxonMobil and the others (oil companies) might be here for about 25 years and when they are gone what will be the legacy? What will the population inherit? Half of the population according to a census I saw, shows that about 48 percent of the people is 26 or below so think about it 25 years or 30 years from now they will all be in their 50s plus the new generation to come, what are they going to inherit?”

According to Dr. Adams, the offshore activities have the potential to make the entire ocean contaminated, meaning there will be no fishing and drinking water will be unsafe among others.  To this end, he is urging more locals to start holding Government accountable. The role of civil society has always been recognized as a key ingredient to ensuring good governance. In fact, civil society has a vital role to play, not only in terms of influencing policies and programmes but also in holding Government and politicians accountable to the tenets of good governance and the rule of law. This society in Guyana, a small umbrella of the population, has been successful in the past at reversing illegal decisions in the industry and ensuring the law is adhered to.

For instance, only recently a group of citizens took the Government to Court over a decision made by a public entity to grant an exemption for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for a hazardous waste facility in a densely populated area. The decision was overruled in the Court and the construction of the facility was ordered to stop. In addition, Dr. Troy Thomas had taken Government to Court to reduce ExxonMobil’s environmental permit from the 20 plus years to five- the correct time as prescribed by law. Kaieteur News Publisher, Mr. Glenn Lall is also presently awaiting a Court ruling, after taking the Government and Exxon to Court over the lopsided tax provisions in the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA).  According to Lall, the agreement between the oil company and the Government grants exemptions to persons other than licensees, which violate the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act, the Financial Administration (and Audit) Act and the Constitution. Lall’s application raises several contentions for the court’s consideration including whether the agreement between the Government of Guyana and ExxonMobil are subject to the principles of private law or public law, whether the acts of the Minister of Natural Resources and certain sub-articles of the Petroleum Agreement were ultra vires, and in breach of sections 10 and 51 of the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act (PEPA), sub-sections 1A and 1B of section 6 of the Financial Administration (and Audit) FAA, and whether upon its proper interpretation the PEPA permits the payment of taxes due on behalf of licensees.

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