GEA Head asks Court to dismiss conflict of interest case filed against him  

Jul 01, 2023 Court Stories, ExxonMobil, Features / Columnists, News, Oil & Gas

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Kaieteur News – Dr. Mahendar Sharma, Head of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) that was appointed Chairman of the Environmental Assessment Board (EAB) has asked the High Court to dismiss the conflict of interest case filed against him.

Sharma, along with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources Mr. Joslyn McKenzie were both listed as respondents in the matter filed by Danuta Radzik on May 22, 2023. McKenzie is one of the two board members of the EAB, chaired by Dr. Sharma.

In his application to the Court, Dr. Sharma asked that Radzik’s application be struck out on the basis that Judicial Review Proceedings cannot be sustained and is not available against a private individual. He further argued that the matter be struck out on the ground that it amounts to an abuse of the process of the Court. He is being represented by Attorney-at-Law, Arudranauth Gossai.

According to Dr. Sharma, “there is no reasonable basis for instituting the said Fixed Date Application, as the Applicant/ first named Respondent did not make any decision which is amenable to Judicial Review.”

He argues that the orders sought against him all seem to be orders for review of the decision making process of a public body. The GEA Head noted that he is not a public body, and the application filed against him appears to be an attempt to use the Court’s process, in a “clearly misguided claim to further the personal agenda of the applicant.”

Dr. Sharma contends that the Judicial Review is not available against private individuals but rather against public bodies making decisions of a public nature”.

Through his lawyer, the public official notes that the applicant did not disclose what decision he made which can be subjected to review by the High Court. As such, he submitted that the Court strike out the application to avoid wasting judicial time and resources.

Kaieteur News understands that Mr. McKenzie also made an identical submission to the Court. This newspaper was unable to access that document.

Radzik moved to the High Court in May challenging the legality of two serving members of the EAB: Dr. Mahendar Sharma and Mr. Joslyn McKenzie, in relation to their involvement in deliberating and deciding on appeals against the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) exemption of the government’s 300 megawatt (MW) Power Plant for the Gas to Shore Project from an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

The 300 MW combined cycle power plant will be financed through a loan the government is seeking from the United States Export Import (EXIM) Bank that Guyanese will have to repay. It is a component of the Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project geared towards reducing the cost of electricity by 50 percent.

On February 10, 2023, the government appointed Sharma, who is Head of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) and a Director of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL), and McKenzie, who is Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources to serve as Chairman and member of the EAB, respectively. The EAB is comprised of another government employee, Dr. Garvin Cummings, making it a body comprised entirely of government employees.

The EAB held a public hearing on appeals against the EPA’s waiver of an EIA for the power plant project on March 22, 2023, amidst public outcry that Dr. Sharma and Mr. Mckenzie were in conflicts of interest and should recuse themselves. On May 10, 2023, the EAB issued its decision upholding the EPA’s waiver of an EIA.

The court document filed by Radzik, through her attorney, Mr. Mohamed Ali, provides evidence of what appears to be Sharma and McKenzie’s blatant conflicts of interest, which undermine the integrity of the EAB and principles of the rule of law and good governance.

Radzik submitted 14 exhibits containing evidence of alleged conflicts of interest and actions she believes were illegally taken by Dr. Sharma and Mr. McKenzie.

The applicant is asking for declarations that Sharma and McKenzie’s specific duties as government employees are in direct and indirect conflict with their duties on the EAB and that they illegally took part in the deliberation and decision of the Board regarding the waiver of an EIA for the power plant.

Furthermore, Radzik has asked the High Court to order that all deliberations, hearings, submissions, and decisions taken by members of the Board in the matter of the EPA’s decision to waive an EIA for the 300 MW Natural Gas Power Plant Project are unlawful, null and void, and of no legal effect, pursuant to Section 8 of the Third Schedule to the Environmental Protection Act Cap. 20:05, and any further or other orders as the Court may deem just.

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• conflict, court, dismiss, EAB, GEA, interest

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