Absent National Coordinator stymied work of Guyana EITI

Feb 27, 2023 News

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– Civil society reps set record straight on Guyana’s suspension, missed deadline

Kaieteur News – Amid the furor over Guyana being suspended from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) over its failure to submit its 2020 report, the two representatives from the Civic component of the Multi-Stakeholder Group on Sunday sough to set the record straight concerning the matter as government officials including President Irfaan Ali, had blamed them for this.

Among the issues raised by the pair were the disappearance from Office of the National Coordinator, Dr Prem Misir and him asking the Multi-Stakeholder Group to rubber stamp a request for a retroactive approval of Terms of Reference (TOR) for the 4th Annual Report which he had produced.

The MSG had unanimously declined to approve this request on the grounds that “the content of the TOR was seriously defective and that its submission to the Ministry by the NC without the benefit of an MSG review, input and approval was a serious violation of the EITI Standard. The Standard vests all authority pertaining to both content and process of the TOR in the MSG,” the two civil society representatives, Vanda Radzik and Mike McCormack detailed in their letter.

Questions were raised about Misir’s fitness for the post when he was appointed last year and the allegations by the MSG would add further pressure on government to review its decision. Last week it was disclosed that Guyana was suspended from the global body and President Ali vowed to expose and hold accountable, those individuals who are responsible for the country’s temporary suspension from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

A subsequent press release from the Ministry of Natural Resources sought to blame Radzik and McCormack. The Head of State had said his government is committed to upholding the tenets of transparency and accountability, adding that no effort will be spared to bring the country in line with its reporting requirements.

Guyana was reportedly suspended after it failed to submit a report documenting revenues received by the state from the extractive sector for the period 2020. EITI on its website said that Guyana is not eligible for an extension of the reporting deadline for fiscal year January 2020-December 2020. It said too that the deadline for the publication of the outstanding report remains December 31, 2022.

Ali in his address stated that the country has an extension for submission in May 2023 from the EITI Secretariat. He pledged that this would be met. The Head of State also shared his understanding of the root cause for the suspension. Ali said, “I have made it clear that it is unacceptable to have a delay in the submission of the report. Notwithstanding, the fact that an extension was given by the EITI secretariat for it to be completed by May this year, we still should have been in a position to have the report submitted.”

Aside from the fact that all reporting countries were given an extension in 2019 as a result of the pandemic, and in Guyana’s case, extensive floods that obstructed data collection, Ali said he will not tolerate delays in the presentation and submission of the nation’s report.

Further to this understanding of the reasons for delay and subsequent suspension, Ali said an independent administrator was hired to work on the report but the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the consultant was held up by the Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) which consists of members of civil society, government representatives, and industry players. He said the MSG’s approval was held up for four months. The President said, “This begs the question whether there are persons in that group with ulterior motives. It was only after four months that we were able to have the Terms of Reference agreed upon with two persons abstaining. It is unacceptable to put a country’s reporting framework at stake, to try to damage the government’s credibility is not being a good citizen.”

Be that as it may, he added, “I am pleased to say this has been sorted and the work on completing the report will be done expeditiously, long in advance of the extended period that was approved by the EITI Secretariat. Ali said the irresponsibility displayed in missing the deadline is unacceptable and would not reoccur. He said, “Persons will be exposed and held accountable.”

Meanwhile, in an open letter to President Ali, Radzik and McCormack said judging from the opinions attributed to him in the press concerning developments in the GYEITI), it seems that he was badly advised both about the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) rules and procedures for producing Terms of Reference (TOR) for the EITI Report and also about what prompted “our vote to abstain on the TOR at the MSG meeting of February 22nd 2023.”

The representatives noted that the Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) is comprised of three actors: Civil Society, Industry (extractive industry companies) and Government, with each sector selecting its own members. The MSG, by its own decision, operates on a voluntary basis. The MSG always seeks consensus in decision-making and has resorted to a vote only on two occasions in seven years.

Setting the record straight
“For the benefit of yourself and for the larger civic community we represent on the GYEITI-MSG, we outline in summary below the more salient factors surrounding the current situation. We also encourage anyone wishing to understand the EITI in greater detail to consult the EITI Standard 2019 to be found on the EITI website www.eiti.org,” Radzik and McCormack stated.

They informed that in August 2022 at MSG Statutory Meeting a request was received from the National Coordinator (NC) for its retro-active approval of Terms of Reference (TOR) for the 4th Annual Report which the NC himself had produced. The MSG unanimously declined to approve this request on the grounds that the content of the TOR was seriously defective and that its submission to the Ministry by the NC without the benefit of an MSG review, input and approval was a serious violation of the EITI Standard. The Standard vests all authority pertaining to both content and process of the TOR in the MSG, the pair detailed.

“It should be noted that the issue of the Annual Report was only the latest example of the allegedly deficient performance of the NC. Details of such defects are documented elsewhere and noted in the Minutes of MSG meetings which are part of the public record,” the duo wrote. They added, later in August it was discovered that the NC had disappeared from office without informing or seeking permission from the MSG which eventually became a four months absence from office.

“During the months of the NC’s absence the MSG worked assiduously with the Permanent Secretary to address both the crisis in the Secretariat and the need to produce a valid TOR. Consequently, in November two senior civil servants were seconded to the NS from the MNR and a work-plan for production of the TOR for the Report was set in motion,” Radzik and McCormack noted.

The pair informed that arrangement by the MNR and MSG approval of the two senior staff positions breathed new life into GYEITI and the NS became productive for the first time since the appointment of the NC in early 2022 and began to work assiduously to produce a revised TOR. “In view of this satisfactory development, the 58th Meeting in December 2022 of the MSG Statutory Body recorded the following decision: “The MSG concluded that it was no longer necessary for the Co-Chairs to engage with the National Coordinator since the PS had reported at a Co- Chairs meeting that the post of National Coordinator had been vacated.”

“At that meeting the proposal to conduct a Performance Evaluation of the NC was agreed to by the MSG-Civic on the condition that it be undertaken expeditiously and this process was set in motion. Without notice or explanation, the NC re-appeared and presented himself at the January 2023 (59th) MSG meeting,” the pair detailed. According to them the Minister of Natural Resources informed the same January Meeting that he had begun to negotiate directly with the EITI International Secretariat to secure an extension of the deadline for the 4th. Annual Report and requested MSG support for this action. However, the MSG only received a copy of said letter after it had been sent. The EITI Standard clearly states that any request for extension “must be made in advance of the deadline and be endorsed by the Multi-Stakeholder Group” (Art.7)

The two representatives said that in late January MSG-Civic wrote to the Minister of MNR informing him that MSG-Civic actions would continue to be guided by the December MSG decision, referred to above. “The MSG-Civic has conducted its Performance Evaluation of the NC and is participating in the ongoing process. MSG-Civic vote to abstain on the TOR issue was consistent with the position communicated to the Minister,” Radzik and McComack noted.

On 28 April 2022, Guyana was also found to have achieved a fairly low overall score (52 points) in implementing the 2019 EITI Standard. The Validation Report outlines the full assessment of Guyana’s compliance. It is based on extensive stakeholder consultations and a review of three templates namely “Outcomes and impact”, “Stakeholder engagement” and “Transparency”. The Board decision, including corrective actions needed before Guyana’s next Validation, is published in the decisions register. Validation is the EITI’s quality assurance mechanism to assess implementing countries on their ability to meet the provisions of the EITI Standard. The Validation of Guyana commenced on October 1, 2021. A public call for stakeholder views was issued on September 1, 2021. Stakeholder consultations were held virtually on October 11-29, 2021. The draft Validation report was finalised on December 6, 2021. Following comments from the Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) January 31, 2022, the Validation report was finalised for consideration by the EITI Board.

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• civil society, EITI, Guyana, national coordinator

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