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Citizens must hold Govt., State agencies accountable for failing to enforce crucial petroleum regulations – TIGI Head
Kaieteur News – While modernizing the nation’s petroleum laws is essential, the enforcement of regulations is equally important. This view was expressed by President of Transparency International Guyana Inc. (TIGI) Mr. Frederick Collins who spoke to this newspaper recently about strengthening the system meant to govern the multibillion oil and gas industry.
While supporting the call for Guyana’s 37-year-old petroleum laws to be modernized, Collins said that it would not be enough for Guyana’s oil laws to be strengthened.
He said that the onus is on the people of Guyana to be vigilant and hold their leaders accountable to enforce the crucial provisions of those regulations.
President of TIGI, Frederick Collins
“The people must realize that laws are not enough if those in power are allowed to circumvent or worse, misinterpret those laws. So, the problem is not so much the age of the laws but [political] will to enforce the laws. It is not so much the weakness of the existing laws as much as the weakness of the general will of the people to hold the lawmakers, government and State agencies to account.”
Collins continued: “We can have the best of laws and still have a huge problem if politicians are allowed to gaslight the people – that is, to brazenly tell them that the law is being followed when the exact opposite is true. This is the case with all our laws. It is just that it is showing up where the shoe pinches most – in the petroleum industry.”
He continued “We support modernizing the laws but reiterate that the problem is not so much the laws as the absence of systems to hold lawmakers and other politicians to account for misinterpreting, ignoring, or trampling those laws. The modernization of our petroleum laws requires the vigilance of the people like never before.”
The TIGI head’s comments comes weeks after a ruling was handed down in the High Court highlighting the failure of Guyana’s e Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enforce the regulation of its permit in relation to the conduct of oil operator, Exxon Mobil’s drilling activity in Guyana’s lucrative Stabroek block.
In the case, it was citizens, TIGI’s Collins and Godfrey Whyte who approached the court to get the EPA to enforce a critical clause, Condition 14 in the Liza Phase 1 Environmental Permit (Renewed) issued on May 31, 2022 to EEPGL. That provision says ExxonMobil Corporation, the parent company for EEPGL, must cover costs for all environmental loss and damage that might result from a well blowout, oil spill or other failure in the Liza Phase One Development Project in Guyana’s Stabroek Block.
In the ruling, Justice Sandil Kissoon noted that the “EPA had relegated itself to a state of laxity of enforcement and condonation compounded by a lack of vigilance thereby putting this nation and its people in grave potential danger of calamitous disaster.”
The EPA’s mandate is to “Promote, facilitate and coordinate effective environmental management and protection; and the sustainable use of Guyana natural resources” but was found in breach of its duties on a number of occasions.
The EPA has been the subject of at least three other court cases for breaching its regulations.
In December 2022, the State agency had breached its statutory duty by not publishing reasons why it waived the requirement for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Schlumberger to build a radioactive facility at Houston, East Bank Demerara (EBD).
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