Lack of transparency driving away law-abiding foreign investors

Lack of transparency driving away law-abiding foreign investors – Low

Mar 17, 2023 News

Guyana EITI suspension

Kaieteur News – With Guyana’s recent suspension from the Extractive Industries Transparency Institute (EITI), the country’s ability to attract law-abiding foreign investors has also declined.

This is according Elson Low for the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Elson Low who told a news conference on Thursday that the lack of transparency will obviously drive away investors. “What must international investors be thinking when they see such lack of transparency and accountability in the government and lack of respect for the people and institutions of Guyana?” he asked during the press briefing held by the Office of the Leader of the Opposition.

He opined many legitimate foreign investors will be pushed out in order to favour the PPP’s chosen ones. According to Low, many foreign businesses and government delegation visit Guyana with an interest in investing here.

He questioned therefore, “how many of them are turned off by a government that prefers to favour its cronies? How many jobs could they have created in a free and fair business environment? Would their investments have lowered the cost of living by encouraging competition? Guyana and Guyanese suffer when businesses are turned off by the practices of an increasingly secretive, arrogant and kleptocratic government.”

According to Low, the suspension means that the beneficial owners of the companies awarded any oil blocks will be unknown. “We don’t know who these oil blocks will truly be awarded to. Again, this raises the spectre of kleptocracy as the PPP elite could form a consortium with an international oil company and then award the oil blocks to themselves, their friends, family, or favourites, as is their common practice,” he added.

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.

President Irfaan Ali had reacted to the development saying that 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. 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.”

Elson Low, Extractive Industries Transparency Institute (EITI), Guyana, investors, President Irfaan Ali

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Lack of transparency driving away law-abiding foreign investors – Low

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